Do you wish for more fulfilling work but you’re not ready or able to
change jobs right now? Try one or more of these 12 tricks to find more fulfillment right where you are.

Don’t be like the whopping 50 percent of US employees who aren’t satisfied with their jobs and don’t feel they have what it takes to attain fulfilling work (The Conference Board and 360Learning). Don’t suffer needlessly. 

Why Fulfilling Work Is So Critical to Personal Satisfaction

Because you spend such a large part of your waking day and life at your job, it needs to be rewarding. So, let’s break this down a bit more. If you’re like the average American, your job and commute consume 10 hours per workday (US Bureau of Labor Statistics and US Census Bureau). That’s 50 hours a week. Consider also you need to sleep another seven and eight hours per day for your health and well-being. This leaves you with just 6 hours for errands and personal obligations as well as a tiny bit of personal time. In other words, satisfaction and fulfillment are not just personal, they’re professional too.

As a consequence, you want to make your life (whole life) have more purpose either through work or during the workday, especially if you want to experience or do something while out of the house and away from other personal responsibilities (e.g., child care, home maintenance).

12 Ways to Find More Fulfillment At Work

1. Take an assessment of your work with an eye toward identifying: 1) likes and dislikes, 2) applicable but unapplied skills you would like to utilize, and 3) areas you could apply your likes and underutilized skills. Explore how you can incorporate your findings into your current position.
2. Create your own mission statement for life and work. Create some simple results metrics for your mission, e.g., small goals or steps.
3. Notice what motivates you and satisfies you and work more of that into your job. For example, you might enjoy challenges,  collaboration, or innovation. Bring this to the attention of your supervisor and create opportunities for more of this type of work.
4. Explore and learn about new aspects of your work by reading, talking with others, going to events, and networking.
5. Meet with others within your industry to expand your network, perspectives, and perhaps opportunities. Reinvigorate your interest.
6. Do something during a workday break that you can’t fit in at night or morning (e.g., running, working out, museum hopping).
7. Create a book club or other activity that meets over lunch. Gain fulfillment from interesting topics, interesting people, friends, and outside the obligated evening hours.
8. Reflect on your values and create some positive change in the workplace based on this reflection.
9. Learn to tap into your embodied mind or inner wisdom and authentically assess your preferences and options. Apply what you learn.
10. Address any health or wellness issues related to your work or personal life that may be coloring your outlook or hindering your performance and engagement.
11. Set unbreakable start and quiet times so you can get more out of your life outside work.
12. Know when to quit, and quit if there really aren’t any options.

Try one or more of these 12 fulfilling work tricks. Choose to weave more meaning into your day and ultimately experience more rewards and fulfillment.

If you have difficulty implementing any of these tricks, get help. Get a coach.

For Help With Finding More Fulfillment, See:

• Mind Body Spirit blog posts, especially:
  • Is Your Lack of Confidence Holding You Back In Your Career?
  • How Your Embodied Mind Shapes Your Life
  • Why Embodiment Is Important For Self-Awareness
  • Living From the Inside Out
• Workplace Coaching – a Mind-Body-Spirit Approach