Happiness Project: 12 tips to be happier at work

One of the blogs that I read frequently is a Happiness Project. The author, Gretchen Rubin, is writing a "memoir about the year I spent test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah" It can be found at: http://www.happiness-project.com/. Her book is due to be published in 2009.

On the Happiness Project, Wednesday is always tip day. Today's tips focus on how to be happier at work. I must admit that my job is pretty OK. It is really the first job that I feel I have a handle around and can do it well. The stress is intermittent and I get an adequate amount of time away from the office.

The tips today have given me a few areas of thought:

"Tip 8: Take care of difficult calls, tasks, or emails as quickly as possible. Procrastinating makes them harder; getting them done gives a big boost of relieved energy."

Good news is that I do this naturally. I am a person who hates to hear the words "There is something that I need to discuss with you." In my experience procrastinating does make it worse.

10. Let yourself stay ignorant of things you don’t need to know.

This tip is truly the one that I need to work on! I need to know everything. And often times, I have to talk myself off a virtual ledge when I learn too much. My boss is great with this. He often says - well...its just best not to ask the question to unimportant matters. In our society, we think that knowledge is power and we forget that knowledge often carries a responsibility. I didn't need to know that a co-worker thinks of me as useful but moody! I spent hours thinking about how I wasn't moody while in fact demonstrating the exact point! I pushed to learn that knowledge from a third party thinking it would provide me insight. It didn't. It wasn't productive and did not change the way I work.

Lastly...

12. Say “Good morning” to everyone. Social contact is cheering, and if you feel that you’re on good terms with all the people in your office, you’ll be happier each day. Also, it’s polite.

I often forget to say Good Morning to folks. I get wrapped in my thoughts, my blackberry, my tasks to even acknowledge the folks around me. I do notice a difference when I make it a point to say Good Morning, Good Afternoon or a Howdy!


Take a look at the post on HAPPINESS PROJECT. Let me know what you think! Let Gretchen know what you think!