When Life Isn’t Fun Anymore – TPW395

What do we do when life feels monotonous and predictable and our work becomes drudgery? This week we talk about ways to re-inspire yourself, perk things up a bit, and reapproach your life with renewed interest and enthusiasm. Life may not always be fun but there are things we can do to renew our energy and enthusiasm Nothing is fun all the time. Even when everything about our life is just the way we want it to be, life can begin to feel like a monotonous, repetitive cycle: Get up, get self and/or kids ready, work, tend to the house, meals on the table, laundry, etc., and do it all over again the next day. Even the things we’re most passionate about can become drudgery. Drudgery defined:  in Merriam-Webster dictionary: “dull, irksome, and fatiguing work: uninspiring or menial labor”  in Cambridge dictionary: “hard boring work”  on collinsdictionary.com: “You use drudgery to refer to jobs and tasks which are boring or unpleasant but which must be done.” Why it happens To a point, it’s part of being an adult. There are certain things that have to be done, whether or not we enjoy them. Mark Twain said, “Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule of acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.”  It’s unrealistic and counterproductive to expect to always feel joyful, inspired, and engaged about every aspect of our lives. In fact, those feelings actually have meaning only in comparison to their opposites. Sometimes we just discipline ourselves to push through. That's part of being an adult. Sometimes, if it’s a specific area of our lives (our job, for example), we decide to make a change. But if we’re feeling stuck in a phase where our life in general, or some aspect of it, just feels joyless and monotonous most or even all the time, but we don’t want to do something drastic, what are some steps we can take to refresh and renew our mindset and find more joy in our work and in our life. What we can do about it 1. Renew your energy - mental and emotional energy is affected by physical energy and it’s hard to feel good about life when we’re exhausted. Drink water  Fuel your body  Take a walk  Take a nap  Visit your doctor This is true for us all, but especially for moms of young kids. Take care of yourself, too!  2. Refresh your space - living and working in a cluttered, disorganized environment that doesn’t appeal to us aesthetically or ergonomically makes our work/life more taxing. Sometimes we can perk up our mood by making a change to our environment. Declutter  Reorganize  Move furniture around 3. Renew your enthusiasm Take a break - walk away, not forever, but for awhile  Talk to a friend  Try a different technique or approach--this can break the monotony of doing by rote something you know so well you can almost do it in your sleep.  One article recommends: “Take 15 minutes a day to do something you love.”  She recommends making a list of things you enjoy doing and then creating a small window of time each day for one of them. 4. Refresh your perspective Change locations and take your work to a different spot. If you work from home, leave your office and sit on the porch or in the kitchen. If you work in an office,