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Reclaim your day using tricks from career coach Domonique Bertolucci:

Tonight, 6pm: Prioritise. Look at your diary and to-do list for tomorrow, select the three most important things, then set aside the first half of the day to cross them off.

Time saved: 1 hour of procrastination

8am: Read work emails on your phone during your train/bus commute. Action relevant ones as soon as you arrive.

Time saved: 30 minutes

9am: Set out-of-office reply: “‘’m often away from my desk, so if it’s urgent, please call my mobile. Otherwise, I check my email regularly and will get back to you shortly.” Check emails at two-hour intervals.

Time saved: 2 hours of email tag

10.30am: Chat with a favourite work colleague during the five-minute walk to get coffees.

Time saved: 30 minutes of gossip

1pm: Go outside, even if it is just to grab a sandwich. You’ll be less efficient later on without a break.

Time saved: 1 hour of surfing the internet

6pm: Check personal emails or make personal calls on the phone on your way home, not at home.

Time saved: 30 minutes

6.30pm: Avoid the “second shift”. Check if outsourcing household chores costs less than 50 per cent of your hourly pay. If yes, get in a cleaner, order groceries online, or drop shirts off at the laundry.

Time saved: 2 hours

Total:

7.5 hours saved

source here

Implementing these five tips on the job each day will make you absolutely irreplaceable.

According to Judy Free and Traci Maddox, authors of “The Essential Employee: The Adventures of Carmen Senz,” research has revealed behaviours considered most valuable in the workplace, in the view of supervisors, coworkers and executives. The employees who exhibit these behaviours to all levels of the organisation are in a unique position to build a reputation as absolutely necessary within the organisation. It’s easy to remember, with a simple acronym: R.E.A.C.H. Perhaps the best part is, these behaviours apply to anyone, and have little to do with your current role, education, level of experience, or professional background.

“These five essential behaviours may seem like common sense, but we all know the old adage that common sense isn’t so common,” said Maddox, a senior consultant and co-author of the book. She and Free conducted the study across the nation, in a variety of workplace settings, to develop the REACH formula.

1. Results

Showing up for work every day doesn’t make you effective or valuable. In fact, a study revealed that “full-time employees work a total of three days a week.” (Meaning, they do nothing of value the other two).

To make yourself known as a results-oriented employee, focus not on the amount of time you’re at work, but instead on what you’re producing. Further, align that production with measurable goals and outcomes.

How do you do that? Take ownership of all projects assigned to you (and pick up any extras that you feel particularly passionate about or capable of handling). Be transparent and communicate regularly with your supervisor and others involved in the project about its progress and the goals you are working towards. When you reach them, make it known!

2. Enthusiasm

Energy is contagious, both good and bad. Someone who is lagging on the job will bring others around them down. Conversely, people with an energetic presence have the power to transform the vibe of others. No one wants to be around the grim reaper every day at work, even if things aren’t so great. Be the positive force that always has a “can-do” attitude. Not only will your co-workers enjoy your company, but your energy will communicate to superiors that you are an employee who is committed to the organisation and its success.

3. Attitude

Things will go wrong at work. Guaranteed. But even in the most derailed situations, something right happens. Focus on the positive, and steer clear of joining the “woe is me” mentality your other co-workers may fall prey to. Something as simple as a smile and laughter can go a long way, not only in impacting the mood of your workplace, but in expressing your gratitude for your job (and paycheck)!

4. Cooperation

Teamwork is essential in our modern workplace. Even the brightest of stars can’t shine alone. You need the help of a capable team to get the job done. Volunteer to help others, and be accountable for your assigned projects. Take ownership when things go right, and wrong. Regularly praise others, regardless of if you are in a managerial role or not. Thank those who help you regularly and recognise their accomplishments, in addition to your own, when recapping progress with your boss and others in the company.

