We are meant to celebrate. It’s a given right that many companies don’t use to their advantage. Every company that I’ve worked for has implemented some kind of celebration in its culture, but they were usually far and few in between.

• One company celebrated every quarter.

• Another company sporadically did it maybe six times a year.

• Another company implemented an employee happy hour.

• The largest company I ever worked for had only one celebration a year.

I had a co-worker who once told me, “We should celebrate every day because who knows if we’ll be this lucky tomorrow.”

She was right. One of us might get a new job or become sick and wish that we had the same group of people to work with. Why not celebrate in small ways to keep the morale of the whole group going?

Mini-Party Ideas

Here are a few ideas for a mini-party that will only take fifteen minutes.

• Buy ice cream for your team.

  • It’s cheap and fun.

• Celebrate a birthday with a card and some decorations.

  • Noise makers are always fun. They also let the rest of the office know that work should be enjoyable.

• Tell your team a joke

  • Getting the laughter going releases endorphins which induce pleasurable feelings, making people feel relaxed.

• Give hand-written compliments to each member of the team.

  • Making people feel special will create loyalty.

• Share a personal story.

  • Making your co-workers or employees a part of your life makes you look human and approachable, like someone they can confide in or who can help improve the work environment.

Making the Mini-Party Happen

You don’t need to celebrate every day, otherwise you’ll run the risk of creating a boring routine. I had a company that tried to implement “Compliment Friday.” We would blow up balloons and attach a thank you with each one. The first time we implemented the compliment program, it lasted three months, and eventually it faded away. We tried to re-implement the program and it only lasted for two months. It became a chore to think of some random compliments every Thursday afternoon so they would be ready for Friday morning. I tried to convince the powers that be that they should only do it once a month to build up tension and excitement, but they didn’t go for it. The program never resurfaced while I was there.

Whether you are a manager or one person out of a team of fifty, you can create a “mini-party” program if you just take the initiative. The hard part isn’t getting anyone on board, but finding someone on the team willing to take control to make sure that it doesn’t become a stagnant process.

If you are the manager I suggest that you rotate turns on your staff (and that includes you, too). You can create a sign-up sheet with your name at the top of the list. You’ll probably have a few that will sign up right away. Try to encourage everyone to participate, but don’t push anyone to do something that they don’t want to. Make sure that you allow them a small budget, so they can purchase mini-party materials if needed. Then see what happens. If they don’t take to it very well then you probably have to start creating a little motivation for them to do it. Like all great coaches, you will need to build up the event as something that everyone is looking forward to or create a little peer pressure for everyone to join in. If they still don’t participate then remind them that it’s something that should be fun and it’s a part of their job. There is only so much you can do with a downer, and if they fail to come through then leave them off the list in the next rotation and just document it in their file. This will probably only be a select few because most people want to create a fun environment.

Mini-Party Rules

Always make rules depending on the team. If you have a team that gets carried away make sure that the party only lasts for a half hour. If your team doesn’t want to convene in one place, make sure that they understand that they have to at least attend for a few minutes before they go back to work. Every team will require individual rules that help them understand the “mini-party” system. Some teams will want to do it every week. Some may only want it once a month. Regardless of that you decide to implement, make sure you are consistent. It will make the difference between success and failure.

If you aren’t a manager and you want to implement such a program, you will probably do it by yourself for the first few weeks or months, but eventually people will start joining in. I’ve seen an employee that always threw mini birthday parties for her co-workers and when she left the rest of the team began chipping in because they wanted to keep the tradition going. It was nice to see how close they had become because of one employee. Her department was one of the few teams that didn’t have high turnover.

Work Productivity Will Improve

Whether you are a manager or an employee, you can implement a mini-party program and start reaping the rewards. You’ll eventually start seeing a community of employees working together to make the mini-party an event that everyone wants to be a part of so they can feel connected to the group. It won’t happen overnight and it will probably take a few months to become a part of the culture, but once it does you’ll see improved productivity and happier employees.

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Many of us put all our stress in one basket. We rely on our jobs to fulfill our needs. And when something at work goes wrong, it feels like the whole world is falling apart. Like any great investor will tell you, you need to diversify yourself. If you were going to invest in the stock market, you wouldn’t put all your money in technology stocks because it’s too volatile. When you invest your energy into your life, you’re bound to get stressed out if you don’t have anything to fall back on.

Diversifying your life will help you reduce your stress. You’ll be taking all your energy out of one basket and putting it into two, three, or five baskets. You can easily do this by focusing on other parts of your life. Many of you may be thinking that if you diversify yourself too much then you won’t be able to focus on anything for long enough to enjoy it. It’s a valid concern, but easily refuted.

In the process of finishing this article I read a similar themed blog, How to Be Happier with What You Have from Scott H. Young at Lifehack.org. It’s really amazing how people can be on the same level in separate parts of the world.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Investors understand that diversification keeps one bad fall from ruining you financially. Keeping your interests diversified, ensures that one slip won’t make you miserable. Tying your entire life into only one area isn’t just obsessive, it’s dangerous.

