The Daily Mind
Daily Steps To Mindful Living
Every few days I hear one of my friends tell me how much they hate their boss. They dread going in to work each day because they simply cannot stand him/her anymore. Having a happiness-sucking demon of a boss puts stress on every part of your life. In this post I want to show you how to stand up to your boss without losing your job.
[Read more…] about How to Stand Up to Your Boss (Without Losing Your Job)Originally posted on June 14, 2008 @ 1:29 am
photo credit: purpleprimate
“When people are bored, it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.” – Eric Hoffer.
Over time we all seem to lose interest in our work. The first month on the job is characterised by good work ethic, motivation and friend making. But as one month fades into two we slowly start to get bored. After a year or two we wonder why we ever took the job in the first place. In this post I want to look at a few ways you can get interested in your job again.
1. Look at the jobs other people are working
One thing I like to do from time to time is take a look at some of the other jobs in the world. When you look at the jobs that other people are working you can inevitably find some interesting aspects about your own work. For example, if you work a desk job you might realize that it is much more interesting than being outside in the heat digging up roads and paving streets. Or, if you work outside you might realize that being out in the sun all day talking to your work mates (while you dig up that street) is more interesting than sitting behind a desk.
2. Study the history of your profession or firm
Sometimes it is really interesting to discover the lineage of your profession or firm. If you feel like you are a part of something bigger you quite often become more interested in it. This is why people follow sporting teams. Take a few minutes each week to look into how you firm got started, who started it and so on. You might find you have a really interesting history at your workplace.
3. Find new and interesting challenges
photo credit: ninkinanka
Mrs. Daily Minder remarked on her way to work this morning that she always finds work interesting when she gets new challenges. Even though they might be difficult or sometimes frustrating it is better than sitting at your desk all day doing the same thing over and over. If you find work is getting a little boring then perhaps ask your manager for some new challenges. They will be extremely impressed that you have asked this and, even though it means perhaps more work, it might mean you have a lot more interesting things to do.
4. Remember why you started
Most of us have some sort of positive motivation for starting the job we are at now. Some of us might have taken it because we needed more money to support our family. Some of us might have taken it because we thought we could help a lot of people. Some of us might have thought that the subject matter was really fascinating. But, as always, this motivation drifts away as time goes on and before we know it we are bored again.
If you can re-connect with that initial motivation you might be able to make your job more interesting again. Finding a lasting motivation for work is extremely important for your long term satisfaction. Sometimes when I don’t feel like writing an article for The Daily Mind I always remind myself that thousands of people encounter this blog and something I write might help one of them. This motivation always gets me going.
5. Make new friends
Whenever I listen to my friends talking about their work they are always at their happiest when they are talking about things they have done with their workmates. Making friends at work is one of the best ways to get interested again as these people will help you get through the workday – everyday. We are at work for eight hours a day, five days a week. If my maths is correct this means that we see our workmates even more than we see our own family! Try and make friends with the people around you at work and your day might become more interesting.
6. Get a new job
If you want to get interested in your job again and you really cannot get it happening at your current work then maybe you need to get a new job. Sometimes our work just doesn’t turn out like we hoped. It might be a collegue that we cannot connect with, an unreasonable boss or something to do with the work itself. If that is the case then getting a new job might be the only solution. Start looking in the papers and if you apply and get a new job then quit your old one and promise not to make the same mistakes at your new place of work.
Take a look at this interview on Guy Kawasaki’s blog about escaping corporate America. It has some really good points on how to get out of your job, how to know when to leave, how to find a better job and so on. Some of the tips are really handy for people who think that their job might be a dead end waste of time.
7. Ask the hard question
Would you be better off at a new job or would the same problems all pop up there as well? Like the opening quote of this post alludes to – is it you or the job that you are not interested in? This is a hard question to ask.
Conclusion
Staying interested in one job for many years is not an easy thing. Don’t just expect it to happen by itself – start putting in the work that will help you stay stimulated and interested when you might otherwise be bored out of your mind. If anyone has any other tips I would love to hear them.
Originally posted on June 11, 2008 @ 2:39 am
A guest post I did for Dumb Little Man is now live. If you are interested in relaxing at work then go check it out here and see what you think.
Originally posted on June 9, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
I saw this video on YouTube and I thought I would share it with you all. I have had a few days like this.
Have you ever had a day where you just melted down and yelled at everyone around you? I’m sure most of us have.
Originally posted on June 8, 2008 @ 8:19 am
photo credit: philippe leroyer
After a few token pleasantries my friends start complaining about office arguments and work politics every single time I see them. The funny things is, I often think that their inability to let go of their viewpoint is just making things worse.
