PLACE OF POSSIBILITY

CK

  • 01:23:51 pm on July 2, 2009 | # | 0
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    Photo:  Industrious Blur/NYC/iPhone/Coyote KarrickIMG_3189

    Some ideas to bring more joy and energy into your day and what’s innovative at the office.  The June issue of Fortune Small Business shares some of the happenings in business for better life-work integration and satisfaction.

    “…Intimate workplaces, cutting-edge benefits and creative input…that’s exactly what the companies profiled offer.  At Daxko, an Alabama software firm, employees keep stress levels down by playing Rock Band on a  52-inch office television.  Maya Design, a creative consulting agency blurs the line between work and life by allowing staffers to bring their babies to the office.  After one year at Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing, employees receive a free bike to lower their carbon footprint.  They also get  shares in the company, giving them a voice – and a stake…”

    (Fortune Small Business Special Report Meet The New Boss, June 2009)

    ENGAGE:  Imagine your life on the job a little more “outside the box.”  What might make your work day more balanced?  More fun?  Energizing?  What comes to mind?  What does it feel like to start dreaming about ways to improve your experience?  If you immediately come into contact with pessimism/skepticism/inner-critic that is telling you something about your expectations.  Have you given up on being “happy” at work?

    Change can happen first with you – who knows your co-workers and bosses may follow.  But remember whose “job” it is to improve your state of well-being and happiness.  Here are some simple ideas – TRY IT IN YOUR DAY:

    • Take a five minute walk.  Use it as a meditation or what I call “Rock Your Walk” (I walk to specific music and intend to feel and notice a specific quality in myself – strength, flexibility, self-appreciation, energy, etc.).   Note:  I see so many people (including myself) attached to their phone – so I’ve started walks without phones, without dogs, without music, without needing to get anything done, just a simple walk to feel my joy a little more.
    • Breathe.  Come up with a creative reminder to take a deep breath before meetings, before picking up the phone, before answering requests, and throughout the day.
    • Lean back in your chair with your eyes closed and visualize something that brings you joy for a full minute.  To stay focused for a whole minute (set a timer).  The monkey mind can be distracting so focus in your visualization on as many pleasing details as possible.
    • Invert your posture!  Yes – stand on your head, or more simply and less attention getting – do a “downward dog” pose or stretch toward your toes over your chair.  Let the blood flow in new directions and feel more energized.
    • Make a list of creative ways to fuel your mood during your work day and keep it at hand to remind you.

    LINK:  Great Places To Work Institute based in San Francisco.  See what’s happening outside the “box” on the work scene.

     

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