5. Honor

Remember that old saying “what is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right?” It’s an applicable adage in the workplace. Particularly in an uncertain job market where workers feel stressed to succeed, it’s important to stick to your values. That may not always be the fastest, cheapest, or most efficient path, but when you let your moral compass be your guide, others will notice.

The Bottom Line

In an uncertain economy, it’s critical to make sure that everyone at work knows just how essential you are. Implementing these five tips on the job each day will make you absolutely irreplaceable.

Source: here

You can learn effective negotiating skills that will help you get what you want, need, and deserve in terms of compensation.

Once you’ve proven yourself well qualified for a job during the interview process, you have to start asking yourself the tough questions. Do you have a strong desire to work for this company? What if they don’t offer quite as much money as you’d like? Is there a way to ask for a higher salary without alienating the employer?

It’s normal to feel nervous. But you can learn effective negotiating skills that will help you get what you want, need, and deserve in terms of compensation.

1. Understand Benchmarking

You don’t want to waste your valuable time on a company that is never going to pay you what you’re worth. This means you need to understand how employers decide their salary levels and adjust your job search accordingly. Companies use a variety of benchmarking tools. These include comparing pay rates with:

• Average pay at other companies in their industry
• Average pay for professionals with your level of experience and education
• Average pay for professionals in your field in their area of the country

Most employers who are interested in great talent will be in the upper quartile of their market when it comes to pay. However, employers have also figured out that paying significantly more than their competitors actually doesn’t motivate employees to stay over the long term. So, don’t expect to be able to negotiate for significantly higher pay than the norm – no matter how qualified you are.

2. Wait for It…

There’s an old saying “The first person to bring up money, loses.” Starting a discussion about salary prematurely sends a signal that you don’t place a high priority on being a good fit for a company’s culture – you just care about the almighty dollar. In the same way, if a recruiter brings up money right off the bat, it’s a good idea to smoothly change the subject so you can fully demonstrate your qualifications before talking about your salary requirements.

3. Negotiate Performance Pay

An employer who really wants to hire you but has limited resources may offer a lowball figure with the excuse “This is what we can afford right now”. If you want the job, ask if they would be open to discussing a performance based bonus. You could start by saying “Let’s talk about specific, measurable results that would improve your bottom line and increase my earnings.” Get any incentive pay agreements in writing during the hiring stage so your employer is committed to following through.

4. Don’t Just Talk Cash

Any discussion of salary should be about your total compensation. If the recruiter isn’t familiar with the dollar value of the benefits package the company is offering, you might ask to talk with their benefits specialist. Remember to negotiate for non-cash perks that might bridge the gap between your asking price and the employer’s offer.

5. Walk through It in Training

One of the best ways to prepare is by practicing. Pick a career coach who can prep you by role playing an entire interview including the salary negotiation phase. This process gives you the confidence to talk money with a potential employer without being afraid you are getting it “wrong”.

Source: here

There are some important non-monetary considerations to consider before accepting a promotion.

Climbing the corporate ladder and earning a higher paycheck are the primary goals of any professional. And although no one wants to be in an entry level position forever, there are some important non-monetary considerations to consider before accepting a promotion. (For a related reading, see Four Career-Boosting Social Media Moves)

1) More Stress

When someone advances within an organisation, they will typically play a growing role in the decision making process of the company. More demanding jobs require closer attention to detail as the final product will not be reviewed by superiors. This will often translate to increasing the pressure to succeed at one’s job, resulting in more stress in and out of work. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman stated “being wealthy is often a powerful predictor that people spend less time doing pleasurable things and more time doing compulsory things and feeling stressed.”

