37 Ways to Be Happier at Work ASAP

37 Ways to Be Happier at Work ASAP Ever tried fighting that boredom which comes upon you while at work but not succeeded?You have been doing the same work for a long time and it has become boring. If that’s not the case, maybe your day just started badly. Did you wake up late and had to skip breakfast to avoid getting to work late? Do you have some pending work stressing you out?At times though, you start the day well. Your cereal breakfast, timely arrival at work, an in-tray almost emptyeverything is working just perfect.Until you get into a disagreement with your boss or that difficult colleague. Maybe a presentation doesn’t go well and you get some negative feedback. Probably you got some extra work in the afternoon.Life is very unpredictable and becoming miserable is easy enough. But that does not have to be your lot. Like an expert swimmer, you can go against the grain of life.If your happy days at work are no more, then here is some good news for you. You can have them back. In full measure, according to you r liking.WAYS OF BECOMING HAPPIER AT WORKBelow are 37 proven and tested ways to make you happier while at work. You don’t need to wait till Christmas to be happy. Or till you get that promotion you have been eyeing. The key to your happiness is in your hands. Will you use it? Here are ways of doing so.To avoid getting overwhelmed, it is best to bookmark this page and keep it as a reference. Give it an easy-to-remember name and anytime you feel bored, pull it and re-energize yourself. Say goodbye to those boring work days and increase your happiness and productivity.1. Watch a funny videoNothing can make you happier than enjoying some humor. Are you a fan of cartoons or plain old comedy? Then you know where to turn for that quick dose of humor. If you are not a fan of these, then take this as an invitation.Some classics include Tom Jerry, The Simpsons, South Park and Dexter’s Laboratory. You can check out some more here.2. Look at older photos of yourselfHow much of the good old days do you remember? Whatever your age, you have had some wonderful times in the past. Most of these are recorded in picture form and this is the time to take a peek at them.A research showed that looking at old facebook photos can improve your mood. As you remember the fun times, the memories will bring you joy and you will become happier.3. Drink some milkMilk is one of the best ‘complete’ foods. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and many others. Whenever work starts being boring and stressful, reach for a glass of milk and enjoy its benefits.Milk is a popular mood booster that quickly gets you feeling happier than you were before taking it. It contains the protein lactium which lowers blood pressure and reduces cortisol levels in the blood.Low cortisol levels in the blood results in reduced stress so your work pressure gets dealt with. Milk is also a great source of energy.So it works by reducing your s tress levels then energizing you.4. Be gratefulThere are very many reasons why you should be grateful. Do you have too much work? Someone else graduated and has been searching for a job for more than five years, with no success.Are you earning less than you wanted? Someone else is hoping to just get dinner after days of hunger.Are you down with a flu? Someone else is in a coma.Many others are suffering from heart disease and cancer, the biggest causes of death among Americans. Be grateful for what you have.5. Listen to musicMusic is therapeutic. Whatever genre you prefer, listening to music will uplift your moods. Music has for centuries been used to celebrate occasions and signify happy times.Achievements are also celebrated with music and dance. Music literally carries you out of your current world and into that of the song. For quick results becoming happier, go for the faster-paced music with danceable beats.6. Compliment someoneGiving compliments is a great way of making yourse lf happier. When you focus on someone else, whatever is bugging you loses its power over you.This makes it easier to handle it later as you approach it with a fresh mind. One of the benefits of giving compliments is that it helps you be more lovable as many start appreciating that you notice them.Apart from the possibility of receiving a compliment in return, the smile you put on someone’s face will make you happy with yourself.7. Stay positiveNegative attitudes only see things from the negative point of view. With this point of view, there is never going to be happiness. You will become prone to sadness, anxiety and finally depression.To avert these dangers, make a better choice. Deciding to be positive helps you see things different.For example, when you have too much work, consider that the business is growing. If you are an employee, think of this situation as one that is preparing you for a higher position.This is an opportunity to come up with more efficient ways to work. If the sales are low, it could be an opportunity to develop a new strategy that will beat the competition. Think along these lines and see yourself brighten up.8. Decorate your workspaceYour boredom at work could be as a result of lack of inspiration. Look around and see what you can do about your workspace. Do you have some space on your desk? Why not buy a unique desktop calendar for use in the office? You can also replace some of your stationery with better-looking ones.Get a beautiful wallpaper for your office. Or some wall art which inspires you when you look at it. If you can be allowed to paint it, have some warm color for it. Include some plants around or write some inspirational quotes on the wall.When your workspace looks unique and beautiful, you are more likely to experience happiness. So, as much as possible, make your office space personalized and inspirational.9. Use upbeat languageThe words you speak carry a lot of weight with them. Start saying how boring the day is a nd you will not be able to make any changes.Your words don’t just describe what you see or feel. They create what you have just said. Your mind is one of the biggest resources you have and it seeks to serve you. When you say something, your mind takes that and creates