Increase your work happiness

11 SIMPLE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS AT WORK

Post date: 

29 Apr 2015 - 3:30pm

[Pic Source]

What is one simple practice I can adopt to be happier at work?

Leave the Office

"There are ample opportunities to get up and go for a quick walk throughout the day. Disagree? Then you need to learn to delegate. If you have a scheduled call that doesn’t require you to be on a computer, plug in your headphones and take the call while walking around the block. There is also an Internet hotspot about every 15 feet; you might give them a try from time to time.” — Adam Callinan, Beachwood Ventures

Form Morning Rituals

“In the morning, do you get on top of the day or does it get on top of you? Solid morning rituals can help ensure you get on the right track — and stay there. I meditate, exercise, have a healthy breakfast and write out the things I’m grateful for all before I get into the office. I find that these rituals center me and help keep a smile on my face for the entire day.” — Mark Krassner,Knee Walker Central

Incorporate Family

“Whether it is working with family or doing activities with employees and their families, this is something that shows that each person is a member of a family working together. Also, it will make people more comfortable and therefore, more productive.” — Bryan Silverman, InStall Media

Think About Your Team

“Thinking about the members of my team makes me happy. These are the people I enjoy working with who are really motivated, recognize problems and opportunities and take action. I just try to remember each and every one of them and how grateful I am to have them in my life. I also think of our customers as individuals and how grateful I am to have these great people in my life.” — Dan Price, Gravity Payments

Meditate

“Meditation is a key tool I use to work happy, and there are so many benefits of a daily meditation practice. In its simplest form, it’s about taking a minute to close your eyes, tune into your body and focus on your breath. Even Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll incorporated meditation into training leading up to the Super Bowl. And you know how that game turned out…” — Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World

Outsource

“Figure out the things that are sucking time and making you miserable, and find a way to outsource them. Whether you hire support staff or outsource to freelancers, figuring out what you like to do and focusing on those things will make you infinitely happier and more productive!” — Alexis Wolfer, The Beauty Bean

Be Grateful

“Say “thank you” every day to your staff, your partner and your family. Show gratitude and appreciate what you have.” — Joe Apfelbaum, Ajax Union

Try Improv

“For the past few years, I’ve been sneaking off to musty classrooms and tiny theaters to learn and perform improv comedy. Initially, I started this as a fun hobby, but it’s turned out to have an enormous impact on the way I work. It taught me tricks such as “Yes, and,” along with the importance of stating the obvious. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be happier and have more fun at work.” — Robert J. Moore,RJMetrics

Keep Your Team Happy

“Don’t be caught up in the traditional 9 to 5. It’s okay to have your staff start at 10 a.m. on certain days or end early on Friday. Reward yourself and your team for hard work with small perks. Keeping a happy team keeps you happier at work and makes working long days worthwhile. ” — Amanda L. Barbara,Pubslush

Learn Every Day

“Work can get mundane when you’re doing the same thing day in and day out. An easy way to make work more engaging is to learn new things as you contribute to the company. Grow your mind as you help your company grow. Don’t be afraid to be open with your employer about learning. Bosses love employees who want to build skills, and many of them will bring you into the fold if you show promise.” — Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

Take It One Day at a Time

“Take it one day at a time. Each day has its own problems, so why stress about tomorrow?” — Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launchedStartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

"We leave no one behind."

Cycling or bicycling or just plain biking is big business in Singapore today with everyone - young, old, and the elderly dipping their hands into the cake. 

With the booming trade in bicycles and bike accessories hitting an unprecedented high, it was not long before queues formed at the local bike shops and upmarket ones, to check out the new craze in commuting, exercise, race, tour or just the familiar ego trip. 

Two years ago, I bought my first foldie, a $750 Giant Chiron2 from a Tay Cycle in Tampines St 11. As a newbie, the design of the white bike attracted my attention, though the folding mechanism is nowhere near the more popular Bromptons which costs four times as much. It took me a while to get comfortable with the Chiron, especially with the fold. 

My first ride with a popular bike group resulted in a near disaster. I was in the last group, the slowest group, to leave Tampines Plaza en-route to East Coast Park. We were assured that the safety officers or sweepers would not leave anyone behind. 100 metres after I started off at the rear of the group, I felt an uncharacteristic swerve of the bike, as if someone else was in control. I know it sounds eerie and unreal. Suddenly, both the front and rear wheel tracked left and the centre joint separated. The fold had come undone! Silly me had not checked the locking mechanism to ensure its security. Good thing I wasn't riding fast approaching the first pedestrian crossing at the Tampines MRT station towards Holy Trinity Church.