2) Less Free Time

With more pressing deadlines and a broader scope of responsibilities, people in upper management positions tend to work longer hours. Those whose jobs are heavily focused on client relations will not even have regular work times as their day-to-day schedule is dictated by client meeting requests. According to economist Dalton Conley, one of the primary factors driving successful people to work so hard is the opportunity cost of not working. For example, when someone makes $15/hour, they can afford to take a few days off to watch television; but when someone makes $75/hour, taking some time off becomes expensive. (For a related reading, see How To Get The Job You Want)

3) Money = Happiness

While making more money can allow you to buy nicer cars, live in a bigger house and take more extravagant holidays, having these luxuries is not a guaranteed predicator of happiness. The lack of free time and more work related pressures can force people to distance themselves from friends and family.

4) Different Job

Promotions will regularly involve changes to the every day tasks of an employee. However, these changing responsibilities do not often align with the interests or the skill set of the individual. For example, junior analysts working at portfolio management firms usually start their careers in a qualitative role in which they analyse investment opportunities and model various portfolio metrics. Senior managers, on the other hand, are more likely to be involved with the qualitative aspects of the business such as client meetings. Before accepting a promotion, one must determine whether or not they will enjoy/be good at their new role. (For a related reading, see The World’s Coolest Jobs)

5) Less $/Hour

Having a higher job title which entails longer working hours along with only a marginal pay increase is not the type of promotion most people aim for. Receiving a promotion without a corresponding increase in pay is also fairly common if the new position is simply a horizontal, rather than a vertical shift. This type of scenario is quite possibly the worst case for a worker if the new position requires more time, results in more stress and does not align with the interests of the employee.

Conclusion

Raises and promotions are part of the standard “corporate circle of life.” However, sometimes people simply feel comfortable in their jobs and are satisfied with their paychecks and career prospects. Next time that you are offered a promotion, just make sure you understand the full impact that this may have. (For a related reading, see Five Salary Negotiation Tips That Work)

Source: here

Do you jump out of bed in the morning eager to face the new day? Finding one’s life purpose is often driven by the desire to feel this way.

Many people come to me for life coaching once they’ve hit their late twenties or thirties, realising that climbing the corporate ladder has left them wallet-heavy but unfulfilled. Sure they’ve achieved great things and feel proud of their accomplishments, but the stress, long-hours and high pressured culture cause them to question what they‘re doing with their lives.

I believe this is a wonderful space to get to at such an early age. In previous generations it wasn’t until mid-life that people typically had this crisis of meaning. Finding the craving for purpose at a younger age means many more options are still available to you.

Unfortunately though, most people wait until they are totally burnt out before they act on this urge. As a result, they seek an instant big leap into some new world that will provide a sense of meaning or passion. The reality of course is that it requires time and mental space to discover a next move that makes your heart sing. If you feel too much urgency, the end result can be a move based on lust rather than a genuine knowing of what will feed your soul.

Don’t make the same mistake and wait until you’re fed up before you get in touch with the passion or purpose in your life. Use the following ideas to set you on a path to discover your life’s purpose. Choose the tips that appeal to you most and get started on the journey today.

How to Discover Your Life Purpose

1.    Clear your slate

One of the difficulties with discovering your life purpose is that your mind has been filled with information from your upbringing about what you can and can’t do for a living. Schools inform us about becoming Dr’s and Accountants, not business development managers for a high innovation tech company. You must be willing to let go of what everyone, including yourself has told you that you must do and be, in order to open yourself to other, more unique possibilities.

2.    Know your strengths, passions & heart stoppers

Do you know what is brilliant and unique about you? What specific tasks and environments allow you to flourish? Well, it’s time to get clear about it –do everything you can to discover what makes you special and happy. Make a list of all your strengths and achievements to date, specific ones that make you proud. Add to the list the things you love to do, no matter how silly. And lastly, think about the type of people, values and culture you enjoy. Get your hands on a good book or attend a workshop that helps you get in touch with these types of issues. My favourite is “Zen and theAart of Making a Living” by Laurence G Boldt. It was the book that helped me realise I wanted to be a life coach and resulted in me creating my dream business. Psychologists and career counsellors can also provide you with tools to identify your skillsets, personality attributes and provide new ideas of good career matches. Have a play!

