How to Like Your Job Again

Property

When we’re younger, we’re told that workplace fatigue and dreaded Mondays are just a part of working life. As we grow up, we succumb to it, as our parents and grandparents did before us. So often we hear people claim that work isn’t meant to be fun, it’s meant to pay our bills. But what if it doesn’t have to be that way? What if there’s more to our existence than a boring work life?

Well, with the right outlook and a different approach, there is. If your existing role once held a form of inspiration and zestful energy, there’s always a chance that you can find that beautiful feeling again. Either at the same company or with another. You just have to do something about it.

Over time, things have a habit of getting stagnant. We grow accustomed to the familiar and adapt to the easy. But, in the realm of work, we must evolve with the job and continually grow in the right direction in order to maintain a sense of passion for the work that gets done every day.

Some might say this mindset is similar to that of a dreamer. A person whose head is in the clouds and lives outside the box of reality. But the truth is, it’s not that wild to believe that there’s more to work than financial necessity and an outdated routine. There’s more to life too.

There are three things you can do in order to transform your tedious working days into something that was once stimulating and meaningful.

1. Evaluate

First, before you make any big moves, you must ask the big questions and evaluate your current working situation.

Assess what is and isn’t working for you anymore, from the tasks you do daily or weekly to your environment and the schedule you’ve subconsciously created for yourself. For example:

What elements of your job do you like?

What are the tasks you find boring?

Are there any tasks that feel repetitive or time-consuming?

When do you feel the most productive?

Are you working in a positive setting?

How does your team uplift you?

Are you being challenged enough?

Is there enough variety in your day-to-day?

Are there any apps or websites that distract you?

What are your talents?

Are you being rewarded for your achievements?

Is there room to grow?

2. Look for opportunity

Once you’ve taken a deep dive into your current working pattern and iron out the areas of your existing role that you need to invest in or alter, you can then look out for opportunities.

Opportunities at work can look like:

Reworking your schedule so you focus on boring or draining tasks during your most productive hours.

Delegating work to focus on areas that you’re passionate about.

Speaking to your manager about changing tasks around.

Looking out for promotions and applying for them.

Nurturing your talents at work.

Taking new courses that aid career progression.

Attending social opportunities and getting to know your team better.

Creating variety in your workload, so it’s not the same old thing every day.

Limiting time spent with co-workers who are negative or learning ways to manage their expectations.

Creating a healthy work-life balance.

If ADHD has a part to play, speak to a professional about it or look for tips online on how to manage ADHD and work.

Asking to be a part of new projects.

Avoiding apps, websites or behaviours that encourage idleness.

3. Change archaic habits

Lastly, the most important of all – change. It’s one thing to examine the wins and losses of your job and look for opportunities that could ultimately make a difference, but it’s another thing entirely to enact positive change and restructure that comfortable, laid-back routine into one you feel inspired by again.

Here are a couple of tips to be aware of when making changes at work:

Be productive

Productivity doesn’t happen to you. You make it happen. There are plenty of tools available online or apps that you can use that track and encourage productive behaviour. Be productive in your effort to make change and fall in love with your work again, on purpose.

Speak to your boss, make sure your talents have room to thrive, look for growth or income opportunities and foster relationships with colleagues. Find all the things that made you love your job in the first place and be productive in your endeavour to shape it into a modern version of that.

Embrace new elements of your job to love

As time passes, sometimes the things we used to love about our job no longer hold the same excitement. That’s actually a good thing. It means that you’re progressing and looking for new things to enjoy.

Give new interests the space to flourish or seek different interests altogether. Say yes to different projects or enquire about changing schedules or duties. Perhaps you enjoy the analytic side of your job or the creative side. Whatever it is, give yourself challenges. Some you’ll fail at and some you’ll excel in.

Accept the things you can’t change

Some roles, no matter how hard we try, just don’t work anymore. Know when it’s time to look for another job opportunity that allows you to be your best and most current self. That ensures your greatest assets are on display and where you have room to grow. It can be tiresome researching jobs and anxiety-inducing interviewing, and it can be even harder to take courses to change career paths. But the end goal will always be worth it.

Whatever you do for work and however you do it, look for ways to enrich the time you spend there. We get so stuck in the same old monotonous ways that we don’t want to leave them; this is only fear and self-doubt surfacing. We spend so much of our time working that it’s important to feel like what you’re doing for a living is valuable and elevating. Not dull and dreary.

Liking your job again is a process, a challenge itself, but know that it’s a worthwhile one. Know that actually appreciating the work you do isn’t a daydream or an unrealistic hope that dreamers make up. The fact is the Monday blues aren’t for everyone. Nor are they a requirement.