Life balance has become a bit of a cliche. Balance implies a weak compromise where efforts are juggled. But the alternative to balance doesn’t need to be obsession. Having several areas of focus at a time will help smooth out the fluctuations in your experience. Pick 3-5 things that are critical for you and a dozen more you feel are important.

If you become too dependent on one thing to fulfill your needs, then you are at risk of allowing that one thing to dictate your emotional well-being.

Do you believe that driving for thirty minutes to spend thirty minutes eating lunch with a good friend is a waste of time?

If you really like the friend, you’ll probably be willing to stretch your comfort zone to get some quality time. If you didn’t like them you wouldn’t reach as far to be outgoing and pleasant. That’s all it takes to diversify your stress - Giving attention to things in your life that you care about. The hard part is getting yourself to spread out your attention to parts of your life that have played lesser roles.

Family and hobbies are the best stress relievers because you can get lost in them and you probably won’t worry about work problems. I don’t know many parents that don’t get caught up in an extracurricular activity that their child is involved in. It’s natural to forget about all your work worries and get swept away in how wonderful the child is. Making that extra effort helps balance out all the worries that seemed so important before you saw your child’s excited expression.

If you are a stay at home parent, you need to diversify your attention toward rewarding hobbies. I know a few parents whose lives revolve around their kids and this doesn’t help create a healthy relationship. They depend on their kid’s happiness to make them happy. Children are going to have rough days and they need guidance, so help them learn to deal with the problem they’ve created. When your child has a problem, ask them what they think the solution could be. If possible, let them figure out how to solve their own problem. After you’ve directed their mind toward a solution, then take a break and read a magazine or maybe enjoy another hobby that gives you pleasure.

Work has constant fluctuations of stress, whether you work in an office, daycare, retail, or you’re a stay at home parent. When a moment becomes overwhelming, take a few minutes to yourself as soon as you can. The bathroom is a great place to take a time out and remind yourself about something good in your life. When the moment is over, schedule a “me time” breather later in the day. You should remember that you will always need time to yourself to unwind and relax your tension.

You can learn to balance out your stress by diversifying your focus. It takes time and a little effort to steer your thoughts toward other subjects, but the more you work at it the more you’ll see your stress level decrease. If you are struggling with one part of your life then you still have two, three or five other things to enjoy.

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Laziness can be a great tool when applied in the right way. I’ve learned to apply it in small doses throughout the day. A five minute lazy break is sometimes necessary for me to get through a rough moment. Maybe it’s a slow walk to the stationary supply cabinet for a fresh pack of sticky notes that I don’t really need. Other days it’s going to the bathroom, locking the door and doing a slow dance. I try to take “lazy breaks” a few times throughout the day, so I can stop to assess how I really feel.

“I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.”
- Agatha Christie

When I don’t take the time to balance out my hard working side with a little laziness I get too entrenched in my feelings, and at the end of the day I have trouble pulling myself out of the muck of emotions. Getting stuck on any one emotion is a waste of time; it is better to move on and enjoy the moment that you have before you.

Frustrated and Needing a Break

I have found that taking a lazy break is easy, but giving myself permission to do it and then getting back to my task is difficult. It takes intelligence to apply the right amount of laziness. A few jobs back I had to write up a proposal for a new project and I kept getting frustrated with my research. My Internet access was blocked from work related sites, which meant that I had to contact the “IT help desk” and get them to unblock my restrictions. The whole process probably added an extra two hours to my frustrating day. I was lucky that the IT responded back promptly; on other occasions I wouldn’t have been able to continue the project until the next day. All I felt like doing was finding a corner to crawl up in to take a nap. The obstacles lowered my motivation, making every choice a chore.

Use the Lazy Break as a Slingshot

Redirecting my focus back to finishing the project was hard, but I made it happen. I used an intelligent lazy break, talking to a co-worker about digital cameras, to get my mind moving in a positive direction. When I got back to my desk I didn’t think about all the work that I had to complete, instead I picked one of the easier tasks and finished it. Afterwards I began writing some of the proposal and I was done two hours later. I used the lazy break as a way to slingshot myself into completing the work.

The feeling of being lazy for a few minutes and not thinking about work eases the tension in my muscles and thoughts. When the tension is released, I’m able to refocus my energy to getting the job done.

Sometimes we need a little more “lazy time” than just five minutes and if you can take the time to watch a sporting event or lay in a hammock then you can really release the built up tension. Our minds can only take so much stress before they feel like they’re going to implode. If I overstimulate myself, my body gives me signals like a tight back or a headache. When this happens, I take a little longer lazy break to relax myself. I’ll go for a walk and just look at the trees or the houses in the neighborhood. If my thoughts go back to the work then I smile and refocus back on the trees. I won’t get the job done as quickly, but I appreciate feeling relaxed instead of all tense and worked up.

Every life needs a balance between action and inaction, otherwise our minds and joints will break down. Try applying a little laziness to your day; use it for five minutes and then let it slingshot your thoughts back into action.

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