Some of us work to play, some play at work, and for some of us work is life. Whatever your reason is for work, most tend to do their best work when positive and in a good mood. CMD shared an infographic on 18 ways to be more positive at work, and I thought that it would be good to share and discuss some of the points it addressed.

Managing Your Commute and Arriving Early

I personally find it very beneficial to arrive to work early, as I’m sure many other people do. You get to settle into your work flow at your own rate, you don’t feel rushed to get things done before your first meeting, call, or item of the day. You can make your tea or coffee, grab a bite to eat, talk to some coworkers, and check emails before the day starts. Getting to work 15 minutes earlier can help you be more ready to tackle the day and more productive from the get go.

Additionally, your commute is one of the most important factors that impacts your demeanor at work—and also in life. Not surprisingly, shorter commutes are always better, whether you are taking public transit or driving. But wherever you commute from, make sure to entertain yourself with things like audiobooks, podcasts, music, or chatting with carpool buddies. Just remember to be safe.

Emails

Arriving early to work has many benefits and one of them is giving you some extra time to check email before starting the day. Working in the service industry means that you need to be ready to serve your clients right when you get into the office. Quickly check your emails, and if most of them can wait then focus on completing other tasks before the day really starts.

Pace Yourself and Take Breaks

Work will get hectic whether you want it to or not. There will always be deadlines that approach faster than anticipated and crises that appear unexpectedly, but it is still crucial to pace yourself and take breaks when needed. Pacing yourself means starting early and making sure that your work is done properly the first time. When working on projects stay on the task at hand and don’t let yourself be distracted by emails flooding your inbox, nerf darts hitting your head, or your coworkers in an adjacent area.

Taking breaks when possible is also important. Finish your task at hand, but make sure to spread out small 5 to 10 minute breaks throughout the day. Get out of your seat and walk around, speak to coworkers, go to the kitchen, look out the window, or go outside and breathe fresh air. 9 to 5 in the service world doesn’t exist anymore, but when you do have an easier day, I urge you to take advantage of it. There will most likely be many later days and long nights throughout the year, so make sure to take vacations and leave the office early when you can.

Support, Collaboration, and Criticism

Some people like to keep things strictly professional at the workplace while others like to make friends. Whatever your POV is here it is still important to have good working relationships with your coworkers. Support your team and support yourself, share achievements not to necessarily gloat, but to teach them what you did so they can have the same success moving forward. It is key to not only talk about the good, but also the bad and the hectic projects.

Collaboration is power and when team members are able to work jointly on successful or unsuccessful projects there are more learnings that can be applied to future campaigns. You will burn yourself out if you try to do everything alone, which is why collaborating with team members, bosses, or subordinates is so important to career success.

Finally, criticism is part of the work place, but you should never take it as a personal attack. Instead use it to work on your weaknesses or shortcomings. Trust me, no one is perfect, but those that succeed are able to accept and work on their weaknesses. On the flip side, when you criticize someone you should be conscious of how you do it. Constructive criticism frames feedback in way that helps someone become aware of an issue not as an inquisition.

Taking Time Off

If your company offers paid vacation days, take them! Try to space paid time off (PTO) out across the year. Work can become stressful taking time off to recharge and spend time with friends/family is an easy way to distance yourself from the office. Your PTO is precious so don’t spend the whole time being on email. If you listened to my paragraph above you have already started teaching others to work together.

Work will take on a large part of your life, and not everyone will get to do what they truly love. However, everyone should look to be as positive as possible about their work. Not every job can be a dream job, but focusing on the positive and finding ways to reduce stress will make you better at what you do.

Sebastien Damas
Just Media, Inc.