I fixed the problem in no time but because the Red Man was flashing and the beeper had sounded, I had to wait out for the next cycle. I looked around and discovered that I was the only cyclist from the group there. So where was the sweeper - talk about not leaving anyone behind! I was absolutely new to the route to ECP and had no idea where to turn.

I decided to proceed on the PCN towards the church hoping to see some cyclists ahead. Unfortunately, there was none. Our sweeper must have taken the lead to push the last group in joining up with the rest who were already far ahead. I wasn't aware that I had to take the long overhead bridge across the PIE to reach Simei. I circumnavigated the blocks of flats but it only confused me and led me back to Tampines Avenue 2. My decision was practical and final - return home via St 23.

You guessed right. I was fuming mad!

The Big Move

The Simei unit has been rented out and now the family is homed in a 1,700 sq feet unit in Tampines. From a family unit of 8 persons - it sure was packed to the brim - the number has now ballooned to 12, mind you. But that's fine considering that the new additions are welcome as family members from Penang and a maid from Philippines. 

Merger

"It's good news," he intoned to the 600 or so gathered at 0730 hr this morning. "We are not closing down and they are not closing down. It's a merger."

The staff had already been briefed a day earlier with the key personnel getting an earful even earlier that day. To the unbelieving ears of the 500 students, the 'good news' came like a bolt of alienating thunder. But of course, the good-natured principal reminded them, "I know you are very excited!" Excited about ... ?

     My last post in 2011 seems like a decade ago. Spurred on by Pauline, who has been curious to read my blog, I tried several times to locate my blog without success - talk about 'out of sight, out of mind'. 

     The real motivation came this mid-afternoon when she called and pointedly said she had not been successful in locating my blog. It set me on a multi-platform search. Found it ... and the first thing I did was to provide my blogger ID to her using Whatsapp and half the time chatting to her on our office lines.

10 Signs of Midlife Crisis

1 Job Change:
This is a terrifying early warning sign that meltdown is imminent. When he comes home and announces he is leaving his 30-year career in insurance to open a home-brew supply business, you know you're in for a bumpy ride.

2 Death-defying behaviour:
And potentially widow-making. This is when he comes home and announces he is going to take up rally driving/BASE-jumping/big wave surfing. "Life is short," he philosophises. "I don't want to die without ever having thrown myself off a cliff."

3 Grooming:
When one day he looks in the mirror and sees some old guy looking back at him. Eeeek! He panics, ditches his trusty barber for a stylist who does highlights, books in for a back wax and buys a new wardrobe and some musky scent.

4 Reverting to twenties behaviour:
This classis attempt at recapturing lost youth usually involves the suddent desire to go to music concerts, drink excessively, and live on nothing but junk food and two-minute noodles. This will ultimately undo or lead to point 5.

5 Exercise frenzy:
He's at the gym three mornings a week and watches his reflection in the window as he lifts the new flat-screen out of the car. One of the few MLC symptoms to be encouraged.

6 Outrageous purchases:
You come home from work to find a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy/Hummer parked in the driveway and a 65-inch flat-screen TV installed in the shed. That money was supposed to last you until your were 90, but it's nice to see him smiling - for a change.

7 Flirting:
The old "have I still got it?" trap. It's a nagging question that leads many a man of a certain age to drop his voice an octave, lean casually on reception desks while flicking back his newly highlighted hair and say things like,"Let's hook up for a Cosmopolitan," to girls younger than his own daughter. Mostly harmless but can lead to over-inflated egos and/or arrest.

8 Seeking out old loves:
This is either in the obvious form of finding his first girlfriend on Facebook, rediscovering the rush of skateboarding or digging out his old amp and bass for a jam. This is a desperate attempt at reminding himself of who he used to be and why people liked him. Can lead to bouts of self-absorbed nostalgia and using words like "cool" a lot.

9 Irresponsibility:
He get the words "free spirit" tattooed across his shoulders, starts paying for everything on credit and stays up until 2am watching soccer.