I have thought about this a lot lately because it seems to me that almost everyone is having arguments and disagreements at work. My mother hates the firm’s accountant. My father disagrees with his partner. My brother isn’t getting paid enough.
The thing that interests me the most is that no one is trying to develop any strategies to deal with these issues in the long term. I am guilty of it as much as anyone. I often find myself stooping to the level of talking behind people’s back and gossiping instead of doing something useful with the situation.
I have wanted to write about this issue for a long time so in this post I want to look at:
When we get in an argument at work the first thing we always think is that we are right and the other person is wrong. We hold on to our views so tightly and do not want to let them go.
But why? What does this accomplish? Surely we have those views in the first place because we feel that they are correct and true and just and are going to make us happy. But if the office argument is getting worse because we will not let go of our dogma then maybe they are not as effective as we first thought.
Letting go
One way to tell whether your viewpoint is making matters worse is to look at your mind and see if you are able to “let go” easily. If you carry around the anger and the resentment all day and then further on into the week then chances are your view is making things worse and needs to be reassessed.
Length of the argument
Another way to tell whether your opinions and views are making things worse is to be aware of how long the argument lasts. If you are able to talk to the person about the issue and make some progress then perhaps your view is logical and valid. However, if the argument lasts for many days then something is wrong.
Here is the problematic issue – what if your view is “correct” and the other person just doesn’t want to admit it? What if there are cultural issues that prevent you or the other person from seeing things in a different light? This makes things more tricky. However, it is important to try and be as open as possible. Be open to the fact that even though something might be true to you it might not be true for someone else.
If you are really struggling to let go of your view and really want to fight for it there is one simple test that you can apply – is it hurting anyone. This is the one thing that you can fall back on when debating whether your view is correct or not. If it is hurting people in the short term or long term then it is time to let go.
Letting go of long held views is not an easy thing. Some people hold on to their opinions as much as a murderer holds on to the story that he is innocent. It seems that we place some of our selves in our opinions and we think that if we lose them we will lose a part of us.
But where are these opinions? Where do they exist? Have we formulated them based on logic or emotion or because that’s what our parents thought? Do they live in our brains or in our hearts or somewhere else? When we die where do they go? Do they have a shape or a color? When I look at my opinions and viewpoints in this way (when I am really angry) I realize that they don’t really exist as solidly as I would like and it gives me some space to consider the other persons standpoint.
Changing your perspective
photo credit: OrangeLimey
Letting go of viewpoints that you have had for a long time is mostly about shifting your perspective and trying to see things from another point of view. In some cases this will be the hardest thing in the world to do, especially when you are charged up on emotion and angry because of what the other person has said or done. But if you can shift your perspective in this situation it will be quite easy when you try to do it when you are calm.
One of the simplest and best ways to shift your perspective is to just place yourself in the other person’s shoes. How are they feeling? Why are they feeling that way? Are they perhaps unwell? Even go far back and think about how they were brought up, where they went to school and what they have had happen to them in their life. Doing this is a great way to shift your perspective and open yourself up to the possibility that your viewpoint isn’t the only one.
Here are a few things I have done, seen done or heard about that always seem to make things worse.
How often does your viewpoint make arguments worse? Are you prepared to let go to help the situation?
Originally posted on June 6, 2008 @ 5:50 am
We all spend way too much time on our computers. Our bodies are suffering. In this post I want to tell you about a few signs that can pop up to alert you that your computer use is affecting your health.
1. Sore wrists
If you have sore wrists it can be a sign that you have a nice case of carpal tunnel or RSI coming on. Sore wrists are extremely common but can be quite serious as many computer related wrist injuries can take years to heal, if at all.
If you are getting sore wrists you need to stop working every 10 minutes and shake them around, tense your fingers and give them a break. It is very important.
2. Sore back
The most common complaint that computer users get is that their back is always sore. This can be caused by bad posture, poorly set up desk height or the wrong type of chair. Take a look at this post on sore backs at work for some simple ways to fix the problem.
3. Sore eyes
Sore eyes come about for a few reasons. The most common one is that you are staring at the screen far too much and your eye balls are drying out and losing the essential moisture. This can cause damage over time. The other cause is having your computer screen light incorrectly. For example, you do not want to have sunlight shining directly on to the screen.
If you are getting sore eyes try to re-asses where your desk is placed and take regular breaks to give your eyes a rest. Try looking at some big views or some duller colors for a short time. [Read more…] about Five Signs That Your Computer Use is Affecting Your Health
Originally posted on June 5, 2008 @ 4:34 am
