Heather Meadows
Contributing Writer
ShuBee®

Let’s face it, jobs can become boring over time.  Routines start to feel like ruts, and before you know it you find yourself dreading work every day.  How do you fix that?  Instead of attempting to change your entire workflow, sometimes all it takes is looking at the same job from a different angle.  Changing your perspective to a more positive one can make your same position feel brand new.

I’ve been in the accounting department here at ShuBee for a little over two years now, and sometimes it’s EXTRA hard to get excited about numbers and reports.  I found that making simple changes in my work routine helped my effectiveness in my contributions to this company, but the most helpful thing I’ve adjusted is my perspective.  Changing my outlook has enabled me to think about this less as a day to day job, and more about the long term advantages of treating it as a career.  This shift in perspective stemmed from one specific mindset:

Make each day positive.

When I say that, I don’t mean to imply that you have to be the most outwardly perky person in your company.  We’re not talking about adopting some earth-shattering,  over-the-top bubbly  personality… Positivity can be a silent mindset.  It can be a simple shift in your attitude– Just a conscious choice to find small victories in your work, and keep the way you handle your day at the forefront of your mind, instead of letting your day handle you.

For some people, starting their day on a positive note comes naturally.  As soon as their feet touch the floor in the morning, they’re already running, ready to conquer the day.  For others it’s a struggle.  I definitely fall into the latter group.  I am not a morning bird.  I’m not really a night owl either… I think I’m some kind of permanently exhausted mama pigeon.  I have to be coaxed out of bed by promising myself naps that will never happen, and summoning enough energy to stumble towards my kitchen for copious amounts of coffee.  Until that caffeine hits my bloodstream, I resemble more of a zombie.

Unfortunately for me, mornings are a part of most routines.  So my first shift in positivity started with changing my morning routine before I even got to work.  (Otherwise known as adjusting my sleep schedule to wake up earlier and get out some of the grouchies before gracing my coworkers with that presence.)  Now once I make it to work I’m more alert and aware of myself, and just like flipping my light switch every morning when I get to my office, I make an effort to handle anything that comes my way that day in a positive way.

Here at ShuBee, we start every morning with “lineup.”  This is our daily meeting, where everyone in the company gathers in our breakroom—Our CEO, the guys putting together each client’s order in our warehouse, myself, even the brand new employee that may have just started that day.  We all stop what we are doing for those few minutes at the start of each day so that every team member in every department can be an active member in our company.  We go over the plans and goals for the day, any achievements from the previous day, make announcements, etc.   Sometimes we’ll even play a game or do a group activity to get our brains going.  Lineup really does start our day off on the right note.  We leave that meeting confident that we are all on the same page, we are awake and alert when we answer the phones for our clients, and we start every day with a smile.

Personally, lineup helps me to start my day by realizing the role I play in our company.  Rather than getting bogged down in running the same reports every day , when I see that those reports I’ve worked on or the numbers I’m presenting to our team helps us keep our goals in mind, keep track of our progress, highlight members of the team who are really excelling, etc…  It helps me to take pride in what I’m doing and see the difference I’m making.

Whatever category of morning person you fit into, perky or zombie… It’s important to remember that that’s just the START of the day.  You have to maintain that mindset, and if obstacles get in your way, you have to overcome them.  There are a lot of things that can happen unexpectedly in a work day.  Maybe there was a bad driver en route to your office, or maybe you spilled your coffee down the front of your shirt.  Maybe there are tasks popping up that you weren’t expecting, or decisions made above your head that trickled down to affect you.  There will always be things that you don’t have any control over.  The one thing that you can control each day is your outlook.

The main point I try to remember is that no path in life is perfectly smooth.  Especially when it comes to work.  There will always be those small pesky pebbles that fall into your path… Positivity is choosing not to let them trip you up and ruin your day, but instead making that stumble a part of your dance.  It’s all about perspective.