Avoiding Groundhog Day at Work

This being February 2nd, I have this question for you. Does every day at work seem like the movie “Groundhog Day?” Clock rings at the same time. Get up, eat breakfast, slosh down coffee, get dressed, assume the position behind your desk. 

My father always warned my brother and I with this blunt admonition. “Don’t ever take a job where the first thing you say to yourself in the morning is, ‘oh shit’.” 

I’m now in semi-retirement but I can honestly say that no matter where I worked, whether it was a small market radio station, CNN, Fiat Chrysler, the Associated Press or The Detroit News, and now Automotive News, I never left the job the way I found it. 

In my office at Fiat Chrysler I had a big whiteboard. Most people use those things for calendars. I scrawled a simple statement: “If you’re not pushing the envelope, you’re just mailing it in.” 

No job has to be a rote repetition of the same routine day after day. It’s up to you to use your time on the boss’s dime to convert your basic duties into an exercise in creativity, use of your imagination, looking far beyond your job description and minimum expectations. No matter how far your foot’s in the door, the next steps take you closer to your aspirations and overall job satisfaction. 

My process has always been to dream up ways to adapt my stated position to my skills, interests and goals, but still meet the requirements of my company. In other words, what can I do to make my job a satisfying experience that I’ll look forward to performing every day. For me, the results have not only been a sonic boost in my job satisfaction, but in my reputation leading to promotions, raises and bonuses. What boss doesn’t appreciate an employee who sees and performs far above the baseline. That means good things happen for you and that adds to your enthusiasm.

So if you’re finding every day seems like the last, shake it up. Wake up at a different time once in awhile. Shuffle your normal workflow. Think of ways to perform routine tasks differently...say retreating to another part of the building or office, if you can, just for a change in scenery. If you hold regular meetings, switch up the day and time and location if it’s possible. Whatever you do, don’t let your worklife fall into a lockstep. If you do, it’s no one else’s fault but yours. I’m sure if you ask Punxsutawney Phil, he would say, “what’s the deal with Feb. 2nd? It’s so done. Let’s try the 15th...and not so damn early in the morning!” 

Just for fun, you might like to read another Groundhog Day post on my blog. It features a story I did for CNN back in 1987 on the day the south’s weather rodent, General Lee, surrendered his shadow.