One of the hardest things to do is stay motivated at work. Depending on your situation, you may be motivated by fear of your boss, love of technology, potential to advance your career, ability to enhance your knowledge of a particular subject matter, or cash. The main thing is to understand your motivations, and make the most of it.

Show me the money!

Well, actually, maybe there is no “or” involved when it comes to cash. Even a small 2-3% yearly raise helps to boost your motivation, even if just a little. It tells you “I’m doing something right, because I’m theoretically better off this year than last year”. If you get more than that, then you’re ahead of the game right? Keep on working hard, you’re on the right track.

So what happens when the economy drives into a tar pit, and your company initiates a salary freeze? You’re doing the same work, but year after year goes by and you haven’t seen an additional dime. Maybe you’re even seeing less, because they stopped your 401k matching. If the only thing that motivates you at work is money, then you’re bound to feel the pain of the economy even more.  So without cash, what motivates you?

Don’t just think of yourself

I’m not getting paid enough, I hate this place, I should just quit. Sound familiar? While that may all be true, perhaps you’d be better off thinking of others as well. About 9% of the U.S. never complains about not making enough money. You know why? Because they’re unemployed, and not making any money at all! If you had no job, you’d probably kill a baby polar bear just to get your current job which you hate so much.

If that’s not enough, think about your family. Maybe there’s a wife (or husband) and kid at home. Let them motivate you to perform to the best of your abilities. Maybe your situation isn’t ideal, but just giving up never let anyone achieve their goals. Stick with it, and maybe things at the job will improve. Things really aren’t that bad as long as you’re paying the bills and everyone at home is happy, right? Your motivation is to keep them healthy and happy.

Rule your domain

So the money isn’t flowing, and the career advancement isn’t there. If you’ve been stuck in that rut for years on end, then maybe it’s time to reevaluate your current employer. However, if it’s only been a few years, then hopefully you’ve been making the best of it. Take the time to really master your craft, whatever that may be. The strengthening of your skill set will only help you in the future. If not at your current place of employment, then certainly down the road, when it really is time to find a new gig.

Be different, be happy

In the end, all that really matters, or really should matter anyway, is whether you’re happy or not. Most of us can’t just separate it out like that, and ignore money, and the gizmos that our friends have. Let that be your overall goal. Be motivated because you actually enjoy what it is that you’ve decided to do. I’m in the same boat as you, and have a small amount of hatred (a.k.a. jealousy) for people who actually enjoy their line of work. I sort of like what I do, sometimes, but I definitely don’t sit here happy that I get to stare at a computer screen all day ruining my vision, and getting carpal tunnel syndrome. My motivation is to keep at the grind, because right now it’s manageable, and eventually I’ll find something that just fits me. Money would be nice, but the true goal is happiness.  I try to remind myself every day.

While I talk a lot of smack about life in a little cubicle, I recognize that it does occasionally bring some joy to my life. Mostly, this comes in the form of unexpected free food! That may not sound like anything that exciting, but when you’ve been staring at a little computer screen for hours, and you’re possibly a little simple minded like myself, that’s all it takes to make it a good day.

The random pizza party

Once or twice a year, your company may have one of those “Uh oh, we just laid off another 30 people, what can we do to trick the others into being nice, docile, non-rampaging employees” moments.  Fixing budgets, and improving business models is tricky stuff. You know what’s not tricky? PIZZA! Everyone loves pizza. All sorts of bad things can be going on, but if we get that random 11:00am email entitled “Free pizza in the conference room at 12”, BAM, it was a good day. Is management taking advantage of the Peons desire for tasty unhealthy foods, yes. Do we love it, of course.

Big Wig lunch conference scraps

Sometimes, the Big Wigs roll into town, and take control of a conference room for half the day discussing things my feeble brain simply could not comprehend. While I couldn’t care less what they were discussing (unless it’s about who’s getting the axe next), being the battered office veteran that I am, I know we’re in for a treat.

If the meeting is taking place anywhere near lunchtime, do yourself a favor, and just hold out! The second you go out to buy lunch, you’re going to come back into the office, and see that they’re feasting on a pile of gourmet sandwiches. There’s some sort of rule that says “if you’ve got a bunch of guys in suits talking about stuff, make sure to buy them twice the amount of food they could possibly eat, just to make it look more pimped out”. What that means for the little guy is free sandwiches. Not just any sandwiches…the Big Wig conferences only get the GOOD sandwiches from the expensive deli, not the cheap grade D sliced meat stuff you’d normally buy for yourself to save cash. Take advantage, have a little snack at 12, and wait till their meeting is over at 2, then when they all leave it’s open season, and time to FEAST!

