13 Good Habits for a Happy Work Life

You know those Do’s and Don’t’s lists for being happy at work? They fly around content hubs, and you’re like “oh hell yeah, I have 30 seconds to read some bold letters”? That’s basically this article on molly because I’m just going to tell you a bunch of Do’s and leave out the Don’t’s in hopes of brightening your work day with *positive vibes* even just for 30 seconds. Plus, who even knows how to spell “Do’s and Don’t’s” correctly, so many apostrophe problems. Anyway, it might sound like I’m being bossy and telling you a lot of things to do with your life (which I am), but it’d be cool if you let that slide. I’m just trying to parlay some tips from the latest self-help book my mom gave me into my required blog writing for the month. They’re reminders to myself as much as they’re me telling you exactly what’s best for you.

1. DO say something nice to someone every day. It makes all the not-nice shit you say less prominent in the eyes of others. Maybe you’ll trick people into thinking you’re super nice and worth having as an office cohort. “Hey Chris, great pants! They really bring out the color of your eyes.” <— like this but less creepy, like you haven’t been staring at Chris’s pants for too long.

2. DO use the “mark as read” button for all the emails that don’t concern you. This makes your life so much easier. Think of it as more of a sanity play than ignoring your inbox. Because in reality, do you really need to read every single spend report that comes through? We’re all on some email chains that we don’t ACTUALLY need to be on… feel good about not sweating the small stuff, not guilty. Just don’t mess it up by “marking as read” the wrong emails. I’m not trying to get you fired here.

3. DO take a lunch break. I’m sure you’re all super duper busy, and eating lunch at your desk while you type emails with your one non-greasy finger might SEEM like it’s gaining you an extra hour of the work day, but really you’re just making your desk area smelly. Stop. Take a 10-minute walk, and eat your burrito in the sunlight.

4. DO try something that makes you uncomfortable every week. I’m bad at this because I only like doing things I know I’ll be awesome at. Like writing this blog post or pirouetting like a damn angel. But you’re capable of growth. Own a new section of a client call or volunteer to speak at a conference. Ya know, stuff I’d never actually do myself.

5. DO focus your efforts on one thing at a time. This may speak to those in the creative departments more since multi-tasking an Illustrator comp and answering emails at the same time is hard work. Something that should take an hour ends up taking much longer. Plus, generating good creative ideas sucks when you let other tasks interrupt your *creative flow* – LOLOL at the term *creative flow* right?

6. DO continuously try to improve yourself. Unless you’re Shaquille O’Neal and you’ve already dominated enough career and entertainment goals for one lifetime, aim to keep getting better. For example, I’m 100% dedicated to actually doing my hair every day for the rest of 2015.

7. DO set regular goals. I reset my goals every week. Mostly because I don’t accomplish the goals from the week before, and I get tired and give up, leaving room for new goals. However, sometimes I manage to set smaller goals in order to accomplish the bigger goals and end up unlocking the secrets of the universe. Goals, man.

8. DO express gratitude. I once heard this quote from someone real wise that was like “how can you ever be unhappy if you’re always grateful for everything that comes your way?” I think I said that. I think I just quoted myself. Seriously though, focusing on the goals we’ve already accomplished and the people we already benefit from in work and in life is super awesome for your heart and soul. I usually give most of my thanks to the higher power that is Oprah Winfrey, but you do you.

9. DO shy away from office gossip. This is a hard one since we all have a little Real Housewives in us, but try to steer clear. Unless I’m the one you’re telling secrets to, then come on ova.

10. DO limit your complaints. I know a lot of you are like “HAHAHAHA yeah, right.” I know this because that was my first reaction when I pulled that tip out of my ass. It’s easy to get caught up in complaining about campaigns going wrong or not going at all or revision #67 or a lack of caffeine or your software crashing. But I legitimately annoyed myself SO MUCH just now listing off all those complaints, which totally proves the point! You don’t want to be that toxic complainer that drags down the vibe and bums everyone out.

11. DO exercise and/or eat a salad if things get really bad. In my personal experience, these things have proven to make me happier after the initial shock of tasteless shrubbery and wanting to die on a treadmill wears off.

12. DO help others. You wanna know about the warm and fuzzies? Try helping your co-worker out. Show them a cool shortcut or give them the time of day even if you’re busy AF that afternoon. It’s proven BY SCIENCE that helping others intrinsically makes humans happier. Plus, you could be setting a warm and fuzzy wave in motion by helping someone out, who will in turn help someone else out, and yadda yadda like a quiet domino effect of happiness and support!

13. DO take your vacation. Sometimes people don’t want to sit at a desk and work all day every day *gasp* I think it’s something like on average, Americans take only half of their paid vacation days. What is this?! You need to unplug before you burn out. Everything will be okay if you take a vacation. And your team will thank you for coming back all happy and healthy and relaxed.

Good luck y’all! Namaste.