3.    Understand the why

Purpose is about more than just a job. It is a unique emotional feeling of connection to what we believe at a deep level, matters. A really simple exercise to help get in touch with what matters to you at a deep level is to ask yourself “why is that important to me”. So for example, let’s say you identify that you like to mentor other staff to be great leaders. Grab a sheet of paper and ask yourself “why is that important to me?” and write down whatever comes to mind. Let’s say you write something like “because I love talking to people about their skills”. Once again ask yourself the same question again, “why is that important to me?” and write the answer down. Repeat this process until the answer creates an emotional reaction in you. (When I do this exercise with clients, at some point tears surface and it’s clear we’ve touched on what really matters to them – tears are a good sign!!).

4.    Start playing with your passion

A key reason some people hold back from trying to discover their life purpose is that they fear the life of a “struggling artist.” They have very black and white thinking about following a passion – believing that doing what you love doesn’t put food on the plate. But reality is never this black and white — just because you love to write doesn’t mean you have to be an author. You can become a journalist, write policies for government or even something as simple as take on some extra responsibilities in your current workplace that allow you to do some creative writing such as copy for the marketing department. Be honest with yourself about your passions and find ways to bring it into your life now, without having to make a huge career leap. Sign up for a course, do some volunteer work, or just start doing it for the love of it.

5.    Network to learn

Networking events are great for skill building and contact building but they are also fantastic for learning about what other people do for a living and to live on purpose. It is likely that there are some weird and whacky roles out there that you never knew existed. Open your mind to discovering how people spend their days at work, what their company culture is like, and the different type of work life issues that exist. Become curious – not only will you learn more about what you desire from life but you will become an even better networker as you genuinely show interest in other people’s lives. Who knows, you may even come across a job available that fits your new understanding of your life’s passion.

6.    Align all your life

Discovering your purpose is not limited to your career. In fact you can work at Coles packing shelves and still feel your life is completely on purpose because purpose is so much bigger than what you do. It is about how you approach life and about living life in alignment with what is important to you in general. Looking after your health and wellbeing, nurturing your relationships, and choosing to do what makes you happy all contribute to feeling on purpose. Start making small choices every day in alignment with what is important to you. Be grateful and appreciate what you already have. Ask yourself “how can I be of service today?” Focus on loving life in every way.

How did you discover your life’s purpose?

Author of De-stress Your Success: Get More of What You Want with Less Time, Stress and Effort, Sacha Crouch is a business, executive and life coach who helps people create the work and lives they love. For other free lifestyle resources visit www.activ8change.com.au and www.de-stressyoursuccess.com

Source: here

Meetings can be so tedious and unproductive. So how do you become the meeting champion when people race to your event and action happens?

Who hates meetings?

They can be so boring, so pointless and just plain tedious.

BUT a great meeting can be informative, inspiring and a lot of fun.

So how do you become the meeting champion when people race to your event and action happens?

1) Set an end time upfront.

Tell everyone when you plan to end the meeting right at the start. There’s nothing worse than sitting there wondering “when’s this going to end”.

It also forces people to have their say quickly before time runs out

2) Ditch the conference room… think outside the square.

Conference rooms are generally grey, stark and stuffy… no wonder people get bored and doze off.

Change the meeting environment regularly so people stay sharp. A local café with a lot of buzz can get the creative juices flowing or outside under a tree in the fresh air.

Maybe take your team to different parts of the business that they’re not familiar with and open the meeting by explaining how that area fits in.

It’s all about breaking the meeting routine.

3) Remove tables and other barriers from the room. (similar to scrums)

I recently visited Google’s head office in Sydney where they have the table and chairs in the “Downunder” meeting room attached to ceiling. It certainly got you thinking.

Maybe that’s going a bit far but think about getting rid of the table and putting all the chairs in a circle.

