There’s a great saying that goes like this- do what you love, and you’ll never have to work another day in your life. However, many of us may have a bone to pick with that advice. Sometimes, doing what we love is not an option in the circumstances we are in. Or maybe, doing what we love just doesn’t pay the bills.
It's a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. What do you do when they don't?
Enter- a day job. Studies say that only four in ten employees feel engaged with the job that pays their bills. The very same job where they spend the majority of their waking hours. In other words, if you don’t love your job, you’re spending a significant part of your day feeling highly dissatisfied. There is an interesting flip side to this. Dorie Clark writes in the Harvard Business Review –
“No one wants a job or a career they hate. But sometimes it might be better to do what you like — not what you love. Doing what you love can inspire great dedication and a sense of meaning — but sometimes, that passion can blind you to feedback (are you the only one who thinks it’s a good idea?), make you miserable (who knew launching the initiative would mean managing a dozen new staffers?), or harm your financial prospects.“
Finding Love In Your Work
This is the month of love, and the first thing we advocate is loving yourself enough not to be dissatisfied anymore. You have a job, it is paying the bills and a little more, you are decently good at it – discover the love or at least the like!
How do we do this, especially when our jobs don’t give us the joy we so desperately want?
We find it, of course.
Here are a few time-tested ways of finding joy in the work you do:
Focus on the better aspects of work: Hard as it may be to accept, we put this at the very top of the list because we think satisfaction in life has a lot to do with finding contentment in what you have. After all, if you’re reading this article, you’re looking to find joy in your current job, right? So why not start with making a list of the things about your job that actually make you happy?
Small Changes, Big Results: Now that you have a list of things that you do like about your job, make it a habit, every single day, to list out the one thing that made you happy at the workplace. Do this consistently and keep a record of all that you have written.
Get The Clutter Out: A cluttered workspace is the surest indicator of a cluttered mind. So, clean up your workstation and get rid of all the old files, documents, posters, etc. that you have lying around. Introduce just one object or element that has the potential to inspire you each day. Many people choose a potted plant or a favourite quote or photograph.
Collaborate Beyond Work: We bet that out of ten members of your team, all ten of them have an activity on the side that they enjoy, or enjoyed at some point in time. Get like-minded people together for games over lunch or a jam session. If work isn’t fun, make it fun anyway.
Reduce Travel Time: For a lot of people, the painful part of going to work is the going. Consider working from home for more days or moving closer to your workplace. Reducing transit time can give you the time you need to do something else.
Find Work You Like: Within your current organization, find a role you like and start skilling yourself for it. When the opportunity arises, volunteer to learn on the job. Being involved with your company can make you fall in love with the process.
Try out this method for a few weeks, come back and tell us how it worked (or what didn’t). We would love to hear your thoughts!
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