How to have a great day at work

We’ve all had those days where we wake up and want to go back to sleep for an hour rather than jump out of bed, get ready and head to work — whether that involves leaving the house or not.

If you need some tips on working from home in a house share, then you can head to our blog article on that topic here for some advice.

However, if you’re generally just feeling a little bit miserable during your working day, then it’s time to take a look at the reasons why and action some improvements.

If you are feeling depressed, then this article won’t be of use — instead, you should seek professional advice from your GP or a therapist. These charities may also be helpful.

If that’s not the case, and you’re just feeling a bit ‘meh’ about work, then take a look at our top tips below and see if you can’t transform your workdays into happy days.

By following the ideas below, you should find that, even when something terrible happens at work, you feel more prepared to deal with it.

The best news? A good day at work takes only as much effort as a bad workday, so you’ve nothing to lose!

So, where should you start? Well, a great workday starts the night before.

Preparation

The key to a good day is in the preparation first and foremost. Try these ideas to get your day started in the best possible way.

Do what you can the night before

If you’re not a morning person, then it would do you well to organise things the night before rather than stumbling around half-asleep in the morning, trying to do everything in a rush.

Does it take you a while to decide what to wear for work? Make that decision the night before and hang the whole outfit up, ready to put on the following morning.

If you make your own lunches — or aspire to — then that’s something else you can prepare the night before. If you enjoy a hot lunch, then make an extra portion of your evening meal and pop it in a container for the next day.

If you usually buy your lunch from a shop or café, you could save a lot of money by prepping lunches at home, too.

For an extra boost of positivity, create a balanced lunch full of fruit and veggies. These ten foods can make you smarter.

Get up earlier

This step may seem like unwanted advice right now, but once you have actioned all of the other steps, you will find this more comfortable.

Waking up earlier and giving yourself more time to get ready each morning will make for a relaxed start. After all, you don’t want to be stressed before you’ve even started work!

Inspire yourself

Once you’re awake, take 15 minutes to watch, listen to or read something you find inspirational. This could be anything positive — it doesn’t have to be a self-help series.

What better way to start the day?

Eat breakfast

A simple suggestion but a crucial one — eat your breakfast before you leave the house or get started for the day, and you’ll feel much more awake and ready to face the day.

Nobody wants to deal with their grumpy coworker before they’ve had their cereal and a cuppa!

Remember why you work

It can be helpful to remind yourself of why you go to work and why you chose the job that you are in.

Perhaps you have a family to support, or this job is the first step on your career ladder. Maybe you are working to earn money while you develop your side hustle.

Whatever your reasons, remember why your job is essential to you.

Utilise your commute

If you work outside of the home and tend to spend your commutes half asleep, or scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, then there’s room for improvement.

Create a new motivational, uplifting playlist for yourself every few months and play it before work each day as you travel.

If you work from home, you can stick this playlist on while you get ready!

Execution

When you arrive at work, you can continue the positivity through the actions below.

Get organised

This one step could make a massive difference in your work life. If you usually deal with tasks in an unorganised manner, try taking a look at your jobs for the week or month and listing them in terms of priority.

This could be based on deadlines or size of a task, or even which tasks you prefer. Then, tackle the highest priority tasks first — whether that’s those with the shortest deadlines, the more significant tasks, or the tasks you enjoy the least.

Radiate positivity

If you usually respond with “not too bad”, “could be worse” or even “fine” when asked how you are by a colleague, now’s the time to break that habit.

Next time someone asks you how you are doing, set your brain up for a successful day by responding with something enthusiastic, like “Great, thanks!” or “Fantastic!”

It may sound like a small change, but it can have a significant impact — not only on yourself but on those around you, which in turn will alter the environment you work in.

Avoid negativity

It can be challenging to avoid specific individuals at work but, where possible, try not to spend time with people who bring you down.

With your new outlook, you may find that those people will be avoiding you too, while the more positive people will be gravitating towards you.

Surround yourself with the go-getters and move onwards and upwards.

Don’t work long hours

If there’s a culture of presenteeism in your place of work, don’t get sucked into it.

Through following the ideas outlined in this article, you should find yourself completing tasks much more efficiently, and therefore you do not need to work overtime to get tasks finished.

It’s also worth noting here that working longer hours doesn’t make you more productive.

Head home and enjoy your evening.

Relax after work

Once you finish your work for the day, it’s time to switch off, stop thinking about work, and relax.

If you think about work all evening, you’ll only build resentment towards it.

Instead, fill your evenings with whatever brings you joy — be it spending time with friends and family, hanging out with your housemates, or playing on the Playstation.

End the day with gratitude

What better way to end a day than to reflect on all the positives?

Before you go to bed, spend 15 minutes each night thinking about the day and listing all of the things you are grateful for from it.

This could include things people said, how well a meeting went, or how friendly the stranger was in the coffee shop on your break.

By writing these gratitudes down, you’ll have something to look back on when you’re having a not-so-good day, too.

Overall, approach your working day with positivity, and you will find much more to be happy about.

If you are looking for a house share in the Leeds area, then you can explore our house shares for young professionals on the Pickard Properties website.