It may feel uncomfortable at first to people who are used to “hiding” behind a table. Yet it’s far more conducive to teamwork and engagement.

4) Arrange for other people to present a part of the meeting.

Meetings shouldn’t be one-way communication. People get lazy if they know they don’t have to contribute. They just sit there and look interested but nothing sinks in.

Give them responsibilities or assignments, ample time to prepare, and be very positive about their contributions.

They stay sharp if they know they have to contribute.

5) Turn off all electronic distraction.

Focus is the key to short, productive meetings!

Get them to turn off all mobiles, pagers, laptops and ipads… they can live without them for a little while. But make set a specific time for the IT blackout so they don’t stress too much.

6) If energy wanes, have everyone switch seats.

Do it at least once per meeting. Then people will have to sit by different peers, see the room and the issues from a different point of view, and get their blood moving.

7) At the beginning of the meeting, have each person share something from work that’s gone really well recently.

It can be as simple as clearing up an issue with filing documents to as big as getting a major proposal out ahead of deadline.

It makes people feel good right from the very start if they can highlight their accomplishments. Often it’s only the mistakes which attract attention.

It also promotes a positive feeling which is more likely to lead to positive interaction.

At the end of the meeting, draw up an action list. (we already do this)

Every meeting must accomplish something and attendees must leave thinking “well that was worthwhile”. An action list means the meeting has built a momentum of its own which is going to achieve something. They must accomplish their action by a set date, and report back on their progress at the next meeting.

9) Power down PowerPoint.

It numbs the brain and puts the focus on a screen rather than on the people in the room. You want interaction!

Put your ideas on huge sheets of paper and give everyone a different colored marker. As the meeting progresses, each person is responsible for editing and adding to the working document.

source here

What are the elusive secrets of success apart from the oft heard and less practiced ‘hard work’ and ‘dedication’? Researchers have discovered that people who overcome impossible odds – discrimination, illness, personal grief and failure – and succeed have certain common personality traits. These characteristics of successful people include:

1. Happiness as a habit: Sadness, anger and other sufferings come easy. But being happy is very tough. Successful people have a talent for enjoying life. They try to latch on to the everyday joy, however simple or small. If they can’t have big victories, they accept small ones. Terrence Des Pres, a former Colgate University professor who studied the attitudes of Holocaust victims, calls this tenacious hold on life “a strength beyond hope”.

2. Flexibility to change: Accepting changes, and being flexible to them is necessary for success. Accepting changes means not abdicating ones responsibility and not blaming others for current circumstances. It means to look at change as an opportunity to learn and improve our skills.

3. Tenacity: Don’t give up. Trying won’t make the problem go away, but it’ll make it more bearable. Successful people ask “What do I do next?” rather than “Why Did I fail?” This helps in 2 ways – you don’t get bogged down by your ‘failure’ and focusing on doing something else keeps you motivated to keep working.

4. Reaching out to others: When faced with failure or overwhelming circumstances, successful people don’t shut out others from their life. They readily ask for help when needed, and cherish the involvement. Duke university researchers have found that one of the best indicators of health, happiness and long life was the tendency to reach out to people beyond your immediate family.

5. Living in the present: Don’t wallow in self-pity or live in a fantasy world. Says author Fredrick Buechner in The Hungering Dark – “Not one of us can bring back yesterday or shape tomorrow”.

6. Having a dream: Goals give focus and can be incredibly motivating. Successful people don’t shy away from dreaming and working on something ‘seemingly impossible’.

7. Thinking long term: Most people look for quick shortcuts to success and aren’t ready to endure any short term pain. Successful people don’t mind stepping out of their comfort zone and think long term.

8. Interest to learn: Another common habit of successful people is the continuous desire to expand their knowledge – from books and, people they meet.

9. Sense of urgency: Successful people don’t procrastinate and prefer to be decisive and act quickly. They don’t waste time because they value it highly.