Mystery goodies

Sometimes, for reasons you don’t understand, someone from your office wakes up in the morning in a super good mood. That person then decides to buy a few boxes of Entenmann’s donuts for the office to share. I’ve never been able to predict when this will happen, but it’s better that way. The identity of this charitable unhealthy breakfast giver always remains a mystery. Perhaps they just enjoy seeing one less person about to rip a wall off of their cubicle. Think about it, how can you be mad after a donut?!

Post Holiday dessert leftovers

I’ve seen this one time and time again. People get or make a ridiculous amount of dessert for some holiday occasion, and are immediately disgusted with it after everyone leaves their house. What to do in a situation like that? Simple, unload all of the stuff on your office coworkers. Right after Halloween, I PROMISE you, you’ll find at least one huge bowl of left over candy. After Christmas, a pile of cookies, brownies etc. After Thanksgiving, maybe a leftover pumpkin pie. All you need to know is, around the holidays be ready, because there are always a few thousand random calories that need a home.

The main rule to free office food is basically just to keep your eyes open, and be ready! You never know when it’ll happen, but you know that at some point, it will happen. That alone is enough to keep strong in the never ending office battle.

Whether you love your job or not, the day to day activities tend to get repetitive. Same people, same responsibilities, same environment. Having some variety mixed in can go a long way to preventing burn out. Having the opportunity to go to a work conference, while always a mixed bag of tricks, is usually a welcomed change to break up the monotony.

The knowledge of your peers
These types of things always seem to come at a bad time. You’ve got deadlines, and things to take care of. Why do you have to go away for a few days to hear boring speeches, and sit through training sessions? While these things may be true, you should also recognize it as an opportunity. It’s already happening, so if you just embrace it, you’ll get much more out of it.

People from many different locations, and job environments usually wind up at these things. Sometimes, it’s refreshing to see who they are, and how their situation relates to yours. That in itself can make you feel better, knowing that you’re not alone. Others share the same concerns, and problems. Often at these conferences, someone may have approached things from a different angle, and already come up with a solution that you can share with your coworkers. No matter the type of conference, or the industry involved, it can always help to absorb the shared knowledge of your peers.

Some downtime with coworkers
Besides the actual work related knowledge you may gain from these conferences, you will inevitably spend a lot of personal time with your coworkers. In your office, you may see each other from 9-5, but while traveling, you may find yourself with a room mate, or having a few beers after the educational portion of the day. Believe it or not, this can go a long way to improving your in-office situation. The more comfortable you are with someone, the easier it is to deal with a difficult situation. Being on your own is never fun, so sharing in an experience like this with a coworker will always make you feel more like a team. You might still be stuck working at the job, but at least you’ll gain another person to complain to!

Time to get away
Regardless of what you learn, or how much closer to your coworkers you may become, going to a conference usually means getting away! Even if you’re from a great city like Manhattan, going somewhere else is always refreshing. You get to see what the it’s like in another city, and hopefully see what the locals do for fun. Different sights, bars, restaurants, whatever. It’s different, so it’s more interesting than the stuff that you see every day going to and from your local office.

Act on that newfound info
One thing I’ve learned from going to a few of these types of conferences, is that if you get home and don’t take some sort of action on the new information you’ve attained, it tends to get lost. You have have learned about some new programs, or techniques. They made a lot of sense and were fresh in your mind at the time, but a month later, you’re not quite sure why it was so relevant. When you get back, just go through some notes, take another look at the slides/handouts/websites, and let it really sink in. Only then can you really put it to work.

Let’s face it, living without money is hard. Ideally, we could all just go through life being nice, and things would work out. However, after living on this planet for about two seconds, I realized that this will never happen. So I studied a subject I liked, then went out and landed a job that seemed fitting. What could go wrong, right? Well, I seem to have gotten a little case of “Keeping up with the Joneses”…that’s what went wrong.

If you’re unfamiliar with that term, it basically means that you compare yourself to your neighbors (and friends), and what they have. If they have more, you feel inferior, and want what they have. I’m not even materialistic. I don’t even crave high end goods. Yet somehow, my mind has still fallen into the trap of directly comparing myself with others, and feeling bad about it. Yeah, I have a job that I (occasionally) enjoy, and it pays my bills. The only problem is that (a) stuff (houses, food, air) in the NY/NJ area is really expensive, and (b) most of my friends make at least twice, and some even four times as much as I do. So I’ve made a decision, I’m not going to let my income determine the outcome of my life.

