5 ways to feel happier at work

Your alarm clock starts beeping at you at 7:00am and you groan, turn it off and drag yourself out of bed and into the shower.

It’s Monday morning and you spent most of yesterday dreading this very moment and chastising yourself for ruining the rest of your weekend.

Most of us dread the end of the weekend, even if we love our job. One of the best ways to tackle the Monday morning gloom is to have things to look forward to in our week, even if they’re not huge plans.

Here are five ways to sprinkle some joy into your work week.

Wake up before you need to.

Okay, I know this one sounds like something that definitely wouldn’t make you happy. But if you roll out of bed and get ready for work in a rush it can feel like you spend your entire day working, especially as we approach winter where it’s getting dark so early.

If you get up early enough to do something that makes you feel good before work, whether that’s exercise, a hobby you enjoy or even just eating a relaxed, slow breakfast, you’ll feel like more of your time belongs to you.

Start work with your favourite drink

Tea, coffee, juice or even water, if you’re able to start work with your favourite drink in hand you’ll find starting your day much more enjoyable.

There’s just something about sipping your favourite beverage that makes tackling your inbox less intimidating and maybe even relaxing.

Mine’s an almond flat white, how about you?

Romanticise your workday

This is a bit of a silly one, but I like to romanticise my life and feel like the main character in a film.

My corporate job just feels a bit more glamorous when I put on a cute blazer, take the time to write my to-do list out in my planner and stroll into the office with overpriced latte in hand.

There’s really something to be said for making the mundane more magical - after all, you worked hard to get where you are. Why not do what you can to enjoy it?

Plan some midweek fun

Sigh. Another week has flown by in a blur, and now you need to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of the weekend before it all starts again.

Stop living for the weekend and start planning fun into your work week - after all, you don’t work every single minute you’re awake, do you?

Instead of doom-scrolling, why not plan dinner with friends, a game night with your family or even a solo pamper night during the week? You’ll have something to look forward to so you’re not itching for Friday and you won’t feel the pressure to cram your weekend full of activities instead of resting.

Remember that it’s only a couple of hours

One thing I used to struggle with was feeling like work took up my whole day. I’d close my laptop at 6pm and feel like there was no time to do anything other than make dinner and maybe catch a few episodes of whatever show I was binge-watching before going to bed.

I felt resentful that work took up so much of my time.

But then I reframed it. Work was actually only eight hours of my day. So if I got eight hours of sleep, I had another eight hours to do whatever I wanted with - that’s a long time!

Note: I now have a child so definitely do not have eight hours of free time per day anymore.

My point is, you are most likely not spending your entire day working, so if you follow the tips in this article, you’ll feel like you have much more time to do what you want and aren’t just living to work.