10. Mindset about success: The authors of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies say – ” … what appears to be constant is that the principles don’t change over time. What defines these people’s lives is their commitment to doing something that is meaningful to them.”

source: http://spiritize.blogspot.com/2006/12/secrets-of-success.html

me: I’d like to understand further what you meant by this …

colleague: It is self-explanatory.

In the first place, if it is indeed self-explanatory I wouldn’t have asked him for clarification already would I? I admit that I initially get upset with emails like this and feels like retaliating in the same tone. But experience taught me that it won’t address the problem and it won’t be professional to do so. I already know that such tone is upsetting to a reader, why would I want to inflict the same negative feeling to another (which I already felt)? I am better than that.

Working with Americans made me shed away some of inhibitions. If I truly don’t understand something I ask. Whereas before, I would smile along to a joke I didn’t get and pretend I understood. Wrong. It is okay to be wrong at times and it is a given that we don’t know everything, specially if you’re coming from a different culture. Otherwise, they would assume you fully understand what’s discussed.

It is not  a sin to ask and clarify. You can use these phrases:

Did you mean this …?

Are we saying…?

I’m sorry, I didn’t get what you last said, can you repeat that?

Just to clarify, what we’ll do is …?

Am I understanding it right, do we …?

Source: Yahoo! Shine

By Sarah Jio

Got deadlines, a fire-breathing boss and coworkers from, well, you know where? You’re not alone! According to a recent survey conducted by TNS, a research and analysis company, for The Conference Board, more than half of Americans are unsatisfied with their jobs in a major way. But, in this economy, a job (even a bad one) is something you want to hang on to. So we asked experts for tips on how to increase your workplace happiness. While you can’t control your boss’s mood or your coworker’s choice of music, you can control your happiness. Here’s how.

1. Say “yes” to your boss, but “I’ll get back to you” to others.

Are you a “yes, ma’am” kind of woman? That’s good in many ways, like when your boss asks you to lead a new project that could get you promoted. But when a coworker, client or anyone else asks you to do something for them that you’re unsure about (like coming in on Saturday when you had plans with your family), don’t commit right away—even if you feel pressured to do so—says happiness expert Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and a contributor to Woman’s Day. Instead, says Rubin, say these five little words that will empower you at work and improve your happiness in the long run: “I’ll get back to you.” She says, “The desire to be accommodating is very strong, and can lead you to say ‘yes’ without enough consideration. You’ll feel a lot happier being in control and giving yourself time to think something over rather than making a decision you’ll regret right on the spot.”

2. Do the thing you dread first.

Is there a task in your workday that you dread, so much so that you think about how much you dread it all day and find yourself struggling to get it done in the final hour? According to Carol Kryder, PhD, a clinical psychologist and mental health expert for JustAnswer.com, the “fun factor” rule could help you. “If you have a number of things to do within a short time, prioritize them in order of their ‘fun factor,’” she says. “For some people, that means doing the distasteful jobs first and saving the best for dessert.”

3. Sweet-talk yourself.

“Positive affirmations and gratitude are wonderful antidotes for dealing with a rotten boss,” Dr. Kryder says. First step: “Be grateful for what you are learning in this job, and, if you look, you will see that you are indeed learning every day.” Next step: Use positive affirmations such as “This is temporary” or “This job is a step along the way,” she suggests. “Be sure to remind yourself that you are choosing to be at this job,” adds Dr. Kryder. “These affirmations confirm that you are in control.” Bolstering a sense of control can help you reduce the level of stress hormones in your brain, which can lead to memory and concentration problems, she says.

