While my work happiness journey will never end, I understand this and I’m ok with it. I realize that I’m just beginning to have fun with work, networking, and everything that goes along with a career. I began my journey over 12 years ago, but I won’t bore you with all that detail. I’ll take you straight to the important stuff.

I wanted to discover the best techniques to bring me consistent happiness. I started off writing about personal development because I felt a void in my life, but as time trudged on I began to narrow my focus to a particular issue that I struggled with and I knew millions of other people struggle with: the ability to enjoy work. I discovered that throughout my life, working for a company felt “forced,” and it had become increasingly difficult for me to do something that felt forced.

I had always put in long hours to help a company build its market share and income and all I was getting in return was a paycheck. Pretty depressing view.

For many years, every company seemed like a dead end. During high school and college there were the random jobs (K-mart, media buying, telemarketing, etc.). I landed my first full-time corporate job and then I went into teaching, thinking that I could do something that would make me feel good instead of working just making money for “the man.”

Arrrgh! Problem

I got caught in the forced labor again. My freedom felt even more restricted, because I was making less money and the work was still a chore.

My needs weren’t being fulfilled. I responded by reading countless self-help, business, motivational, spiritual, and religious books to help me with depression and general discontent. I also received professional therapy (I had great insuarance). I wrote over 5,000 poems (literally they are in my closet at home. Some of them are quite weird.). Poetry was one of the few only things that brought me joy.

Poetry never felt like work. The words just flowed out, but I knew it was work for other people. They would rather stab themselves with a graphite pencil than write a poem. This began my journey of discovering what made me happy and how I could make money from it.

I wrote a children’s book called “I Wish Flowers Were as Big as Trees.” As many of you know I can’t compete in this flooded market. Even Madonna is writing kids’ books, “c’mon!”

I then tried writing my first novel, which might be a great movie, but not a great book – “Lori Loves to Torture Me.”

After that, I wrote a picture book called “92 Things to do Besides Suicide.” That was a FUN project. I tried selling it on my blog, but it was a little too far ahead of its time. That’s my reason for failure and I’m sticking to it. I sold a couple of copies – to my mother and an old friend. I need more fans like them.

I moved to Austin

I moved to Austin to find myself. It was here that I started blogging. I began the process of figuring out what I would love to do with my life. I looked for ways to align my skills with this passion and get it out to the world.

It was a turbulent time for my career. I arrived in Austin with no job lined up, just a bunch of prayers every single night. My dream was to become a writer – a poet to be specific. But as any smart business man will tell you, go where the money will be. I still write poetry, but it’s just a hobby. All for me.

While trying to find myself I wrote a second novel, “Inside.” A story about a young man struggling to find his true happiness. Hmm, does that sound like anyone you know? Most of us have been there. Ha! Most of us are still there.

And as many of you know or can probably guess, it’s still unpublished. I sent out like 50 query letters to agents and never heard one response back. I researched self publishing. I needed an audience, so that’s why I started my first personal development blog. However, I lacked a clear focus with this first effort, so I really struggled to find an audience.

Blogging

My first blog was MindBodyBlog.com – but I just couldn’t find an audience who could appreciate my wonderful randomness. The problem was my lack of focus. My ADD was manageable when writing a novel because I had to stay on track without straying from the storyline. Writing a personal development blog, however, was very messy. I was all over the map. I noticed that I kept coming back to a main theme – work, career, and personal development. I just wasn’t able to put it all together until later.

My second blog was TheStressCorner.com – the concept was too definitive so I ran out of fun concepts to write about.

My third blog was PostCardAdvice.com (spin off from postsecret.com) – Fun, but didn’t give enough value to my readers.

My fourth blog was KarlStaib.com (still running, but on hiatus as I build Work Happy Now) – I went back to personal development, but I was still too random to build a readership.

My fifth blog was GetHappyNow.org – I felt lost in the sea of happiness blogs.

My sixth blog – Work Happy Now – Success!

The Reason I Started Work Happy Now

I met with Stephen Shapiro who contacted me through my GetHappyNow.org (no longer live) and said he would be in Austin and wanted to meet. Stephen is a brilliant man on the concepts of innovation. He told me that if I were to focus on helping businesses succeed I could really have a good product.

