You’re here for the long haul, so you might as well make the most of it. It’s way too easy to feel burned out or unfulfilled from your work. The 40-hour, Monday to Friday grind affects different people in different ways.

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With that comes the inevitability of feeling jaded towards the thing that’s keeping the lights on: your job.

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Every case of burnout or jadedness is unique, and as such, there isn’t one solution that will work for everyone. Still, we’d all benefit from at least trying these methods out. You’ll never know if you never try. Here are a few way you can stay happy at work.

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1. Have a Good Morning Routine

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What better way to get in the groove of things than starting the day right? Many of us detest that dreaded alarm clock, rudely waking us from our sleep-deprived slumber.

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Why is that? Why do we resent our alarms for simply doing what it’s supposed to do? Perhaps the blame lies on our shoulders.

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Not only do we need to develop healthy sleeping habits and bedtime routines, but we also need to start the day the right way. Getting those eight hours of chamomile-infused rest does plenty of good, but why stop there?

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Avoid hitting the snooze button. Though it’ll be difficult at first, your body will feel more well rested and able to tackle the day ahead with no hesitation.

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Hitting the snooze button feels good at first but slowly contributes to fragmented sleep, which does more harm than good.

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Your morning will also benefit from some meditation, an early morning jog to get the body and mind running, and avoiding phone or social media use for at least the first hour.

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Many of these suggestions directly contradict our current habits, so the early stages will be the toughest. However, the best thing to switch a bad habit with is a good one.

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The sooner you start (or wake up), the better.

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2. Personalize Your Workplace  

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Your place of work is basically your home away from home. If you do fall or spring cleaning for your home, you might as well treat your office the same way. Liven up your quarters with fun but meaningful decorations year round.

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They can be seasonal changes or quiet affirmations to celebrate personal accomplishments. There’s no way to decorate your office the wrong way — as long as you’re true to yourself.

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Just like life itself, change it up every once in a while to keep things fresh. Just be sure to keep that office plant though.

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3. Find the Bigger Picture

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You won’t see this on a job board. We spend most of our time working, so why not have fun with it?

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Look at the bigger picture regarding your job. Yes, it pays the bills and keeps the lights on. Yes, it also gives us excitement every other week (hello, payday). However, financial motivation shouldn’t be all there is.

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You will burn out and even resent your job sooner if you’re purely motivated by financial gain. If you’re in the retail pharmacy setting, know that you’re helping customers navigate the convoluted world of healthcare.

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Your expertise and communication skills help your patients understand what is exactly going on with their prescriptions. At the very least, a customer might feel a residual sense of joy when they see you happy at work.

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Retail work can quickly feel grating and repetitive. It often is. However, you will have a new appreciation of your work when you understand the “why” of it all.

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4. Be Your Biggest Fan

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A lot of work is hard work. We’ll never truly achieve perfection no matter how hard we try. The comfort in that is there will always be room for improvement and to self-evaluate.

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It’s easy for us to critique ourselves when given the benefit of hindsight, especially when it’s about a recent work project.

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However, we hardly benefit from punching ourselves down. It’s important to recognize where we fell short but we’re doing ourselves no favors.

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Even on the worst of days, there is something worth celebrating. Maybe it’s sending a difficult email or making just a little more progress on a huge project. Rome wasn’t built in a day and a little bit of progress is better than none at all.

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Practicing some self-kindness will go a long way in appreciating the work you do. There will be good days and bad days — it’s completely normal.

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If you’re typing up a report or helping a line of customers, remind yourself to just focus on what’s in front of you. Just take it as it comes.

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5. Practice Gratitude

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Studies show that our brains prefer to dwell on negative memories than positive ones. In fact, other studies have found we gravitate to news stories that have a negative connotation than “good news” — hence the current news cycle.

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Practicing gratitude is among the most effective ways to change how we look at life. More often than not, there is something worth celebrating in any situation.

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Even the most trying of situations can build character, resilience, and mental fortitude. It just takes a long time after the fact to recognize its value.

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Having a gratitude journal and jotting down the things you’re grateful for is a powerful way to clear your mind of unneeded negativity.

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Journaling about what we are grateful for can improve our mental and even emotional well beings, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

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In the repetitive day-to-day grind of the work week, take a few minutes to truly think about the good in your life. A clear and grateful mind will translate to being happier at work. Your brain, job, and overall health will thank you for it.

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Conclusion

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Work can often be tedious, frustrating even. Nothing in life is perfect, which means you’ll always have something to do. No matter the industry you’re in, gratitude and self-love are universal, but it’s too easy to neglect that.

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How you spend your time in the office or retail floor has a profound effect on your everyday life — and just like in everyday life, it never hurts to shake things up.

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