4. Use your imagination—and breath.

It may sound like simple advice, but reducing your anxiety and improving your happiness at work could be just a few deep breaths away. “If it is possible—even if you have to lock yourself in a restroom stall—close your eyes, put your hand over your heart and take very deep breaths,” says Susan Steinbrecher, a business consultant, speaker and author in Hurst, Texas. “Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Doing this for even one minute a day will instill a sense of calm and happiness.” Want to take your happiness to the next level? Use your imagination, says Steinbrecher. “Imagine that you are in your perfect place,” she says. If you love tropical, white-sand beaches, immerse yourself in a beach moment—in your mind. “Feel the sand on your feet, smell the salt air, hear the waves on the shoreline,” she says. “This has a way of immediately shifting your perspective and will enable you to handle difficult situations with more grace and understanding.”

5. Stressed? Get walking—outside, if you can.

“Exercise is the best mood stabilizer we have,” says Dr. Kryder. “Even if you can only do some stretches or a couple of yoga poses every day, you will notice a difference in your stress level.” Given that advice, Dr. Kryder says the best way to recover from a bad encounter at the office that’s leaving you feeling anxious or upset is to take a walk—outside! “Full-spectrum light such as sunlight has been shown to elevate mood,” she says.

6. Give yourself aromatherapy.

As long as it’s not bothersome to your coworkers (or against your office’s fire safety codes), a scented candle or an aromatherapy diffuser could help you perk up.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that frankincense, a natural fragrance used for thousands of years in religious ceremonies, contains a compound that has antidepressive and antianxiety effects, notes Joseph Cilona, PhD, a psychologist in New York City. Try burning a frankincense candle or dabbing on some essential oil in your office, he recommends.

7. Find a sense of purpose in what you do (even if you hate your job).

“Research shows that when people see their work as their calling—more than just something to do for a paycheck—their happiness level significantly increases,” says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, MS, PT, a psychologist in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and the author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. So how do you find purpose in a job you loathe? Here are some examples from Dr. Lombardo: “Ask yourself, what good do you promote because of what you do? For example, someone who works at a restaurant is bringing joy and nourishment to others. A pharmaceutical sales rep is helping save and improve lives. A teacher is developing the future of this country and world.”

8. Stretch your arms up, over your head.

Who doesn’t feel a little happier, calmer and more balanced after a good stretch? Life coach and wellness expert Jonathan Troen, who’s also a certified yoga teacher in Santa Monica, California, says the best get-happy-at-work stretch is extending your arms over your head. “One of the places we hold depression and sadness is in our armpits,” he explains. “When our armpits are open, those emotions are released; it’s very hard to frown and most people instantly smile.”

9. Keep things on your desk and around your computer that make you smile.

Don’t underestimate the power of what’s right in front of you, says life coach Debbie Robins, an advice columnist for The Huffington Post. “Have something on your screen saver that opens your heart every time you see it,” she says. (For example: a photo of your kids, your dog, your parents, your last vacation or a meaningful scene from nature.) Images that connect you to the things and people you love will boost your happiness regardless of your professional circumstances, she says. And when all else fails, make yourself chuckle. “Have something on your desk that makes you laugh,” she says. Suggestions: a toy that makes a silly sound or a framed cartoon that always cracks you up. “Laughter instantly balances frustration, irritation and anger.”

10. Do some squats.

Yes, it’s surprising advice, but a set of 20—yes, 20!—squats in your office might help you feel happier. “Short and intense exercise can stimulate the release of growth hormone, a natural mood enhancer,” says Dr. Cilona. He adds, “Doing squats engages the largest muscles—the legs—so the maximum amount of growth hormone release is achieved.”

11. Smile (really, it works!).

When you are having a wreck of a day, the last thing you feel like doing is smiling, right? Many experts, including Susan Fletcher, PhD, a psychologist and the author of Working in the Smart Zone: Smart Strategies to Be a Top Performer at Work and at Home, say that forcing yourself to smile could be the fastest way to trick your body into beating the at-work blues. “You can actually trick your brain’s neurotransmitters into thinking you are happy with a smile,” says Dr. Fletcher. Added bonus: Your smile can actually spread happiness to others. “When you smile at people, they typically smile back—it’s a natural reflex to mimic the facial expressions of others.”