it.According to it, that’s what you want done. It’s simply being a faithful servant.So why not make better use of it?10. Take a walkWalking has always been recommended by many health experts as one of the best exercises. More than that, when you take a walk, your body gets excited.Remember how you used to be excited back in school during outdoor classes? You are not the one who decided to get excited; your mind started it all.The four corners of your office can easily get boring. The moment you step out and smell some fresh air, things change. Just go out and look at the trees, hear the birds chirp or even see the traffic situation. You will get some inspiration from it.11. Remember happy momentsYou will always l ove the happy moments you experience in life. Unfortunately, you can’t live life always in a happy moment.Not even the rich can have that. Life isn’t designed to give you such a privilege.However, you can beat it by keeping the memories close enough. Lean back and go down memory lane.Do you remember the fun days of your honeymoon? Remember how you celebrated your last birthday? Or your graduation party? Go through these and see yourself start beaming with joy.12. Soak yourself in a bathAre you working from home or can you have a bath at work? Your mood cannot resist the pampering your body gets when you soak yourself in a nice, warm bath.Apart from improving your mood, there are other benefits. You can also add essential oils into the bath. Oils like orange and peppermint work very well. Some more oils are listed here for you to choose which you want to try out.13. Give yourself a challengeWho doesn’t like winning? That is the essence of a challenge. You participate with the i ntention of winning.When you win you automatically feel good about yourself. Challenging yourself gives you growth.You see how good you are at doing the thing you did successfully. This boosts your confidence and you are able to take on other challenges. Look at your job. Can you split it into parts and challenge yourself to finish individual parts in 10 minutes? Do you believe you can?Go ahead and do it. Prove that you can actually do it and let the skeptics suffer the shame. With that success, take on the other smaller part and soon, the whole job will be finished. You thought the task would take you more than 1 hour?Well, congratulations. You did it in 30 minutes.14. DanceDancing is fun. And the best part of it is that you don’t need to be a trained dancer. Put on some music and just dance.Move your body as you feel the beats demanding. If you feel clumsy, the better. It’s part of the fun. You are not competing against anyone. You are just having fun. All by yourself.Whoever thinks he can judge your skills doesn’t get it. As they get negative by not liking what you are doing, you are releasing endorphins and enjoying it. You also enjoy more benefits other than just boosting your moods.15. Avoid complainingComplaining may seem like a natural response to stressful situations, though it’s not. Complaining is more of a choice response. You knowingly decide to react instead of responding.And after doing it often enough, your mind becomes trained so that this is your preferred response. When you complain, you stick to negativity and the effects cause you more harm than you know.The good news is that you can stop complaining. Watch the below video for tips on how to stop complaining. 16. Change your routineRoutine can easily become boring. When you do the same thing the same way every day, your life becomes too predictable. In some cases, predictability brings security and that is a good thing.An example is your monthly pay at work. You wouldn’t want to work in a company where there is no guarantee of receiving your pay.When it however comes to life in general, your mind becomes unable to practise creativity. Creativity is not just for artists. Everyone has it and desires to use it. If your work does not include situations for you to be creative, then break the monotony yourself.Change the flow of your work. You can also change your schedules, as long as you don’t interfere with other people’s jobs. To achieve happiness, leave things open and don’t stick to only one way of doing things.The less routine, the more life â€" Amos Bronson Alcott.17. Include some ingenuity in your jobDid you think that only drawing artists are creative? Or poets and fiction writers? Surprise! Surprise! Everyone is creative but if you focus on certain people, you won’t see it.You won’t even recognize your own creativity. Look at your job and see how you can bring in some creativity. You have it inside you so don’t look for it elsewhere.Writing a report? Highlight some interesting data and point at what they indicate. Too much text? You can use free infographic tools to brighten it up and celebrate yourself as the data becomes more digestible. Enjoy the results without waiting for people to say it’s good.18. Smell some flowersWhat comes to your mind when you see flowers? Probably an anniversary, birthday, someone thinking about someone else. Whichever the case, flowers are an indication of love in the air. And you don’t need to wait for someone to show you love. When was the last time you showed yourself some love?Buy yourself some flowers. If your office has a daily delivery of fresh flowers, then indulge yourself. Flowers look good and brighten the room, but they also smell good. When it comes to your mood, that floral scent for an energy boost could be all you need.19. Just smileWhenever you are happy you smile. Right? But did you know that the reverse is also true? You don’t have to feel good in order to smile. You can also smile in order to feel good. Smiling and feelings of happiness operate on a two-way street. Your mind interprets your feelings but can also be influenced as necessary.When you smile, the movement of the muscles involved tell your mind that something good has happened and it responds accordingly. Apart from that, when you force a smile, you know very well that you are trying to trick your mind. Since you are eager to see how your brain performs, you get excited.This becomes a funny situation and as your brain fails the test, you see the humor and smile wider or