Category: Monday Tips

Your mission this monday is to ask yourself who you have been helping today.

Before you leave work, take five minutes to sit down and write down a list of five ways you have contributed today. Five ways:

• You have helped others today
• You have made other people’s lives easier
• You have made others happier at work

It can be big things or small things. It can be helping co-workers, customers, business partners, suppliers or others.

There are three reasons why it’s important to stop once in a while and remember who you’re helping:

1. When you help someone, you obviously make the helpee feel good
2. It also feels great to know that you are able to contribute.
3. It helps you to find meaning in you
4. job. Work is now about more than just doing your work – it’s about helping others and contributing to something other than just your own welfare.

Do this exercise today and write a comment to tell us how it worked. If you liked it, repeat it every day this week to get a more complete picture of who you’re helping.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Is there an apology you should’ve made, that you’ve been postponing? Make it this monday.

Apologizing at work is a hugely important skill. A well-timed, sincere apology is a great way to resolve conflicts, to enhance learning and to move on from difficult situations.

So if you’ve recently made a mistake, annoyed someone, spoken to harshly, etc. take the chance and apologize right now.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Starting a new job can be a scary experience. You have new tasks, new co-workers, new rules, a new manager, new everything.

So your mission for this monday is to do something for a person who’s come to your workplace recently. Seek out a new co-worker – say, someone who’s been there three months or less – and ask that person how things are going and what they like about working here.

Get to know that person if you don’t already. Where did he work before? Where does she live? How’s the new job going?

If there’s any way you can help, make sure to offer your advice, your thoughts or your help. New people often appreciate a little help at first and at the very least some positive interest is always nice.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Your mission this monday has three steps. Step 1: make a list of three happy people at work. Three people (or two or four or five) who are:

• Generally happy and cheerful
• Spread a good mood around them by being happy
• Simply good to have around

It can be a co-worker, your boss, someone from another department, the receptionist… or even a customer or the FedEx guy.

Step 2: Think about what it means to have these happy people around. What does it do for you and others? What do you enjoy about it? How do they improve the workplace and your working day?

Step 3: Find a way to thank them. Be specific based on what you found in step 2 and let them know exactly what their positive attitude does for you and others.

You see, naturally happy people are a huge boon to any organization, but often they don’t know how much it means to others that they are so happy. So make sure to let them know! Also, it’s just too easy to always bitch about the negative people who’re always in a bad mood and infect others with that. Instead, make a point of remembering how many nice people are also around you!

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Your mission for this monday is to have a conversation with another person in your workplace about this topic: What do we like about working here?

Possible subtopics could be:

• Which people do we appreciate
• What do we like about our jobs
• What’s the best thing about working here

Do it over lunch, coffee, cigarettes, in a break, or…

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Your mission for today is to pick 5 people that you think deserve praise and send them each an email praising them or their work.

Not a loooooong mail, just a couple of lines and, of course, the email has to be specific to that person – you can’t send out a generic email to 5 people sayng “great work guys!”

You can write something like

Hi John

I’m just writing to say that I really appreciated your input at our last meeting. Those were some really good ideas. Thank you!

Best regards

Alex

And here’s the crucial part: At the bottom of the mail ask each of them to send 5 other people a similar email:

I’ve sent an email to 5 people who I feel really deserve honorable mention – now it’s your turn. Think of 5 people who you feel deserve praise and send them each a similar email, including this instruction to pass on the praise. Let’s see what happens!

Then stand back and watch an avalanche of praise rip through the organization.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Your mission this monday, is to make today positive day. Positive day is about focusing on the good stuff rather than the bad stuff, and while you will be doing exactly what you normally do, you’ll be doing it with a positive focus.

Here are the ground rules for positive day:
1: See the good in everything
If somebody brings up a co-worker, the boss, a client, an event from last week, a sports game or last night’s movie you’re only allowed to talk about what you liked about it. The good stuff only. If you have nothing good to say, say nothing. Or change the subject to a positive topic.

2: Agree first
If someone comes to you with a suggestion, and idea or a new thought, you are, of cours, allowed to disagree, but you must first say what you like about the idea and what you agree with.

3: No complaining
Sorry, but today you can’t complain. Remember, it’s only for a day, so tomorrow you can complain to your heart’s content, but not today. You’re absolutely allowed to do something about any problems you see. But you can’t bitch about it to anyone.

4: Remember the good stuff
Before you go home, do this: Write down five things that made you happy at work today.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Your mission this monday is to learn three things about a co-worker, that you didn’t already know.

That’s it: Over lunch or in a coffee break or something, take the time to learn at least three new things you didn’t already know about one co-worker. About their professional background, education, private life, etc…

Simple, huh? :o)

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

Did you know that because we are descended from nomads, the human body is really designed to walk 10 km a day. Less physical activity than that is actually harmful.

Spending a day sitting in your car, at your desk, in your car and on the couch in front of the TV is as unhealthy as smoking a pack of cigarettes. No kidding!

Most of us today have jobs that are high on brain activity and low on physical activity – not good. A body is more than “that thing, that carries my head from one meeting to the next,” and the state of your body is vital for your physical well-being and for your creativity and energy.

So today, do what you would normally do – but move your body while you do it. Walk around a little while talking on the phone. Have a stand-up meeting. Sit as little as possible. Walk over to talk to colleagues, instead of emailing or phoning. Basically use every chance you get to activate your body.

Notice how it feels and how this may actually make you less tired both mentally and physically than sitting passively in your chair all day.

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.

This monday, your mission is really simple: All morning, give everyone you meet an extra warm greeting. Smile broadly. Say “Good morning” in a cheerful voice. Take time to ask people how they are (really, not the fake “how are you” greeting).

Don’t worry if people don’t answer or don’t smile back – it’s not a slight on you they may just be preoccupied or having a bad day. When that happens smile even more at the next person :o)

The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

Previous monday tips.