Are you noticing that you’re crankier than usual at work? If you’re feeling like work is the last place you want to be, you’re lacking motivation, and you’re spending your free time gazing out the window at the sunshine, let us give you three ways to help your disposition in the office match the sunny exterior.
You know you’re in a slump at the office because before you even get there you feel bogged down by all the things on your “to do” list. Coming back to work day after day with an overwhelming “to do” list can make the best employee feel like staying in bed would be better than facing the day ahead. When was the last time you reviewed that “to do” list and separated the critical items from those that just added to your workload? Being busy makes a lot of people feel important, needed and validated. However, there’s a fine line between feeling like an integral part of your company’s operation, and being on the path to burning out. Take some of your power back over your “to do” list. You are in charge of it, it’s not in charge of you. Weed out or delegate the things that don’t need your immediate attention, determine what merely needs your approval at a later date, and focus your talents and time on projects or tasks that require your input.
Regaining control of your “to do” list and day is the first step to feeling like you’re making progress and putting the feelings of dreading your day in the past. Another way to minimize the amount of time you’re feeling like you’d rather not be at work is to tackle the tasks that you dislike. The things that we don’t enjoy have a way of getting pushed from this week’s “to do” list to next week’s “to do” list. The mounting pressure to get the task done, and the growing disdain for having to complete it is a dangerous combination. You’re not happy about having to do it, but your dislike of the task is only growing with each passing day. Bite the bullet, and get started. Start small, start slow, but just get started. By the time you’re halfway done with the task, the worst part will be over, and you’ll be done before you know it. The relief you’ll experience once it’s done will never trump the level of anxiety you experienced in anticipation of having to do it, but at least you can take it off your list!
Now, once you’re driving your week, getting your most unpleasant tasks done, and feeling like you can tackle the day ahead, you might actually want to talk to your co-workers. Even if your co-workers haven’t made it to the “real friend” category, you enjoy interacting with them on some level, right? You may have previously thought that in your “busy” mode you didn’t have time for a casual chat in the cafeteria, or taking five minutes away from your desk to discuss a project in person was a luxury. However, as a result of your delegation, you can feel free to add some human contact back into your day. Get up, stretch your legs, talk to a co-worker, and find a new window to get some Vitamin D added to your day.
Getting out of “busy” mode and adding some sanity back to your schedule is the first, and most difficult step to improving your feelings about work. However, if you don’t take action, you’re going to drive yourself right into burnout mode, and the recovery from that outcome is as long and painful as the road to getting there. Just having a bad day or two is one thing, being anxious or dreading coming to work means you need to make some changes for your own personal sanity. It’s important to know the difference between being cranky and being on the road to burnout. You can stop the madness, and you can like your job again, but you have to take action, not just complain about how you’d rather be outside than chained to your desk. Complaining will feel good, but it won’t change your circumstances.
If you’re just cranky, you’ll work through it. If you’re on the road to burnout, you’ve got to take action. You don’t have to make burnout your final destination, but if you wait for your job to get better by taking the “wait and see” approach, you’re going to be waiting forever. Start with changing the things you can influence, and ideally your disposition will start to match the fall colors.