Archived What's your routine for positivity and motivation

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What do you do to get yourself motivated for work? How do you put yourself into a positive frame of mind to tackle the day? How do you keep it going?

I'm starting to get burnt out and it's hard to force the smile. Want to have the smile naturally, but my mindset is way outta kilt. Looking to get a better morning routine to help set myself up for success (and perhaps motivate me to move on out of the SPOT light).
 
A strong cup of coffee and listening to my "Motivation" playlist, which consists of a bunch of heavy rock/metal/rap/etc that gets my blood pumping.

If I get the chance to, I'll listen to it at work as well. Normally backstocking is the most boring task on the planet, but it's more bearable when you have some Adelitas Way, Papa Roach, and Five Finger Death Punch blasting in your ear.
 
I don't, I just do it. I try to leave for work a little early so that I'm not rushing on the freeway, and then running to the time clock. A less stressful commute helps. When I walk in, I get some water, (or redbull, if it's a redbull day) and chill in the break room until it's time to clock in.

If I want to have a good day, that usually starts at home. I'll put the effort into doing my hair or some other grooming. Spending the extra time on myself to either look good or increase my comfort usually makes me FEEL good too. Days were I just roll out of bed and go are more prone to being shit.
 
If closing, drinks afterwards with co-workers if it's been an especially shitty day.

If opening, strong coffee and a hearty breakfast.

Mid shift, probably a little of both.
 
One of the things that helped me cope with being my store's resident closing GSA was that I was good friends with the usual closing Electronics and 2 other HLTMs so we'd all just go to IHOP after work. It really did a ton to help turn a bad day into a good one, spending a few hours at IHOP with your buds stuffing your face full of chicken and waffles while bitching about Target. Since my transition to Logistics though, I usually work mornings and one of my buds moved up to TL so we haven't been able to do that in months. Didn't quite realize how much I miss that until I started writing this out...

Sorry, ignore my rambling.
 
Loud, aggressive music on the short drive to work. It helps get me in my zone and allows me to stay focused on my tasks throughout my shift. Also, counting down the days until payday helps me get through the weeks. And for some reason getting the new schedule gets me excited every week. It's like a lottery. Sometimes I have terrible shifts, great shifts, barely any shifts...then I have to budget and strategize my funds based on that.
 
Hrm... feeling the solidarity... seems we're all at about the same place.

Is there ANYONE that is genuinely happy though, that could share some insights into how to become more happy? Need to be a better person, in general. Any tips and wisdom would be appreciated.
 
Culling the Fixture Room like I used to cull PFresh.

Instead of having food fights with the compactor I have upgraded to more violent shelves/Soft Lines signs, etc.

Also, coffee, adderall, and lots and looootts of beer help too.

I get to work in the morning like

screen-shot-2013-12-31-at-9-15-30-pm.png


And then the beer is to bring me back up after I leave defeated because I was not able to do all the things 🙁
 
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My commute to work is about 30 minutes each way...I love it . Why? Because it gives me time to think on the drive in and get myself pumped up for the day. On the way home it gives me time to calm down a little ( if it was a bad day) and go over things in my head so that when I get out of the car I try not to worry about it anymore ( some days that's easier said than done) I also am a strong believer in prayer ( not everyone will agree with that but to each their own). I pray on my way to work, I pray for my etls, tl, co workers ,etc. I pray that my etls, stl, tls will treat others the way they would want their mother, father, sister, brother, friend, and or child treated. I also pray that I will treat people the way that I should even though sometimes its difficult. I also try to remind myself that at the end of my shift I get to go home...and even though my house is only a 30 minute drive from Spot it seems a world away.
 
Hrm... feeling the solidarity... seems we're all at about the same place.

Is there ANYONE that is genuinely happy though, that could share some insights into how to become more happy? Need to be a better person, in general. Any tips and wisdom would be appreciated.

