If I'm gonna be doing this for at least a year or more, I'm going to need some top-notch strategies to keep me going. Here are some I do already or I'm working on:
1. Live a few miles to work and bike it there and back every day
2. Sleep on a mat on the floor on my back
3. Try not to eat after 6 to help with sleeping
4. Do calisthenics a few times a week
5. Do yoga/stretching/meditation a few times a week
6. Eat a hearty whole-food, plant-based diet with many raw foods
7. Use the Pomodoro technique and headphones to not get distracted at work
8. Try to replace coffee with green tea
9. Listen to something by Seneca every morning
10. Delete all Social Media and form close ties with a few people outside of work
11. Have hobbies outside of work
12. Cook and prepare all meals on the weekend for easy consumption during the week
13. Optimize as many expenses as possible to see financial results quickly
14. Have in-house laundry and dry everything on a line to avoid ironing
15. Remind myself that all of this is temporary and my future self will appreciate me
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Do you have any other strategies for making office life better?
For context, I work in finance 9-6 in the suburbs. Client meetings, dressing up, deadlines, staring at 3 monitors while sitting, interesting subject that we talk about here a lot.
Best practices for making office life better?
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
Focus on work/life integration, opposed to balance or separation.
The reality is you are committed to that part of your life now, so don't try to segregate it off to a box. The 9-6 it's going to have days when you need an 8-7. Strong peer relationships at work, doing stuff you like (cultivate your duties over time), makes that all way better.
Embrace satisfactory vs perfect as well. You seem very driven to min/max every area of life. There's something to be said for enjoying what is, recognizing who you are today, what you do today, is good enough.
The reality is you are committed to that part of your life now, so don't try to segregate it off to a box. The 9-6 it's going to have days when you need an 8-7. Strong peer relationships at work, doing stuff you like (cultivate your duties over time), makes that all way better.
Embrace satisfactory vs perfect as well. You seem very driven to min/max every area of life. There's something to be said for enjoying what is, recognizing who you are today, what you do today, is good enough.
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
I have read about "Job Crafting" recently. Maybe it can help you too. Just google and you will find many resources, ideas and unspirations how you can improve your office life, but you have to figure it out what can work for you.
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
Try to get some fresh air and natural light at least once a day, even if it's just a quick walk around the building at lunch time. Being in a fluorescent-lit neutral colored box all day is bad for your mood.
Also take a quick break/walk if you're losing focus, getting frustrated with someone, or stuck on a tough problem. These mental resets are important.
Avoid the people who complain about management while not doing much work themselves.
Play by management's rules. Everyone thinks they know the problems with management but management issues can never be completely destroyed, they can only change form. If you're only there for a year or two, you're not going to effect much change in management so it's best to just accept the way they want to run things and instead focus your energy on doing your tasks rather than management styles / personality conflicts.
Now when I follow the above, I am less stressed than I was at my previous job, where I had an easier and smaller workload, but I was letting myself be surrounded by negativity. I was also trying to get management to do things they weren't going to do, which just led to frustration, rather than accepting them as small challenges in my otherwise easy job.
Also take a quick break/walk if you're losing focus, getting frustrated with someone, or stuck on a tough problem. These mental resets are important.
Avoid the people who complain about management while not doing much work themselves.
Play by management's rules. Everyone thinks they know the problems with management but management issues can never be completely destroyed, they can only change form. If you're only there for a year or two, you're not going to effect much change in management so it's best to just accept the way they want to run things and instead focus your energy on doing your tasks rather than management styles / personality conflicts.
Now when I follow the above, I am less stressed than I was at my previous job, where I had an easier and smaller workload, but I was letting myself be surrounded by negativity. I was also trying to get management to do things they weren't going to do, which just led to frustration, rather than accepting them as small challenges in my otherwise easy job.
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
The best thing is to figure out why what you are doing is important enough to somebody that you get paid to do it. It all flows from there.
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
that's a list of tactics. brute would recommend focusing on the longer term strategy as well.
strategy is maybe finding a career path that will lead to certain desired outcomes, and preparing for it. in a way, ERE is a strategy that tries to make work optional.
strategy is maybe finding a career path that will lead to certain desired outcomes, and preparing for it. in a way, ERE is a strategy that tries to make work optional.
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EdithKeeler
- Posts: 1099
- Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
1) Get up and move as much as possible. Sitting at a desk is a killer.
2) Think like the boss. Consider the big picture of your department/ organization. Take time to get to know what other people do, how it all fits together. You'll make better decisions in your work.
3) Make a work friend or two. People who have a friend at work are more productive and enjoy their s
4) But don't gossip! Even if someone else starts it, don't get sucked in and participate.
2) Think like the boss. Consider the big picture of your department/ organization. Take time to get to know what other people do, how it all fits together. You'll make better decisions in your work.
3) Make a work friend or two. People who have a friend at work are more productive and enjoy their s
4) But don't gossip! Even if someone else starts it, don't get sucked in and participate.
Last edited by EdithKeeler on Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Best practices for making office life better?
Everyone is different, and I understand where you're coming from, but personally I find this one counter-productive. By writing off your work experience up-front, you're closing your mind to opportunities that may contribute to your overall happiness. IMHO, it's better to focus on building a happy sustainable system rather than sprint to a finish line that you probably don't even have defined yet. Enjoy the journey!