even laugh. Try it and see for yourself.20. Spend time with someone who is happyDo you know someone who is happy? Spend some time with them and you will pick up some happiness. You can divide them into two: those always happy (mostly happy) and those experiencing a happy moment.What you can be sure of is that they treasure their happiness and won’t trade it for gloom.Step into their space and they will immediate ly notice you’re not happy. Depending on how much friendship exist between you two, they may approach you in either of two ways. They may ask and even make you forget your gloom and join them in happiness. Alternatively, they may listen to you talk, give you some advice and tell you to just enjoy life.The best part? They are not theoretic. They lead by example, and so will guide you into it.21. Help outA little kindness goes a long way. No-one ever made it in life all by himself. You will always need a helping hand. Perhaps helping hands. What happens when someone helps you out when you’re stuck? You are amazed at the love shown and express gratitude. If you help someone out, you will realize that the gratitude part is not the end of the story.Whenever you are appreciated you feel special. Your feelings of self-worth are raised and that makes you happy. Stepping away from your desk to help someone with a job also frees your mind from what is stressing you.Taking that break enabl es your mind to come back fresh and chances of you tackling the task successfully are increased.22. ExerciseExercises tell the body that it is ‘me time’ and so focus shifts from your boring job instantly. As you move the various parts of your body, endorphins are released promptly.Your body knows that it is getting into better shape. It knows that it getting healthier thus it will become better. It is also a time out   of the routine and your mind will love you for that.Since you cannot substitute desks and chairs for the weights found at the gym, stretches can be great exercises while at work. You also don’t need a lot of space for these. Just push your chair inside your desk and you’re good to go. Watch the below video for some ideas. 23. Make new friendsYou obviously know the value of friends in life. You can never have enough of them and there is no limit on their number. The more friends you have the easier life is. With friends, you get people who can help you finish y our work faster.They can also give you ideas and tips to implement. More than that, some of them can detect unhappiness in you and come to your rescue. Isn’t that a great thing?Friendships are to be highly regarded. Imagine your life with many great friends. Well, you have the opportunity to invest in your future now. Tip: making friends gives you a sense of achievement. That, will make you happy instantly.24. Take a napSleeping is good for relieving stress and relaxing you. But can you really go to sleep while at work? Relax. You don’t need 6 hours of sleep at work to become happy. Taking a short nap will do the trick.Research shows that taking a nap can leave you feeling happier. It will also boost your productivity and keep you more focused. All you need is your desk and probably your hands to act as the pillow. No costs attached.25. Think yourself to happinessAs scientists have proven by the many studies and experiments focused on the brain, your mind is really powerful. So powerful that it can create what you want.You can think your way into desirable states of mind and influence how your body feels. This includes happiness. In simple terms, this is called using your imagination.You want to be happier? Just think your way to happines. You can close your eyes to make it easier. Imagine yourself being happy. What would it feel like? All the stress gone and life being so good. You are all smiles, knowing no problems. If you are keen enough to notice without interrupting the flow, by this time there is a smile on your face. Your mind is pretty excited and your body is reflecting it. You can continue for as long as you need to.26. Give someone a treatDid you know that making someone happy makes you happy too? Give someone a treat and you will enjoy it equally. It doesn’t have to be big. Just buy someone lunch. Maybe some snacks to go with the mid-morning coffee.The intention is to show generosity and see them smile. The smile on their faces is more conta gious than you might think.But more importantly, when you have done something good for someone, you also become happy. This is similar to what happens when you give someone a gift. You just love it as you see them unwrap it with expectations and find that it’s something they love. So go ahead and give someone a treat. You can be sure of reaping from it. Instantly.27. Reward yourselfFor all the efforts you put in your work, you surely need some reward. Forget the paycheck and perks. A reward from you to yourself. How do you feel when you receive your pay at the end of the month? Very happy. How do you feel when you get recognized for a job well done? Very happy. It’s time you recognized yourself. Your own efforts.When you reward yourself, you recognize your efforts. Failure to do this produces burnout as you push yourself to the limits yet don’t see any fruit for it. This is one of the reasons you get paidâ€"for you to see the fruit of your labor.When you have some work to fini sh and life is becoming boring, reward yourself for the resilience thus far. Use any of the things you love.The food you love. Some smoothie. Doughnuts for your evening tea. The reward will brighten you up as you enjoy it and you will be ready for more work.28. Take a break and playThough it’s an old saying, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy remains true. And don’t be lied to that once you grow up you can’t play. Or shouldn’t play. Your body needs to unwind.One of the reasons children don’t experience stress is because they care less what people think. If they feel like playing, that’s what they will do. They will even insist that you join them. And get angry if you don’t.If your office has a dedicated area for some games then find someone to play with or against. If there isn’t, then use your phone or computer to play your favorite video