My Early Morning Lovelace Awakes!

Ever had one of those nights where your brain fires up before you planned it? You lie in bed, drifting slowly from the land of sleepies into a slumbering state of semi-consciousness, ebbing back and forth between the dreamlike wanderings of random thought and then slowly, unwaveringly, you land in full awareness. Just before you look over at the illuminated clock face, you play that game you’ve played over and over again in the past, “Guess the time.”

Well it was 2:16 a.m. as I awoke. I did the usual when this happens… Became aware of the lovely warmth of lying beneath a soft blanket and down comforter. Noted the gross but strangely appealing dampness of the pillow beneath my head that told me the sleep had been coveted and deep. I rolled over, flipped the pillow, felt immediately the coolness now as it cradled my head. Then the voice started. You know, the inner voice that starts reasoning through the upcoming day. The voice that sometimes problem solves, revisits good deeds, vengefully rights wrongs real or perceived or just says, “Wow, you know a cup of tea would go down nicely right now. We should get up and make one.”

And then you’re lost. Well I am. I mean this has been going on for perhaps half an hour. Seriously? Thankfully this kind of night is a one-off; an anomaly; a oddity. Sigh… So up I was and making that tea by the dim light of the illuminated cell phone I held, and then with cup in hand, I mounted the 13 stairs up to my dear friend LT. LT? Laptop. I don’t call it LT actually; that’s just weird.

But there I sat in my lonely writers garret, staring out my window at – wait…it’s pitch black. I saw nothing. Just the impenetrable darkness of night. And what did I do with my time? Ah, I was invigorated and inspired! I spent four fleeting hours (I kid you not) happily enthralled with putting together some ideas for making my workplace – in my mind – a more responsive, people-centered place of service excellence.

Oh I can tell you the ideas which poured forth from brain to screen with the speed of Mercury and the prose of Byron or Lovelace were truly channeled by my inner Muse. Infallibly, I forged ahead with masterful stroke after stroke of keys on the illuminated keypad before me. Yes I envisioned it all so clear and succinctly; the master plan revealed through me only to be presented to, and adopted by, Supervisors, Senior Management and co-workers alike. Oh how they’d laud the majestic simplicity of it all! How they would embrace – like me – the wisdom of the model, the innovation and creativity which would transform our good services into world-class delivery of the highest order.

Well, it’s possible you know. And no, I wasn’t sleeping and just dreaming all of this – it was real; I was there. I’m there now. But I’ve shifted to relaying my cathartic episode lest I descend into ramblings and mumbles of disoriented thought. This is precisely why we sleep so that we don’t have full conscious awareness of what goes on in the inner workings of our minds eye when the minds eye should be closed and springing after baa baa’s across daisy-covered fields of green.

Thankfully reason caught up with my invigorated state of euphoria and enthusiasm as I pounded with fierce rapidity upon my entirely innocent and thus slightly offended keyboard.  And the keystrokes faltered. The pauses lengthened. The greatness of my ideas was tempered with a new realization; my colleagues have equally the right to put forth their own ideas and it behooves me to entertain with full and active ear those which they feel may equally bring us to such satisfactory results. And I shall. For it is wisdom to know one doesn’t have all the answers. Somebody said that and I could look them up but quite frankly its’ now 7:19 a.m. and I’ve got a shower to immerse myself in, a fast to break, clothes to don and a blade to drag across my face – although under a mask of blue and purple who would know were I to leave it otherwise unshaven?

Oh it’s a long day my reader. I’m on fire though with energy, vitality and comedic wit. This might be a day to lie low, to curb my enthusiasm for revelry and stimulating conversation but alas, today is a roundtable to present ideas and share visions. And here – bazinga! I have the rationale and explanation for my early morning rise.

Have a wonderfully stimulating day dear reader. May this piece in its departure from job advice and musings nonetheless have brought a smile to your face, a chuckle to your voice and a, “Oh that Kelly!” to your mind.

Cheers!

Is There Any Fun In Your Work?

There are some jobs in this world that I have a hard time imagining have “fun” anywhere in the job description. Luckily for me and I suspect for most of us, we are able to either find some fun enjoyable aspects to our work, or perhaps we have the luxury of creating some fun with our co-workers, Supervisors and customers/clients.

Does anyone else find it interesting that many employers will stress co-operation, teamwork and providing exceptional customer service, but yet there isn’t a line anywhere about just plain fun? Oh sure there are training opportunities which sometimes include ice-breakers and stress relievers, and yes there are some potlucks to celebrate someone’s retirement or departure, but I wonder why that word, “FUN” isn’t spoke of very much.

Imagine you’re reading a resume and on it the person wrote, “Great team player who excels at creating fun in the workplace.” I wonder how far that would get in many HR departments. Ironically, that individual might just be a tremendous asset to an organization if in fact employees viewed their workplace as fun places to be and the ‘work’ was indeed a fun experience. Do the two need to be opposites?

Now sure there is the extreme where there’s an office clown who is always good for a laugh but hardly gets any actual work accomplished. I’m not referring to that person. What about the inclusion of someone who is positive, upbeat, enjoys the work they do, who attracts people to work with them because of their enthusiasm and actually does get a great deal of work accomplished? Now that’s a guy or woman I want to work with. Then again, why can’t I be that guy?

I suppose for some, you have to consider a question first. Do you believe that you have the ability to decide on an image you want to create, and then act that way until it becomes second nature, or do you think that you are who you are and you’ll always be who you are and anything else is disingenuous? If you really think that you don’t have the ability or power to alter your behaviour, and through doing this, change others perceptions of you, and crafting a change of image is not possible, I invite you to ponder at least the possibility.

Finding fun in your work is a wonderful thing if only because so much of our waking life is going to be spent working. I know personally I have always wanted to surround myself with others who are positive people, energizers who I can trust to receive my energy and feed it back to me as well. Like most things, finding moderation is the key. Being serious about getting results but achieving them by introducing fun ways to learn an experience works for me personally.

For example if I’m conducting a workshop, I’ll facilitate it in a fun way. When I’m scheduled to speak with a group about interviewing skills, I know I’m going to speak at some point about making a good first impression, and I’m never going to get a second chance to actually make a first impression on the group once I’ve met them for the first time. Often I’ll walk in and use a British or Scottish accent for the first 10 minutes, and ask the class to write down 3 things they know for certain about me and 3 things they think they know about me. When we are taking it up, and they are sharing their responses, I slide out of the accent and back to my normal speech. What an impact! They laugh, they are surprised and the energy goes up. “What are we in for with this guy” they wonder, and I’ve got their attention anticipating what might come next.

I’m willing to bet that with all the professionals out there, there are all kinds of creative examples where fun is introduced and happens in the workplace. If you’re not finding your workplace all that fun, ask yourself why. If you want to introduce it, do so in such a way that fun is not at someone’s expense unless it’s your own. Good-hearted fun, smiles, laughs, and stress-reducers are all very valuable tools in the toolbox.

So, is there any fun in your work?