5 Surefire Ways to Make Today Better than Yesterday
You will never enjoy work until you stop blaming others for your dissatisfaction.
5 surefire ways to make today better than yesterday:
#1. Honor the power of words.
One negative interaction erases many positive.
Notice something good about a team member. But don’t erase the good by mentioning the bad in the same interaction.
“You’re doing really great at XYZ, but you suck at ABC,” only serves to erase an affirmation.
People enjoy encouragement more than correction.
- Gratitude is a celebration of something that’s working.
- Persistent criticism drains enthusiasm.
- Complaints produce resistance more than positive change.
- Connect feedback to aspiration. Know what people want for themselves so you can give useful feedback.
Words are rudders.
#2. Embrace the importance of being seen.
One team member told a leader I coach that he could be more available.
Distance is interpreted as disapproval. Disconnection is seen as arrogance.
- Walk around smiling.
- Ask a question and listen.
- Be present when you’re present – no fidgeting, cell phones, or interrupting.
#3. Eliminate one useless activity.
If your schedule is full and you’re dissatisfied with your day, you’re doing too many dissatisfying things.
Do a few more things you love and a few less things you hate.
You have two options if you don’t enjoy what you do. Change your attitude or change what you do.
#4. Practice brief disengagements.
Mindless activity blocks fulfillment. Rushing from one thing to the next might feel important, but eventually frustration sets in.
Disengage from the last thing before you engage in the next thing.
- Mentally check something off your list.
- Breathe deeply for one minute.
- Take a short walk.
- Send a thank-you email.
#5. Look forward.
It’s better to be pulled toward the future than to run from the past.
How does today’s work create your preferred future?
What might make today better than yesterday?
Bonus material:
5 Ways to Flourish at Work (HuffPost)
Flourish: Positive Psychology and Positive Intervention (PDF Utah.edu)
Stop Being Miserable and Learn How to be Happier at Work (Monster)
What might make today better than yesterday? Knowing the people we complimented yesterday are feeling appreciated and are going to keep doing a good job! A simple “You people are doing a great job”, the customer is really appreciative, and commended us today, keep it up! BTW Pizza will be here for Lunch!
Winning the lottery ! Oh I didn’t play! 🙂
LOL. Thanks Tim. It’s great to win a lottery you didn’t play!
We have the power to let others know they matter. 🙂
Surprise someone by giving him/her time off.
“Grace–you have been working extremely hard on fixing XYZ problems. As a token of my appreciation, take the afternoon off and do something special for yourself.
Thanks Paul. I think I need some time off… 🙂
Dan,
Nourishing food for thought and action today. Cheers!
Thanks Cate. Food for thought is good food.
Encouragement and sincere compliments are great motivators, especially when the compliment is specific . You might comment how an associate handled a sensitive matter with diplomacy, or completed a task in record time. You can see the surprised appreciation light up their faces.
Thanks Carole. Specific sure beats general. It also helps motivate the types of behaviors that you want repeated.
Totally agree with you Carole. Being specific also makes it genuine.
The one thing I love doing when I have day like this stuck to the speakerphone in the office is make time while doing emails to give specific and generous thankyous in emails, seeking to amplify the positive – sometimes any little thing – showing I noticed. Then I walk with a beaming smile while getting coffee afterwards.
Thanks Greg. You can’t beat the power of gratitude and smiling!!
“Disengage from the last thing before you engage in the next thing.” I wish that I had read that one before I went to work this morning. I was all over the place today! Although I did get quite a few things completed (eventually), I was indeed very frustrated by the end of the day. In addition to being bogged down by habit, I keep waiting for these horrible things to come from my current supervisor just like all of my previous supervisors. It’s extremely unfair because my current supervisor is one of the best human beings that I have ever met. “One negative interaction erases many positive,” seems to be the theme of my life. So tomorrow I will relax more, breathe more, listen more and definitely use my words.
Thank you so much for all the valuable ideas. I’m going to focus on walking around smiling. I’m often deep in thought and this has been perceived as grumpy/unapproachable in the past.
Hi Dan.
I like your first statement, “You will never enjoy work until you stop blaming others for your dissatisfaction”. It is true that happiness comes from within. Attitude is everything. For me, this is celebrating the small successes and working towards larger successes. This is also reminding myself of the things I am most grateful for in the current situation. I also stay positive by reminding myself of my goals and why I do the work I do to achieve those goals.
I also want to echo your second sentiment about the importance of being seen. I worked in a laboratory with a professor who never took the time to get to know any of the students in her laboratory. She was extremely removed – it felt like she did not really care that we were there working for her. Ultimately, it was very difficult to feel passionate about the work we were doing and the research. I think it is inspiring when important people aren’t too proud to engage with those lower down the totem pole.
When I am trying to make the most out of a day, I definitely try to place my phone in a different room. It sounds silly, but it is out of sight and out of mind. Getting rid of my phone helps to eliminate quite a few useless activities. Today, I placed my phone out of my room. Yesterday, I did not. I found myself very distracted by it yesterday while trying to do work.
I attempted to make today better by waking up early, going on a run, and sitting down to do work. Having a plan and a good attitude has helped me accomplish my long to do list. I also had to go to the grocery store yesterday… Today I did not – that makes all the difference.
Hi Dan,
There are days that I’ve had that I wish were over before they even started throughout my career. With that being said, looking at hard situations and extracting what made that situation so hard can be a great tool for preparing you for similar situations in the future. We learn important lessons through difficult situations which ultimately makes the better days that lie ahead so much better. I like the portion how you reference you’re doing great at “XYZ”, but you suck at “ABC”. Through days that are ultimately going poorly, there may be one shimmering moment through the rough times that make looking back on what you just went through worthwhile. While there may certainly be tasks that someone ultimately is not proficient at, instead of putting them down, offering advice and coaching them up to success is the much more effective method for all parties involved. Personally, my day is packed with meetings and activities from the moment work starts until I’m done for the day (even sometimes after I’m done for the day). I like to give myself something to look forward to at the end of each day that gets me through the sometimes-mundane tasks that I must endure. Whether it may be a walk at the sunset, reading a nice book or simply time to just unwind and clear my head and do literally nothing can make a bad day better and get me in the right state of mind for tomorrow!
Learning and encouraging yourself, build the powerful motto of the day, it’s nothing wrong to move forward with a slower speed. Ask yourself questions, why, and how you can change it to make it better. Try alternative methods the first time without thinking about the risk, that’s enabling you to understand your intuition and trust in yourself. Avoid overthinking and complaining if you want to have a better day than yesterday. When you feel angry or irritated over insignificant things like internet connection, long meetings, traffic, certain people, gadgets, understand and observe the behavior of yourself that makes you discomfort or a feeling of failure in a particular way. Change those behaviors, try to resolve it, look into it with a different approach, rather than getting frustrated over things, make a habit of reacting positively and kindly. If you are looking for long-term goals, make a plan first, prioritize things, get support if needed to keep you on track. Change the pattern of the plans that might have not to work previously, but can be done if the frustration and anger kept aside and choose happiness over it. Try to get involved in the activities again, express yourself, keep informing others as well as yourself that way you know the further step. Be focused and curious about what’s next to continue developing and learning towards your ultimate goal.