Own Today!

Own today!
Focus, hard work, good relationships with co-workers, original thinking — the list goes on and on when it comes to being productive at work.
All of those things have the same thing in common, in order to become more diligent, influential, innovative, you name it — you first need to lift your spirits.
Research finds that satisfied employees are better performers than unhappy people in nearly all aspects of the job: decision-making, management, interpersonal skills, creativity, idea generation, cooperation and more.
So, what can you do boost your bliss — and your success — in the workplace? A recent survey from Harvard Business Review addressed just that issue. What they discovered is that people feel better and perform better when four basic needs are met: renewal (physical), value (emotional), focus (mental) and purpose (spiritual).

Renewal
When you have a million things going on at work, taking time out to window shop or go to a fun lunch with co-workers probably isn’t on the top of your to-do list. But it should be.  If you feel guilty for disengaging, remind yourself that it’s actually a powerful tool to enhance innovation.

Value
Workers who feel valued and appreciated by their boss are a staggering 67 percent more engaged at work. When you feel like your time and energy is appreciated, that inspires you to want to do more.

Focus
You know those moments at work when you’re so immersed in an intriguing assignment that you don’t even notice the time going by? Those moments of flow are vital to your happiness. Unfortunately, only 20 percent of the survey respondents said they were able to focus on one task at a time at work, but those who managed to hone in on their most crucial assignment were 50 percent more engaged.
There are two major reasons why people tend to feel like they’re spinning their wheels. The first comes from within: You’re a procrastinator and/or have trouble prioritizing. “Organization is key here. The employees who get results complete each task they start before moving on to the next; they don’t have 10 plates spinning at the same time,” Researchers states. “They also understand what’s most important and arrange their schedule accordingly.”

Purpose
According to the HBR survey, employees who derive meaning from what they do were more than three times as likely as others to stay with their company, reported 1.7 times greater job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged. “For most people, feeling fulfilled is not about making money but about contributing to a cause that’s greater than yourself,” explains Pryce-Jones.  Be the best performer your company has, be the vendor your client wants to call first. Be “that guy.”