I don't think anyone is really going to be able to answer that for you. There are plenty of generic, fail proof things you can do. Simply taking care of yourself health wise is the general idea. But it's really up to you to find something that will raise you up from the ashes of another shitty day at work.

As a single adult with nearly zero friends, what works for me is creating plans of what to do on my days off. My work week becomes a lot more bearable when I have something to look forward too. And giving myself a reason to get out of bed, is the easiest way to recharge my mood, so my new work week has a good start. Lucky for me, I always have the same days off, so it makes it easier to plan around. (if possible, it's worth trying to adjust your availability for that if you think you would benefit) So I'll plan "single person" friendly activities. If I have money, I may go see a movie or go to the mall. Even if I don't have much money, I'll go to the mall anyway and browse. I'll drive to one further away just to enjoy the ride, and see a new place. My local mall is pretty standard so I shop at that one, but if I don't plan on shopping, I like to drive to a really fancy upscale mall that's further away. It's a nice place to walk around with cool stores, and the drive to it is full of lush trees and fancy homes and businesses. I love getting to drive around in my car. Since it's a fancy mall, I'll sort of "dress up" for it too. Like I said previously, spending extra time on my appearance just makes me feel good. I look good, I feel good. It's nice to not wear red for once, which helps me forget about Target for a little bit.

I mean, really, in my opinion, it's all about getting creative in finding ways to trick yourself into distraction. I have plenty of weekends where I sleep well into the afternoon, eat and be up for a few hours, before falling back into another nap. Depression is a motherfucker, and I don't consider it bad to have mental sick days. But really what helps get me out of it, is anything to just get my mind moving. Even if all I do for the weekend is go grocery shopping, it helps. Hobbies are good too. I've sort of lost my passion for many of my hobbies, and that's had a huge negative impact on my depression. Whenever I manage to actually do something I used to love, it always helps. And when I don't, it always hurts.

My point? I don't know. Just try to stay motivated to working towards better days. Many times it fails for me, but then are many times it doesn't. I just sort of roll with the punches at this point.
 
I show up to work 1-3 hours early. I have a really good relationship w the baristas, so I always stop at Starbucks and shoot the breeze with them while getting my daily pick me up. If I have a few bucks in my pocket, I'll check out the store, both to scope out how busy it is and see if there's anything nice I want. Usually I grab a pack of Pokemon cards, those are always a joy to open. If I came 2+ hours early I tend to each lunch in the breakroom. Most commonly, I like to sleep on the futon for a bit. I absolutely hate feeling rushed, which is why I show up so early. It does wonders to help me relax before work and feel refreshed. Also I try to remind myself I'm just here until I finish school and I'm getting paid for putting up with this anyways (not nearly enough pay but you know).
 
Slam your head against the wall for several minutes before clocking in, to prepare yourself for the day. Or just vaporize some high quality cannabis extract before work.


*Please do not do any of these things.
 
I like to get up early and get ready for the day with plenty of time--not rushed. I always eat breakfast too. I just like the quiet time to myself to gear up. Also, it sounds corny, but try to focus on the nice guests. The crabby ones are the ones that stand out, but there really are lots of nice ones every day--I try to not let the one bad one sour me for the day. I know that some people do well with a gratitude journal or jar, but for me it is just another task to add to the day--might work for you though.
 
Coffee and just knowing that it doesn't matter and I get paid for not really caring.
 
Make a plan. Get the hard stuff completed first, if possible. Put the right people in the right place to accomplish tasks quickly. Plan to their strengths and weaknesses.

Rely on your key players. Work "around" those who slow you down.

Connect with your team. Make sure they know they are appreciated.

Go into it knowing that the best laid plans may still fail if the sh!t hits the fan.
 
I wake up 2-3 hours before the shift (open/mid/close doesn't matter), take long showers hoping I'll drown but I'm tall so that wouldn't work, leave thirty minutes before I have to be there and completely skip a meal because I was sad in the shower. Go to the back, turn the music up and enjoy the solitude in the back.
 
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