10 Excessive reminiscing:
"Remember that time when the band played and we all stayed up all night drinking beer and talking about how one day we'd ... blah blah blah."

courtesy of Reader's Digest, August 2009

Newbie Catch

On a day when all and sundry, and that includes yours truly, caught nothing - not even a bite - Yan Jean had every reason to grin from ear to ear with her very first catch, a peacock bass. She had everything against her: her rod was medium-action, she had no lures, she was using a 30 lb line, her old reel had malfunctioned.

This would have discouraged many a novice on their first outing but not her. Initially, she had WeiHao instruct her on the basics of luring in fresh water and as she whipped her first cast into the air, she cast (pun intended) her wary eyes around embarrassingly hoping no one would have noticed her short cast. After several such casts, her spinning reel jammed because of the backlash in her line. She sat quietly for half an hour at the edge of the water to sort out the 'birdnest', but the more she tried the worse it became. She finally decided to discard the line and use one of my reels with an 8 lb line.

From the legal spot, she moved surreptitiously to an illegal spot deeper in the forest with WeiHao, QiJian and Yeshun in tow, while I remained 'legal'. Half an hour later, I heard a commotion and when I turned around, Yan Jean and her male escorts returned and she proudly announced, "I have a fish!". After a round of congratulations and good wishes, I got her to pose with her first catch. Embarrassed at first - notice her expression in the second picture - we had to coax her to smile. By jolly, she really smiled. So, what did she do with her first catch? She gave it to a fellow fisho. Great catch, Yan Jean!

My First Peacock Bass at Lower Peirce Reservoir

Lower Peirce Reservoir is a relatively new spot for me and imagine my excitement when this critter was hauled out of the depths, more so because that's my new $40 Shimano rod and spinner lure I was using. For me, it's a baptism of sorts to ensure that I land something with my rods and lures. It's an initiation ceremony, I guess.

And now it's my turn ...

This is my very first catch at Lower Peirce Reservoir on a new spinner - just next to the mouth of the peacock bass. We had been luring all morning and had packed and were ready to leave for Lower Seletar Reservoir when I decided to do a few more casts. It was released back into the waters after this picture was taken and I can tell you that this denizen heaved a sigh of relief when it found itself in familiar surroundings. Without batting an eyelid, it took off into deeper waters to live another day. Well, I'll be back at LPR when you weigh 2.5 kg, then. Bye ...

We had two but the others had none

This peacock bass took Wei Hao's white fly as he was reeling it in. PBs are taken in by flies and they chase them on a quick retrieve. We were fortunate because two were landed while other anglers stared blankly at their triple hooks wondering what went wrong.

My PB, my rod and reel

You just can't help but notice that Wei Hao is grinning from ear to ear, lying next to his 2-week-old Shimano Bassteria bait-caster, a low-profile Seahawk reel and his second landing of a peacock bass at Lower Peirce Reservoir on 5 Dec 2008. He had just switched to a white fly with a small weight, after casting the better part of two hours with various lures, including a popper when he first started. His luck went with the fly and the PB was landed within minutes. When I suggested he lie on the grass with his rod and catch, he was taken aback because he had never seen an angler pose in this manner. However, the good-natured Wei Hao relented and I believe he is going to love this picture, not to mention the catch which was released.

Behold, The Artist!

The stunning, natural colours of the setting sun at Sungei Rengit were arresting enough for me to stop my car by the roadside and fire off a couple of quick shots to capture God's artistic handwork. Every sunset is different and this must surely be the most memorable for me. Every minute, the intensity of colours changed as darkness filtered in. I had no more than five or eight minutes to think of composition, evaluative mode, white balance, ISO and other technicalities before shooting. Thank God, I was at the right place at the right time.

Dusk

As daylight gradually fades and the insidious darkness fills the skies, the iridescent colours of nature play out their last symphony in a myriad collage of beauty for those who have the eyes to behold.

Foul-Hooked

This close-up picture shows how a peacock bass is foul-hooked just outside and below its lower mandible. Usually, PBs are hooked either on its upper or lower mandible as they snap at the lure. Most of the time, the rear triple hook ends up in its mouth though at times, both triple hooks are taken.

Unhooking a Peacock Bass

This PB was foul-hooked - the triple hook lodged at the gills rather than the lips. The caliper-type device at the top of the picture is known as a boga. It is used to lift and weigh the fish; in addition, it comes handy with a measuring tape which serves a useful purpose in establishing its length. The long-nose curved pliers is used to unhook the fish.