He triggered the entrepreneurial part of my soul and I launched Work Happy Now. The writing and ideas started flowing. I have enough extra posts right now to fill up a whole year. Most of them need editing, but you get my point. The work happiness concept struck a chord with my soul.

* Side note: You’ll notice that ping to your soul too, if you keep on trying new paths.

Experimenting

As many of you know I’ve been experimenting with my words, audio, and video while trying to find the right fit for you and me. Curiosity is a huge part of working happy. That means trying new things, measuring the results, tweaking your approach just a little bit and then trying something that’s just a little bit different.

Present Day

I’m so far from perfect that there are days when I wonder how much I can help you, but then I realize that I’m the best person for the job. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle. Stress and my expectations can bum me out, but my happiness levels are so much more consistent since I started this blog. It has forced me to find ways to be happy, even when I’m struggling at work.

This blog encouraged me to focus my efforts on my happiness and it worked. Work Happy Now has become my “Happy at Work” Project. It made me realize that I should encourage all of you to make a “Happy at Work” Project. The only way you are going to improve your work happiness is by trying new things and tweaking them until your happiness begins to blossom.

I have to give Gretchen Rubin of “The Happiness Project” credit for inspiring this concept. Check out Gretchen’s blog and see her take on her happiness project.

What this Means for Work Happy Now Readers

I believe so strongly in focusing my energy where I can expect the most return for my happiness. Over the next few months I want to help you create a Happy at Work Project. The only way you are going to truly be happy right now is by making a plan of action that will help you reach your happiness goals.

From now on, once a week, we will focus on building a plan that will help you level up and keep leveling up until your life is so freakin’ awesome that you feel like you might explode. (Just the feeling – I will not take any responsibility for any exploding readers.)

We’ll focus on eight core concepts:

• Passion – finding the things you love to do and finding a way to make a living from it.
• Personal happiness – because when you are happy with yourself, it’s easier to be happy at work.
• Confidence – it’s important to trust in yourself and your choices.
• Motivation – feeling energetic while working is vital to success.
• Productivity – getting shhhhhtuff done helps us understand we are heading in the right direction.
• Relationships – the second most important aspect to work happiness.
• Leadership – helping other people work happy only makes your work more enjoyable. We’ll focus on how all of us can make the work experience so amazingly awesome that other people maximize their greatness, too.

As we create a work happiness plan together, we will be planting a seed that encourages joy. And like we do on this blog, let’s support and help each other level up. The more we can help each other work happier, the more we can help one another accomplish great work.

This site is about how I can help you be happy at work. If you have anything you think we should focus on then let me know and we can incorporate it into our happiness plan. Please let me know about the things that bother you in your working life.

Also feel free to email me anytime and I’ll be glad to help. If you want a more personal experience please contact me and we can set up a personal Happy at Work Project that will lift your life to a new level. The first session is free. You’ve got to try out the goods before you join my coaching group.

Get Started Today

• Download the free PDF workbook “The Happy at Work Project”

Email me karl (AT) workhappynow (DOT) come and I’ll send you…

• Free Work Happy Now Weekly Planner
• List of resolutions you can use in conjunction with your planner

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

If I was a betting man I would put up $10,000 that everyone has a friend who hates his or her job. I would win every time because I know you all know someone who bitches and complains about their job and does nothing to bring more joy into their working life.

That’s why I’m launching the BETA program of The Happy at Work Project. I want to help people who hate their jobs as well as people who put up with their “ok” jobs.

“OK” and “Hate” – Two Terrible Words

People who hate their jobs need to find a way to accept or change their circumstances. The only way they will actually do this is if they understand what they truly want out of their careers.

People who have just an “ok” job but don’t get excited about the work they are doing need to figure out what makes them feel energized and how to do more of this type of work.

I don’t believe in coasting. Sure, if you want to stay where you are then that’s your prerogative. This project is not for you.

But if you want to build a career that is going to take your happiness to the next level then the “Happy at Work Project” is your cup of “wake up and have fun” coffee.

Build Your Happiness

I’ve created a free 12 page workbook (PDF) that will help you dissect what will bring you happiness at work and learn how to start your own Happy at Work Project.

