Remember when you first started your current job?
Just like in the early throes of dating, you found every interaction exciting. Even the Monday morning staff meeting! Your beloved could do no wrong.
But then, for many people, something happens. After a few years, you start to wake up every morning wondering "Really? Is this what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life?" Small irritations loom large.
1. TAKE A STEP BACK.
Years ago, while running a business for engineering and electronics conglomerate Siemens, Denice Kronau burned out. She blames a mix of ugly travel—flying to India for a four hour meeting, then flying straight back—and perfectionism: "I could play with PowerPoint up until the moment we would beam it up on the wall," she says.
2. ENVISION HAPPINESS.
When were you last happy at work? What would you love to be doing with your time and your life? If the answer looks absolutely nothing like your current job, that’s fine, but it might. Kronau realized that, at age 46, she couldn’t retire completely, and "I didn't want to farm or open a bed and breakfast," she says.
3. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT.
"Why do we wait until exit interviews to tell the truth?" Sostrin laments. It’s a good question. Many people assume their bosses know what they want and are ignoring them, but it’s just as likely that everyone’s caught up in their own little worlds.
4. DO REAL WORK FIRST.
Protect time on your calendar for the parts of your job you love. If that can’t happen during the work day right now, find some other time to do it (I recently wrote about a software engineer who got up to code from 3-5 a.m. before going back to sleep).
1. TAKE A STEP BACK.
Years ago, while running a business for engineering and electronics conglomerate Siemens, Denice Kronau burned out. She blames a mix of ugly travel—flying to India for a four hour meeting, then flying straight back—and perfectionism: "I could play with PowerPoint up until the moment we would beam it up on the wall," she says.
2. ENVISION HAPPINESS.
When were you last happy at work? What would you love to be doing with your time and your life? If the answer looks absolutely nothing like your current job, that’s fine, but it might. Kronau realized that, at age 46, she couldn’t retire completely, and "I didn't want to farm or open a bed and breakfast," she says.
3. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT.
"Why do we wait until exit interviews to tell the truth?" Sostrin laments. It’s a good question. Many people assume their bosses know what they want and are ignoring them, but it’s just as likely that everyone’s caught up in their own little worlds.
4. DO REAL WORK FIRST.
Protect time on your calendar for the parts of your job you love. If that can’t happen during the work day right now, find some other time to do it (I recently wrote about a software engineer who got up to code from 3-5 a.m. before going back to sleep).
5. FIX YOUR PAIN POINTS.
As Siemens’ Chief Diversity Officer, Kronau still travels like a madwoman. But when she flies overnight to Europe from the U.S., she schedules her first meetings later in the day so she can take a nap or hit the gym rather than showering and going straight into her first event. If anything is lost in efficiency, it is made up for by her being much happier.
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