If all I did was stick to the stats, I would never win. Someone always has more. The only way to be truly happy in life is to appreciate what you have, make the best of it, and not worry about the other guy. I’m not saying that it’s an easy thing to do. Some of us just got wired to look left and right with jealousy. The key is to really think about it, and become aware of the situation. Also, take a look around, and you’ll find people with a lot less than you who are leading fulfilling lives. If they can do it, why can’t we?

Some things would need to change obviously. Financial responsibility most definitely has to be a part of this equation. Chances are, if you’re working in some sort of desk job like me, the money isn’t flying at you, so you need to be smart about how it gets used. Do you really need an iPhone? The cheapest option is still $70 a month. I use my ‘normal’ cell phone and pay $30 instead. So over the course of the year, I save $480! Do you really need to hit up Starbucks every day? Even if your drink is only $2.50 a day, over the course of the month that $50, over the course of the year that $600! Combine that with the cellphone, and I just saved $1080 over the course of a year. If this is part of my normal lifestyle, over 5 years, that’s $5,400. So from day 1, if I was putting that money aside for some average investments getting an 8% return per year, I would have $6,842.80 at the end of year 5. All from just staying away from the fancy phone, and not buying individual cups of coffee (I make my own).

So with this two pronged approach, I plan to get through life with a good level of happiness. I will recognize that material things aren’t that important, and it doesn’t matter what my friends have. We’re different people, and should lead different lives. If they have excess money to spend, that doesn’t mean I do, so why should I compare at all? We don’t even have the same kind of job. Then to make the most of what I do have, I stop the financial bleeding where I can, such as the tiny changes mentioned above. If you sit down and analyze your monthly spending, I’m sure you’ll find some as well. Using a tool such as Mint.com can also help you track your spending, and set goals. Remember, small things add up to big savings!

Now get back to work, and quit looking at your neighbors stuff! None of it matters in the big scheme of life.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and I’ve seen a few TV shows where they were making it a point to actually give thanks for some of the things in their lives. Being totally uncreative, I’ve decided to steal that idea. The more I thought about it, even though I can talk trash about working in a cube for hours, there’s quite a bit that I can be thankful for as well.

While working in an office cubicle, and being lost among a sea of horrid half-walls and industrial carpet is not exactly living the high life, at least it is a living. By ‘a living’, of course I mean it pays my bills…most of them anyway. With the state of the U.S. economy still in recovery mode, this year I am thankful that I still have a decent job. Sure, I may not love everything I’m doing, or get some sort of deep down satisfaction at the end of each day, but I’m a lot better off than those who didn’t make it through the 4 rounds of job cuts my company went through earlier this year.

I squeaked through with a 10% pay cut for half of the year, but at the end of it all, I still had a full time job. Every once in a while, I actually recognize how bad the finances were at my company in order for them to be forced to lay off so many people. In those times of recognition, like right now, I say thank you for that pay cut, and thank you for letting me lead my simple lifestyle without making too many changes.

As we all know, the office can be filled with a bunch of annoying characters. Maybe they’re trying to make awkward conversation with you in the kitchen, or jumping into your cube unexpectedly, ignoring some basic cube etiquette. Maybe they smell, or don’t even recognize the things you do. There’s tons of things to complain about with coworkers, but hey, they spice up the potential monotony of the day as well. If everyone in my office had a completely neutral personality, with no quirks or issues to deal with, I’d have a lot less to talk about.

That’s not even a reference to Office Cube Life, I mean in general. Whether you’re in the elevator, out at lunch, or having a beer…coworkers give you a lot of material to talk about with your friends and other coworkers. So this year, I say thank you to the guy that forgets to flush in the bathroom. I say thanks to the guy that doesn’t even know I exist, and ignores me because I’m not in a suit. You guys may not be my buddies, or the type of people I’d want to be stuck in an elevator with, but you make my day a little more interesting.

At the end of the day, I’m very happy to have my little web job. Who am I to complain, when there are whole families struggling to stay afloat, and I’m still paying $80 a month for my gym membership. Just this once, everything is okay with life, and I love working in my little office cubicle.

