Some days, work just feels so boring and impossible to enjoy – especially when the memories from your 4th grade field day spent on the tie-dye team are taunting you while you stare at your aging face on Zoom. Here’s how to show up for work every day, even though your job is a significantly less awesome experience than winning the sack race on the tie-dye team after having your Lunchables.
Add bursts of fun to your day.
To be able to do work every day even though you know your time would be better spent adding a mess of dyes to your dad’s old t-shirt you just soaked, you have to have things to look forward to. Try incorporating bursts of fun into your day to help you be productive. You can have five-minute dance parties after meetings, or reward yourself with a Dunkaroos after finishing a task. Of course, none of these small bursts of fun will ever compare to an entire school day filled with the parachute game and zero adult responsibilities, but it will help you get close!
Recreate the experience for yourself.
If you’re still finding that your focus drifts away from work to the dream-like memories of your 6th grade field day, try to recreate the experience for yourself. This can look like slathering on Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen, throwing on a pair of Umbros, or even playing some old field day bops, such as The Cha Cha Slide. The fun ratty tee, strong smell of sunscreen, and upbeat music will make looking at Excel for eight hours straight seem almost as much fun as doing the wheelbarrow race with all your friends.
Quit your job for the endless pursuit of your lost youth.
When you’ve tried the above and still find yourself wishing you were at field day on the tie-dye team, it is best to simply just quit your job and pursue the joys of your youth forever. It will likely be fruitless, as the uninhibited joy of field day was made possible by a blissful ignorance about politics (except for your rivalry with the Blue team), the world, and the complications of adult relationships.
We hope some of these tips will help you get some work done even though you’re not on the tie-dye team at field day anymore. They will, however, not get you close to the euphoria of being in a water balloon fight with your friends during the summer. Don’t even try.
