Our working lives are long. The average age of retirement is now well into our 60’s, and many of us will be forced to work even longer as we live longer, face the rising costs of living, and continue to pay for the homes that we couldn’t afford to buy until our late 40’s. If you start work while you are still studying at 18, you could easily work for 50 years.
While some of us still work in the same industry, or even for the same company for the whole of our working lives, this is becoming much less common. It’s thought that the average worker will have around 10 jobs over the course of their working lives, spanning a variety of industries and job hopping is becoming more common. Changing jobs or career paths is a common occurrence as we weather the various economic storms, strive for that perfect employment that gives us great flexibility, the ideal work-life balance, plenty of money, friends and confidants, room to grow and progress and fills us with passion. More of people than ever are seeking a career change to find something that better suits our needs and desires, and many people are making the leap to launch their own business or go it alone as a freelancer.
When you are surrounded by stories of people successfully tackling a career change in later life, or managing to turn their side hustle into a profitable business, it can be tempting to do the same yourself. Many of us will leave a job, to seek pastures new at the first sign of trouble. Instead of sticking it out, we leave as soon as a rough patch comes along. Only to find that the grass isn’t greener. Some people then, unfortunately, spend years hopping from one bad or unsuitable job to the next. Never settling, never happy and never giving themselves the chance to learn, grow or progress. This usually leads to a lack of fulfilment and an unhappy career. So, instead of just jumping ship after a few unhappy days, could it be worth sticking it out, getting through the rough patch, hoping for better times ahead, and even finding ways to fall back in love with your work again?Here are 5 easy tricks to fall in love with your work again…
Take a Break
It’s totally normal to get fed up of work from time to time. If you work long hours or a particularly stressful job, it can be easy to start to resent it. You may feel like work is all that you do, that you don’t have time for your friends and family or to do anything for yourself. You can start to resent going in to work simply because it means that you can’t do other things, or because you are too tired to enjoy it.
Regular holidays are crucial if you want to enjoy your work long term. If you don’t take your annual leave, start. You are entitled to it and should make the most of it. Try to space your time off throughout the year, so that you’ve always got something to look forward to. Then, make sure your weekly days off aren’t all filled with errands and chores. Spend some of them doing something fun or catching up on rest.
Look at the Bigger Picture
Connecting your work to a larger personal goal can help you avoid procrastination or that fed up feeling. If you see your job as a stepping stone to achieving greater goals you’d like to achieve, then you feel you have a purpose that will keep you motivated. So say you have children and saving up to pay for their university, keep that goal in mind and you’ll feel way more motivated throughout the day.
Set Yourself Some Achievable Daily Goals
Not having daily goals to work towards can demotivate us. You can start to feel lost and listless if you have nothing to achieve. You’ll just go through the motions, and you are bound to get bored. If you feel like this, set yourself achievable daily work goals or sit down with a superior or colleague to come up with some together. Make sure they are targets that you can reach, and that they will help to push you forward long term.
Go Back to School
A new job is exciting. There’s a lot to learn and understand. We don’t get bored until we feel as though we know it all. Fresh knowledge and challenge can be great. Something like an online MSN MBA can help you to push for promotions and boost your career. But, smaller training courses can help too. Think about what you’d like to learn and look at what is available to you.
Learn to Switch Off
Do you go home and think about work? Do you spend your days off checking emails or looking at your works social media feeds? Most of us do. This means that you never get a real break. Even when you’re not there, you are switched on.
Learning how to switch off gives your mind a rest and helps to keep it focused when it needs to be. Exercise, reading, talking about your day, cooking, taking a relaxing bath and even just getting changed are all great ways to switch off after work so that you can really make the most of your time off.
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” -Maya Angelou
Stay fabulous
Christine
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