Learning how to love your job can improve your career prospects by increasing your productivity and helping you produce better deliverables. Regardless of the particularities of your job, the way you feel about it can have a major impact on your productivity. Loving your job is a valuable step towards a successful career, but it requires determination and consistency. In this article, we discuss why loving your job is important and provide actionable steps on how to love your job more.

Why is it important to love your job?

Having a career that you love can significantly improve every aspect of your life. From a personal standpoint, loving your job usually means you are less likely to be stressed or preoccupied with job-related worries during your personal time. From a career standpoint, doing something that you love greatly improves the odds of you constantly improving and being successful at it. The main reasons why loving your job is important are:

• It increases productivity. Feeling inspired and motivated by what you do can help you stay productive, as you are likely to have an active interest in all aspects related to your career and have a powerful drive to get better.
• It creates a feeling of fulfillment. Loving your job usually means that you don’t simply see it as a source of income, but as a way to express yourself and influence the lives of others. Meeting these two goals can help you feel fulfilled and satisfied.
• It can inspire others. People who love their jobs usually share their enthusiasm and passion with family, friends and coworkers. Simply observing someone who is passionate about what they do can motivate and inspire an individual, while also providing a model for children and young people.

How to learn to love your job

These actions can help you love your job more:

1. Identify the parts that can be improved

The first step towards loving your job is usually identifying exactly what you don’t love about it. Consider making a list of things that you don’t enjoy about your current position and try to be as specific and detailed as possible. After that, you can begin thinking of ways to improve the aspects that you don’t like.

2. Work with your supervisor in implementing realistic goals

Most people are more motivated and inspired when they have clear objectives that they have to meet. Asking your supervisor to set such goals for you is not only likely to provide you with extra clarity and motivation, but also lead to future career advancements, as fulfilling those goals can lead to a salary increase, a promotion or both.

3. Identify the aspects that you love doing

Once you know what your main goals are and what needs to be improved, you can think about all the things that you enjoy doing at your current workplace. Write down all of them, irrespective of their perceived importance, and work with your supervisor to figure out ways to make some of them a bigger part of your everyday activities.Besides making work more enjoyable, focusing on what you like to do can also help you discover things that you’d like to do but are not qualified for. This, in turn, can motivate you to learn how to do them and improve your skill set.4. Make small but regular changesOne of the main factors that lead to workplace dissatisfaction is routine and boredom. One way to escape this is by constantly changing and improving how you do things, even with minor adjustments. If you do this consistently you’re not only likely to love your job more, but also to get better at it and advance professionally as a result. Also, you can sometimes discover that the best way to make a change is to acquire new professional skills, which can benefit your career even more.

5. Organize your office and desk

A cluttered office can be the source of your low energy and feelings of dissatisfaction regarding your job. Although we may not always realize it, a lack of physical order around us can lead to mental and physical fatigue. Try to have everything well-organized, with everything you need being accessible and easy to find. This can apply to your office, your desk and its drawers, but also your computer files and folders.

6. Stay up to date with everything new in your profession

Being successful at what you do and implementing new ways of doing things are usually two main factors that influence job satisfaction and they can both be achieved by constantly following the latest industry developments. You can use a search engine or specific industry websites to constantly discover and analyze new technology and new ways of doing things.

7. Connect with your peers

Many people find it hard to get past the less enjoyable aspects of their jobs because they don’t know many others that can relate to those specific challenges. Making an effort to connect and meet with fellow professionals in your field can help you discover like-minded individuals that are likely to face the same challenges you are facing. Also, you can get the chance to meet more experienced professionals, who have already found ways to successfully take on these challenges.

8. Avoid unnecessary distractions

People who are not inspired by their jobs tend to spend a lot of time at work doing other things, like browsing the internet. Although this may provide temporary relief, it can make it impossible to find positive aspects about your job. If you have time at work for other activities, consider finding extra projects that may require your help. Aside from keeping you focused on your professional activities, they can also help you improve your skills and get noticed by management.

9. Socialize with fellow employees

Most employees work in teams and being part of a group along with people you like can make your work both more fun and more effective. Try to discover what personal passions you and your coworkers have in common and find ways to pursue them together in your personal time. These can be related to sports, music, travel, hiking or anything else.

10. Find ways to enjoy your personal time

The way you spend your time away from work can have a major impact on how much you enjoy your profession. Personal activities can refresh your mind and body or can drain your mental and physical energy. Finding hobbies that inspire you and that you love doing can also help you find pleasure and motivation in your work.

Original Article: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/love-your-job