I also created a Work Happy Now weekly planner to supplement your Happy at Work Project. I have been using a similar planner for the past few months. The concept is to have a resolution for each day of the week.

So…

• Monday will be about Bringing Joy to Others 
• Tuesday will be about Explore Something New
• Wednesday will be about Using Your Strengths
• Thursday will be about Helping Someone
• Friday will be about Celebrating Your Accomplishments
• Saturday will be about Lowering Your Stress Level
• Sunday will be about Organizing Your Life

If you would like for me to send this to you then email me at karl (AT) workhappynow (DOT) com or my contact page. Write “Work Happy Now Weekly Planner” anywhere in the message and I’ll send it to you. I will also send you a list of themes you can use for each day.

What you choose to focus on will determine your happiness. If you can focus your energy in a positive direction, you will improve your productivity and success. Try developing your own Happy at Work Project today and take control of your work happiness. It has worked for me and I know it can work for you.

As this is a BETA program that is completely free, I would like your help in improving this program over the next few months. If you have any tips or detailed ideas for improvement please let me know.

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Every great artist has a vision before s/he starts working on her/his grand idea. Being productive requires that you have an organized plan before you begin any project. Jackson Pollack may have made it seem easy, but he always had a plan before he began.

Organizing your thoughts before you begin any project is a vital tool for your success. Even a great artist like Steven King wouldn’t just throw down words on a page without a goal. You wouldn’t see Marc Cuban throwing his money into a startup without checking into their strategy. They set out a plan and stick with it.

Every project has some level of creativity to it, so there needs to be some flexibility to account for weird occurrences. There will be times when you will get interrupted. People who work happy are usually successful because they understand that time, people and a myriad of other problems will affect a project. It’s their responsibility to deal with them and get back to the initial plan.

Lists are one of the best ways to do this. Write down a list of your five most important things that you must do today. Next to your item write how long you think it will take. If you only have eight hours to do your work and you expect your list to take you ten hours then you have to adjust your list by breaking down the bigger jobs into more specific jobs.

I have a touch of ADD and my list is my “go to” plan throughout the day. I usually get sidetracked in the middle of a task. I account for this and add fifteen minutes to all my tasks.

My list for last Saturday was:

Write an article promoting lists Write a guest post about working happy while blogging Email commenters a personal thank you Twitter, Stumble and other Social Media Research Starbucks management methods   Total

1 hour 15 minutes 1 hour 15 minutes Half hour 2 hours 15 minutes 2 hours 15 minutes   7.5 hours

I didn’t have 7 and half hours to work on my blog. I only had 5 and half hours. So I took an hour from my two least important tasks, which brought me down to five and half hours. I’m not a super efficient worker, but that’s okay. I don’t want to work like a robot. It makes me happy when I can get carried away researching some new plug-in for this blog. Giving myself a little freedom to get off track allows me to still feel good about the work that I do accomplish.

You may want to set a timer next to you before you begin each task. There are some days that my thoughts are so scattered and I can’t harness them without a little help. That timer ticking down forces me to stay in the moment and work on the task I assigned myself. It’s a little extra pressure to get my task done.

If I finish my task early (this rarely happens) I assign myself a fun task. I watch some clip of some skateboarder crashing into a guardrail on Youtube. If I’m feeling really passionate I write an email to someone that I’d like to interview. I love writing those letters; there is just something cool about interacting with an intelligent person who has knowledge that I seek to learn.

Try getting your thoughts into focus and create a little plan before you begin work. You should notice that you are accomplishing more and working happier.

What do you think? How do you organize your projects before you complete them? Share your tips with other readers by posting a comment.

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Rick Kirschner, who is an expert on communication was kind enough to do an interview with me. It will be posted this week. It brought out some great nuggets of wisdom and it’s an interview that you’ll want to pass on to your friends. He also has a teleseminar, Communication Tune Up, coming up at the end of July. Check out his site and see if it fits your needs.

More Articles on Productivity:

• 8 Mental Boosts that Never Fail
• Tell Your Boss You Need Leisure Time

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Image courtesy of Hopkinsii

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!