HOW TO HAVE A GOOD TIME DOING A NINE-TO-FIVE JOB

Adedamola  Okubanjo

Adedamola, a creativity enthusiast and a Real Esate broker, lives and works in Lagos. He tweets from @Prince_Damoche

Working a Nine to Five is considered by most to be stressful, life-draining and the hardly fun. I don’t agree with them. Most people are just doing it wrong, they refuse to set out plans that can make their work better. Here are some personal tips I have tried out and identified that they made my working experience more fun, less stressful and enjoyable in every sense of it

Live close to your workplace:

If you are not a BOSS that has a nice car and a driver, please try as much as possible to live close to your office or workplace. This will enable you have more slumber time and to resume early for work. Resuming early for work makes you look super serious and this will register in the sub-conscious of your bosses. Tardiness gives you a bad reputation.

You will be able to prepare for work better and also have time for yourself when you get back home from work early.

Car pool if you can:

If you have a co-worker that lives around you and owns a car, why not car pool with them to and/or from work. This gives you time to bond while on the journey and also time to catch a quick nap before you get to your destination. (not that we are taking advantage of them.)

Carpooling helps cut transportation expenses and reduces the stress that can come with public transportation.

Have a great and comfortable workspace:

This refers to the set-up of your workspace in the office. Have a good chair for proper back support. Make sure your laptop is in good condition and also the table must not be too low or high to enable you view your laptop screen well. Organise all your documents well, a scattered table means scattered work. A well organised desk makes you structure a mental to do list. Put all pending documents in a drawer and only arrange the document you are currently working on in front of you on the desk. If your chair/laptop/internet provision/Air conditioning/lighting is not good in the workplace, please endeavour to tell the employer and press on the issue as it would be of great benefit to everyone.

Refrain from joining factions or gossiping

Offices are like classrooms, you go there every day to develop yourself and in turn meet people from different background, having different interests and characters. Like minds are bound to gravitate towards each other creating some sort of clan or grouping in the workplace. You are bound to have some people you like more than others but refrain from gossiping or cutting yourself off from some of your co-workers. Have a cordial relationship with everybody no matter how much of a pain in the rectum they might be. Remember you are there to get work done and develop not register with a faction.

Collaborate and get involved

Collaborate with others but don’t get distracted from your work. If there is an activity outside work that you can get in on, why not? But if that activity would impede you from carrying out your primary responsibilities, respectfully decline stating your reasons, there will always be a next time you can help.

Office romance can be tempting, so think before you kiss

Lol, this is a very interesting one. We are humans and we get closer and closer and closer and before we know it we are dating. In the workplace this might create tension. If you are developing feelings for a co-worker it would be good to identify your organisation’s principle concerning that. If your organisation accepts such then you have to clearly ask yourself what you want from such relationship with whom you are interested in.

Do favours, reciprocate favours, and appreciate favours

Favours make the world go round. If you need a favour ask, if a favour is done for you try to reciprocate such or at least show genuine appreciation.

If you have other skills you are developing, help at the office with it

You might be developing other skills or side hustle apart from your day job. Use this skills to appreciate your co-workers from time to time, it helps you grow and gives expands your potential customer pool. Do not work for free, that’s not what I’m saying but see how you can form a confluence between your day job and your side chick.

Hydrate, re-hydrate and re-re-hydrate some more

This is more of a health tip. When we wake up in the morning after a deep sleep we have not consumed water for a couple of hours therefore we are a little dehydrated. Drink some water as soon as you wake up before you leave for work and also at work during the day. Have a bottle of water on your table throughout the day and drink from it from time to time. It helps with stress, clean your bloodstream and all of that. Basically, water is good for you so drink some, in fact drink a lot.

Take a walk, stretch your legs, get some sunlight and stay healthy

More health tips here, having a Nine to Five can lead someone to a sedentary lifestyle that has no benefits. The few ways you can use to stay healthy and keep your mind sharp is to take walks just a little distance from your office. It could be on your lunch break or you can steal some fifteen to thirty minute to get your mind off work, stray away from the office, enjoy the sunlight/view and let your mind delve into other thoughts. Stay healthy, keep your mind sharp.

Never lie to your boss

Whatever you do keep it real with your boss. Do not undermine their trust in you, you might end up regretting it. If you mess up in the tasks they gave to you, own up to it and try your best to regain their trust. Be straight forward with them, don’t grumble or complain at your boss, don’t complain, be assertive and express yourself respectfully. They are your boss for a reason, respect that reason.

If you think you want to quit your job, wait till after pay day and see how you feel.

For most with that entrepreneurial drive eating at them, they may wake up every day with the thought of quitting their job as they believe it impedes them from chasing their dreams. They want to put it all on the line and go after the goose with the golden egg. My 2 cents is that wait on it, sleep on it, try and see how you can schedule your present job to give time for you to work on your side hustle. If this is possible then why not? Grow that side hustle to a reasonable stage before you drop out of your Nine to Five to get into the club of CEOs.

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