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Key points
- At least some aspects of work are (or become) routine, zapping enthusiasm.
- Fortunately there are steps you can take to inject some renewed enthusiasm or zest at work.
- These six strategies are straightforward but require intentionality.
Nearly all work becomes routine, and it’s common to lose some of the interest or zest that keeps you fully engaged and doing your best work. You may be doing well with regard to performance, but how do you feel about your job? Do you recall an earlier time when you felt more positive about it? While there are no surefire ways to recapture earlier levels of excitement about your work, here are six strategies to consider.
1. Seek out something new to learn.
The goal here is to stretch or challenge yourself a bit. What can you learn more about that would enhance your performance, align with your personal interests, or both? This strategy isn’t something that is required of you by your employer but is, rather, your choice to go a bit above and beyond expectations. The effect can be a spark of renewed energy, followed by a sense of pride in further developing as a professional.
2. Enhance relationships.
If you interact with customers or clients, what might happen if you intentionally went a bit beyond your usual style and displayed a little more attention, enthusiasm, and interest? It won’t feel natural at first, but consider it an experiment and take note of the possible effects on both you and the other person.
What about colleagues and coworkers? Is there someone with whom you work that you don’t already know extremely well? Make it your goal to change that, being sure to exhibit genuine interest in learning a bit more about that person. It can be helpful to take the lead by disclosing a bit more about yourself before asking about the other person. In particular, look for things you have in common, or skills and abilities of which they are proud.
3. Be a resource.
You have skills, abilities, and experience that you may take for granted. Although it may not be part of your job description, how might you offer these to people with whom you work? Is there someone who might benefit from your mentorship? Is there a resource you can create that would be beneficial to others, such as a training sheet or video? Are there specific others to whom you could communicate that you are available for help with specific information or tasks? Make the invitation.
4. Take a process improvement perspective.
Imagine coming in from outside your organization and examining your job. What would someone notice if their role was to observe you all day and take good notes as to how your job is carried out? Might they notice little ways to be more efficient or effective? Even if the current outcome is fine, are there ways the process could be altered so that the outcome is more frequently extraordinary? Take on this outsider role and discover some things that may surprise you.
5. Put your own stamp on it.
Are there little ways you could alter your work to align more with your strengths, interests, and personal style? How might you work in ways that are unique to you? What aspects of your work do you like most, and least? The overarching goal here is to find little ways to make your work a bit more appealing by tailoring it to you personally. There will always be aspects of work that are unappealing but required. Can some of those be traded with others? If not, can they be batched or scheduled in ways to reduce the pain?
6. Pair with the pleasant.
When possible, follow up less-desirable tasks with more pleasant experiences. The temptation is to put off the least appealing aspects of work, which creates a sense of looming dread, even if mild. Instead, use the more desirable tasks as reinforcement for knocking out the others. Doing so provides motivation and, over time, less hesitancy over tackling relatively unpleasant aspects of work.
If you have the opportunity, practice activity bundling: simultaneously performing work while also enjoying a pleasant experience such as conversation, or listening to music or a podcast. Of course, this applies to work that is routine and does not require much attention. Even then, however, your situation may not allow for explicit activity bundling. In that case, you can engage in grateful reminiscing. This practice involves mentally reliving experiences that were particularly enjoyable or meaningful, doing so as vividly as possible, and re-experiencing the emotions you felt then. Effects include increased happiness.
Of course, not all of these strategies may apply to your situation and interests. A common thread among them is intentionality. That is, consciously going a bit beyond your typical behavior at work. In each case, approach it as an experiment, with an eye toward noticing any effects. That perspective alone fosters engagement, as it breaks you out of your usual pattern or operating on autopilot. Routine is both efficient and psychologically comfortable. Unfortunately, the cost is often the decreased zest that we’re aiming to reinvigorate with these six practices.
References
Bryant, F.B., Smart, C.M. & King, S.P. (2005). Using the Past to Enhance the Present: Boosting Happiness Through Positive Reminiscence. Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol. 6, pgs. 227–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3889-4
