Happy, productive working you

Of course, you are perfectly happy in the perfect job with the perfect work environment.  But for all your cow-orkers who are less than brillaint, less than happy, and less than desirable to have around because they are so unhappy, point them to this guide to having a more productive workplace and being happier on the job.

11. Cultivate Compassion for Negative Coworkers. People who are negative are that way for a reason. They may have difficulties you don’t know about. Try to be compassionate and non-judging. If you’re a manager, people still need to meet benchmarks, but you don’t have to dislike them if they are not cutting it. When you encounter a negative person, you have the choice to either be affected by the negativity or to be the one who influences the other person. It’s a decision. Choose to stay positive. Instead of saying (in your head or out loud) “Oh, that Suzy-Q! Her negativity always ruins my day,” try thinking “Poor Suzy-Q. She must have some difficulties. I wish her peace. In spite of her negativity I will try to be a positive influence around her.”

See.  It’s not you.  They’re defective.  Don’t let their character flaws bring you down.  🙂

3. Turn off Your Computer. “What?!” you say. “Everything is done on my computer!” Well is it really? What percentage truly is? Plan to have your computer on only for that amount of time each day. Plan out blocks of time for different computer tasks and work from a checklist to keep you focused. Giving your eyes a rest from the screen will give you more energy for creating. Even if you just close your eyes as you think of a response to an email can help too.

Ow.  That hurts just thinking about it.

More seriously, though – it is a good list.  There are a lot of things I know realistically I’ll never do, but others with better discipline could probably excel with many of the suggestions.

[tags]More productivity, Happy worker, GTD, Getting things done[/tags]