The Equipment

This peacock bass was landed with a 6-foot Shimano Bassteria rod on 15-pound mono-line and a low-profile bait casting reel. The lure with two triple hooks is still attached to its mouth. This denizen of the Lower Peirce Reservoir was caught and released on 2 Dec 2008.

Peacock Bass

This was the first PB landed on 24 Nov 2008 at Lower Seletar Reservoir and released back into the water. Most of the anglers at LSR practise catch-n-release (CNR) mainly because luring is a recreational sport; besides, I'm told the Chinese and Malays don't eat PBs because of its 'muddy' taste' - it being a fresh-water species. However, several China foreign workers fish regularly here using baits, though this is illegal in our reservoirs. They rake in small and medium-sized ones and cart them home to eat.

One For The Road

Guess you didn't know I'm into fishing as well! This 1.2kg peacock bass was landed at the Lower Seletar Reservoir with a lure on my 6-foot Shimano Bassteria rod, a low-profile Daiwa multiplier reel and 15 pound mono-line. This was the first of three PBs that I ripped from the waters on 24 Nov 2008. The first one, weighing 1kg, was released while this one was given to a Chinese father and son team who was fishing nearby. I had earlier landed a plate-sized PB which was given to three China youths who had a luckless day angling.

Guess some people have all the luck, right?

GOODNESS, GRACIOUS ME! - The Campaign

Goodness but not Gracious! What are we up to, or more specifically, what have we come to? After more than 20 years of our 'Uniquely Singapore' Courtesy Campaign, we have been found wanting in a large swathe of incompetencies in our Ps and Qs. But why?
Many blame our competitive society and the stress-driven life we're leading - but, we do have a choice, don't we? Others are quick to point their finger at the fact that both parents are working; so, they claim, parents have no time to teach their children well - absurd, I must say.

The Straits Times is the protaganist behind this latest campaign to get our people - and that includes foreigners, as well - to return their utensils and other paraphernalia after their meals at fast-food outlets, food courts and even the ubiquitous hawker centres dotting our little island. I read a comment by a Caucasian, a foreigner, I believe, that everywhere else in the world, except Singapore, in Macdonald's outlets, customers return their trays after dining. He added that perhaps it isn't our culture in Singapore to do this! Goodness, gracious how audacious, Singapore!
Many of us have also seen, and been partisan to the mess that's left behind on the table by diners. We have no qualms about this but more importantly, we don't seem to understand that we are being rude and discourteous to the next diner. I'm sure we have found ourselves in situations where we had to occupy a messy and filthy table, and must have cursed either our bad luck and timing or the previous diners for leaving behind the filth and grime. So why do we need to perpetrate this perpetual cycle? There is a need to break this cycle.
But, of course, there are many who believe we are doing the cleaners a great favour: Their belief systems is so ingrained with the wrong notion that if they don't leave their mess, crockery or utensils around, the cleaners will end up unemployed. So, what's wrong with helping them out with a steady job, right? Wrong! Cleaners will still have a job; it's just that they will now have a lighter load, less stress, more time to do their job better - and it's all for a cleaner and healthier dining environment; that's exactly what we're seeking, a more pleasant and conducive dining experience, aren't we?
Let's do our part, even if there are no stations for us to return our dining paraphernalia, the least we can do is to keep our tables clean - I hope we're doing this at home?

Stone Forest - Yunnan

This is my favourite shot taken in the Stone Forest, though I must admit that it doesn't do justice at all to the magnificent and natural stone formations in this very popular and crowded tourist attraction.
We were trekking up and down through the narrow paths that run between the tall stone formations when it opened into an expanse of flat terrain. The light was brilliant and brought out the richness of the yellow leaves on the tree on my left. On the right was a bicycle - heavens know who it belonged to or how it got there - parked at an incline with the front wheel pointed in the direction of the narrow path, as if saying, "Ride me, please. I'm yours."

All the elements added up to a great picture, so I paused momentarily and triggered my shutter. I had to stop anybody and everybody behind me so they didn't appear in the picture - what arrogance, they must have thought, a photographer with the temerity to halt their natural progress through the Stone Forest?
I shot, thanked them - some were from my group - and moved on to marvel at my good luck: the light changed to a dismal overcast immediately after this. So, it was my good fortune, wouldn't you agree?