game. Be it racing games, puzzles, adventure games or any other, your mind needs it and it will thank you for it. There i s so much joy that comes with playing and your mood is improved immediately.29. Have a real life chatToo much technology is not that good. There is convenience but what happens when technology seeks to replace human beings? Online chats are great but they can never beat a chat with a friend in real life. Chats in real life also help you improve your interpersonal skills. So, instead of rushing to post on social media how boring the day is, get to one of your colleagues and chat with them.Listen to them narrate their experience of the morning traffic. Don’t hold back the laughter if it’s funny. Are you reminded of your own experience? Share it. Enjoy the time and in as few as 10 minutes, you will be happier than you previously were.30. Recite a positive mantraMantras are not only useful when trying to change behavior. You can also use them to remind yourself of something good and important. Such as the need to stay happy. Make it something short and easy to remember but full of m eaning. When you recite them, your brain knows that it is supposed to create an environment suitable for what you are stating. Here are some examples.31. Celebrate little victoriesYou may have several big projects or just one that’s really stressing you out. Do you know what the reason is? You are focusing too much on the bigger picture.As important as the ultimate goal is, it is the smaller victories that build up to the big one. Fixing your mind on the big picture is a great thing to do to maintain long-term focus. In the short-term however, you need a different strategy to avoid burnout. Consider the little victories and celebrate them.If your project is not broken into smaller pieces, start there right now. What you have achieved by now can be looked at as phases in the project. For the success so far, congratulations. These are the right measures of your daily successes. So if you’re looking for happiness, you will find it here.The completed phases of your project show you your success and for these successes, you better celebrate. You will feel better about yourself and experience improved moods.32. Plan to cook a great meal for dinnerMaking plans for a great dinner easily gets your mind off your work. As you see yourself preparing the meal, your mind creates the picture for you of the satisfaction you will have.You know how much joy you get from cooking and enjoying the meal with everyone else. This is your opportunity of getting in touch with what gives you joy.As you make the plan in your mind, you will anticipate actualizing it. The excitement generated from this will not only grant you happiness but also motivate you to finish your work early.33. Have some chocolateThere is a very good reason why chocolates are always part of valentine’s day. They are also widely given out during other happy moments like birthdays and anniversaries. Is it just a coincidence?Research shows that polyphenols found in cocoa, improve mood. Cocoa is the main ingredi ent in chocolates thus the source of the benefit. Have some chocolate and experience natural mood improvement.34. Lower your expectationsToo much stress in life comes from having high expectations. Whether you set them yourself or your boss sets them for you, there is need to work around them. Some argue that high expectations push you to work hard. They are however counter-productive as they create stress and inhibit morale when they are not achieved. You need to lower your expectations. How? Plan ahead.If you know that your boss could set high standards for you, work on a way of countering it. A good way is to look at the work, evaluate it then split it into various portions. Show your boss how your way is the best for getting the job done in the shortest time. Involve others and distribute the work.The high expectations will be shared, consequently reduced on your end. What is it that will make you happier than ‘outsmarting’ your boss?35. Psych yourself upFootball players alw ays get it from their coaches during break time. Sales people always give it to themselves before pitching to big clients. You need it too.What is it? A pep talk. You need to remember how good you are. You need to remember that you have all it takes. Victory is never too far and the closer you get to it, the more it feels harder to achieve.You need just a little more encouragement and you will make it. Watch the below video and keep it as a reminder that you can do it. 36. Check social media updatesIsn’t it a beautiful thing that you can catch up with friends even when they are far away? Social media gives you the alternative to real life chatting with your friends. Checking those status updates isn’t time wasting. Social media can actually make you happier. When you see people liking and sharing your posts, making positive comments about your posts, your mood gets lifted.If you are doing it right, then your posts are inspiring people to bring out the best they have. Their lives are getting better. Wouldn’t you want to know their feedback? Wouldn’t you feel good that you’re making a difference in someone’s life?This is what gives you joy.The happiness you get from this may be all you need to turn your boredom around and finish the day strong. Take time and check those updates and comments.37. DaydreamYou desire to have the biggest house in the world or to be the richest person? Have the most luxurious beach house and a luxury yacht to go with it? Monitor from home your multi-billion dollar companies? None of these is unattainable. Especially not in your dreams.Do not feel ashamed of it. Take a break and daydream. Get rid of those stress hormones and enjoy some minutes of luxury life. By the time you are done with that short life, you will be feeling happier. You may also be motivated to work towards its reality.CONCLUSIONThere you go. 37 ways to be happier at work asap. The next time you feel boredom squeezing life out of you, pick one or several o f these and implement immediately.Remember: this is personal therapy.Do not be bothered by what other people think about you. Let them watch you get happier and more productive.