Monday Tips wanted

For a while now, I haven’t been putting up new Monday tips – you know those fun, easy, little things you can do in five minutes or less to make yourself or someone else happy at work.

I gotta come clean here: I’ve sorta run out of ideas. I try to come up with new ones, but I’m stuck. I need your help!

What do YOU do to spread some happiness at work? What are the little things others have done that cheered you up at work? What would be a really cool thing to do to make the workplace more fun?

The only requirements are that it must be easy, fun and something you can do in five minutes or less. Write a comment if you have any experiences/ideas and we’ll re-invigorate the Monday tips together.

Comments

14 responses to “Monday Tips wanted”

March 14, 2007

Peter

I have a colleague who is doing “the presence” at our workplace… Something like “people present and ready to have some fun today”… all I have to answer is “Present!”… and she goes something like “Mr. Peter is ready!” (altho I’m 30 she makes it sound like I’m an accomplished 50 years old university professor, like I have arrived)

I believe that every great tip you can find if distiled enough will be reduced to one word: ubuntu
There are many possible translations in English for ubuntu, including:
* “Humanity towards others”
* “I am because we are”
* “I am what I am because of what we all are”
* “A person ‘becomes human’ through other persons”
* “A person is a person because of other persons”
(Copy & Paste from the Wikipedia article)
March 14, 2007

david

Good Morning :-)))))))
For a while now i have been doing with a couple of coleagues what i call “music Happiness”.
Every morning when i get to my workplace, i am usually the first to arrive, arround 8:00 a.m., (i don’t have insomnia but i get better parking as i park in the street and enjoy for 45′ of quite workplace) i think of a good song that could cheer up my colleagues and then i send an e-mail with a good morning message with the link of the song in my HD.
I sent a specific song individually and depends on the other people music likings (i’ve investigated a bit) and also of the weeck day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
March 14, 2007

Sarah

Sorry but this one takes an hour. I try to take an hour lunch break each day and GET OUT OF THE OFFICE. Fresh air, walk, lunch, chat, sunshine (if weather permits) etc. It’s a good way to get to know your work colleagues and I think it really helps in reducing stress. I often find that I have a clearer head when I return to my work hence increased productivity. It’s a simple suggestion but I think that there are a lot of people who just work through lunch and eat at their desk. You could pick someone new to have lunch with each Monday!

Sorry if this has been suggested already. :-)
March 14, 2007

Amber

Silly Putty. I bought a pound of Silly Putty in bulk and gave a chunk to each of my team. It is amazing the pen holders, stress relievers, sculptures, etc. that have evolved. Well worth the $15!
Cheers!
March 14, 2007

marie

we do all sorts of things around the office, from spirit days to wear we get to wear jeans and anything that we have that has a company logo to contests. one thing we did that’s new is called a snap board. it’s peer to peer recognition rather than always waiting for the supervisors to recognize people and anyone in the company can do it. we had a bulliten board in which we got it started and after 3 days the board was completely full and it’s spread to the walls surrounding the board. everyone here loves it! we also like to hang up pictures of people in the company doing different events and such or just around the office. we have a pretty wide variety of things we do in the office. we have a really good time.
March 14, 2007

shel

I put a bowl of peppermint lifesavers (you can buy them in bags, individually wrapped for hygene) on my desk. Lots of people stop by and grab one – which has lead to some great conversations – work and other wise. I also have a Rubic’s Cube, a Magic 8 Ball, and this bizarre plastic ball made up of geometric parts that cause it to flip inside out (changing its colour) when tossed in the air, a mini Zen garden, and other items to busy one’s hands while talking – or just hanging out. It’s a great way to create a relaxing atmosphere!
March 20, 2007

Eileen Chadnick

Fantastic request! I am going to trackback some of these tips from my blog (thank you) in an upcoming Monday post. But in the meantime, I do have one of my own tips to offer and it’s quick:

Before you start your day – take a minute to jot down a quick, yet meaningful, gratitude list. Write down at least 3 (but more is better) things you are grateful for wrt to your worklife (e.g. colleagues, the work itself, the culture/environment, learning opps, clients, etc.). Even for those of us that love our work, sometimes getting back to work after a break (weekend or holiday) can be tough but focusing on the stuff that gives your work-life meaning makes a great big mindset shift. And a la Seligman (authentic happiness), gratitude is a key component to happiness.

I have some other tips on an early post in my blog (www.tgimworklife.com) if you’d like to visit:)

P.S You are doing FAB work…I love your style and joie!

Best,
Eileen
March 21, 2007

Alexander

Thanks for the tips people – this rebooted my brain about Monday tips, and they are now back starting with Sarah’s excellent idea about getting out of the office.

Thanks!!!
May 21, 2007

Monday Tip: Workplace fun and games

[…] Amber recommends Silly Putty. I bought a pound of Silly Putty in bulk and gave a chunk to each of my team. It is amazing the pen holders, stress relievers, sculptures, etc. that have evolved. Well worth the $15! […]
July 4, 2007

G. Saintiny

I like to distribute a few notes written in felt-tip marker on a Post-It Notes.

I use felt-tip because it keeps me from writing too much. I usually put a happy face on it, too.

Little things, like “Great report!”

It’s simple, but I got a couple such notes at different times, and it felt great!

Truly,
G. Saintiny
Check out my book-for-kids site. . . .
DOLPHIN Vs shark chapter book, grades 3-4:
http://lickittydolphin.tripod.com
July 23, 2007

Monday Tip: Change your to-do list to a could-do list

[…] a tip from Hilda Carroll, who wrote me with a great idea that you can try this Monday: I saw your request for tips, and this is something I
July 24, 2007

Jakob

This might also take a little more than an hour at first (but you’ll appreciate it later): I would recommend using a professional online to-do service. The best one I’ve found is Gootodo — http://www.gootodo.com — which is really cool in many ways. Most importantly, though, it supports the “letting your bits go”-principle where you just see the to-dos that are relevant for you at this time.
October 14, 2007

Gal Morale

Keep a Smile File – filled with little notes, photos, emails, etc. that make you smile. Click on my link to see what I keep in mine.

Why keep a smile file? Because when you’re having one of those days….and we all do….a smile is just a file away! :-)

Warmly,
Donna Cutting
aka Gal Morale
March 15, 2011

Kelsey

Amber Said – Where did you buy just 1 lb. of silly putty. I can only find 5 lbs…I would really like one!
Thanks!