Things I Do At Work To Make The Days Better, Happier, and More Productive

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• Wear clothing that makes me happy. I’ve already been over exactly what I think of office dress codes ad nauseum. I push the line every day with bright colors, scarves around my wrists, textured and colorful tights, big hair, and rings large enough to break noses if I were inclined to throw punches. No one’s raised an eyebrow yet. [Sidenote: Fasshonaburu has posted a great list of challenges she uses to push herself to dress amazingly every day—despite a dress code.]
• Set my BlackBerry’s alarm for every ninety minutes. When it goes off, I take a break from staring at the screen and walk around the office for ten minutes. Good for my eyes, posture, concentration, and metabolism. Allows me to stretch. Get water. Moisturize. Think about something that doesn’t involve contracts, content management system implementation, or PowerPoint webinars [cringe!].
• Spend a couple minutes at the end of the day straightening up. I loathe disorganization in a workspace, and it’s a drag to arrive to a messy office. Plus, you all know how I much I love cleaning and organization [they tell me I'm a Virgo at heart], so it gives me a good, stress-free way to wrap up each day. Extraneous paper goes to the recycling; dishes to the office kitchen; email box cleaned out to Inbox Zero levels; and desktop wiped down with a damp cloth. Yum.
• Bring a good lunch, and enjoy every bite work-free. I guess somewhere in some part of the world, there are people who eat at their desks with their email account open and their work spread in front of them and their BlackBerries at their fingertips. I am not one of these. My twenty-minute lunch is spent solely on my own – working on non-work-related writing, making phone calls, catching up with my personal email, and stretching after the meal is over.
• Work out every day in the office gym after hours. The free gym in my building is a perk that I’m determined not to take for granted. After all, the minute this contract gig is up, I’ll have to start paying for a gym membership. [Because, honestly? I'm liking working out so much that the idea of not doing it makes me sad.] So as long as it’s free, I’m using the hell out of it. And after wrapping up a nine-hour work day with a clean office and a clear head, this is my favorite way to re-energize after work and make sure I don’t just go straight home and crash for the night.
• Limit my office coffee intake. The coffee, like the gym, is free. However, unlike the gym, the coffee sucks. So I’m skipping it altogether in favor of two tall glasses of ice water on my desk at all times. If I wake up groggy and really need the caffeine, the gentleman friend and I make a quick Dunkin’ Donuts stop on the way to our respective offices.
• Maintain my extracurriculars. Yes,The Minor Leagues are amidst heavy rehearsals in preparation for our upcoming tour dates, EP release, and video shoot. Yes, I’m supplying both Fabricate and Chicken Lays an Egg with a steady stream of handmade goods, plus keeping up with a bunch of custom orders. Yes, my blog updates have been more regular than they’ve ever been in the entire seven years I’ve called myself a blogger. Yes, Chris and I have found time to learn new design skills together. Know why? Because although I’m loving what I’m doing, this gig is temporary. And I’m going to feel really crappy if, when this gig is up, I’ve neglected everything else I love. So I’m not going to.

Related posts:

1. Business Professional Dress: WTF?
2. Losing Your Work Without Losing Your Mind