I love Friday. There I said it. Sometimes even the most obvious fact needs to be said out loud. After all….I’m talking about Friday here! I know every one of you out there loves Friday just as much as I do. I usually don’t like sharing things to this extent, but I will make an exception for the benefit of office workers everywhere and allow you all to love the one I hold closest to my heart.

Everyone has had one of those weeks where everything was going wrong, taking longer than expected, getting on your nerves and just destroying all of the joy in life. It seems hopeless, like there is no way for your misery to end. We’ve all been there, and we’ve all made it through. Why? Because everyone knows from early on in life that no matter how miserable your week is, you’ll eventually hit Friday. It serves as a beacon in the night, guiding you through the darkness. Once that whistle blows, you’re off the clock and freedom is yours!

Not only does Friday give you some motivation to make it through the work week, it’s also the most understanding of days. Maybe you went out on Thursday night, and have a killer hangover. That’s okay, because Friday understands. Maybe you’re thinking about an upcoming concert on Saturday and have already mentally checked out for the week. That’s fine, Friday never expects too much out of you anyway. Friday even has a lot of clout in the business world, influencing managers and bosses everywhere to be a little more relaxed than usual. Just think how often you’ve heard something to the effect of “Don’t worry, it’s Friday. We can worry about it next week”.

Any day that has it’s own slogan has got to be a good one. You never hear anyone say TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday), it’s TGIF! People love this day so much, they even started a restaurant chain named after that slogan: TGI Friday’s. Just think about that for a second. Some people were going to start a restaurant, and it came time to pick the name. They sat around, and thought “Let just make it easy, and name it something that is impossible not to love…something about Friday…we can’t lose!”

So the next time you find yourself crammed in a cube working on boring things that don’t interest you just so you can pay your rent, just take a second and think of Friday. You know it’ll always be there, waiting and ready to give you some much needed relaxation.

In closing, I find that I am moved to write Friday a poem. I’ll give it a fitting, clever name…how about “Friday, A Poem”

The week is young, and the pain it starts,
As if Monday’s only purpose is to blacken our hearts;
Forever it goes, the work never ending,
A happy employee, but always pretending;
Will it end before I meet my grave,
A whisper of encouragement, ‘Just Be Brave’;
From where did it come, a voice far away,
But then I realize, it came from Friday;
A simple reminder that I’m strong enough to survive,
And make it until the weekend, when my soul may thrive;
Thank you Friday, for guiding me through,
No other way to say it, I truly love you.

You’ve finally gotten to work after an extra rough commute, are barely sitting down, and the annoying guy in your cube farm immediately comes up to you asking questions your brain isn’t ready to handle. All you can think is “I haven’t even had my coffee yet, why is he over here. I wish I worked from home, then this would never happen”. Well, this may be shocking to hear, but “telecommuting” isn’t always that great.

When you’re actually working from home for a while, you begin to realize that the cube life actually does have a few benefits over your house or apartment. Let’s take a few moments to recognize that everything really isn’t so bad in the workplace.

Your office chair is awesome

Face it, you’re never going to drop $1,500 on that super comfortable air mesh, spring loaded, lumbar supporting, multi–angle adjustable chair that you have in your office. The $150 imitation version from Staples looks pretty cool, but after a few hours at home, you realize that there is no substitute for the real thing. When you’re having a bad day, the last thing you want is physical discomfort as well. Knowing that when you get back to your cube, you’ll at least have a great chair to sit on is definitely a huge advantage.

I’ll get so much more done at home…well, maybe

One comment I’ve heard thrown around a lot is “I get so much more done at home without all of the distractions at work”.  While this may be valid for some occupations, I have found the opposite to be true.

Sure, you’re at home, and can work in your boxers. You’re going to be a swift, work demolishing machine now that you can do whatever you want without disturbing, or being disturbed by your coworkers, right? A little TV for some background noise, and you’re ready to rumble. Oh wait, is that the new trailer for that Bruce Willis movie Surrogates? I like sci-fi, let me look it up online real quick. Oh shoot, I never did the dishes, and they’d better be clean before my wife gets home, or else. Ah lunchtime, I’ll just watch an episode…or two…of something I recorded last week.

Like it or not, being AT work helps you avoid all of the random distractions that may come up while sitting around in your home. Also, those little disturbances from your cube neighbors may actually help you focus, or at least motivate you to get something done so they’ll get off your back.

Working at home is lonely

Even in the age of the Internet, where you can be constantly connected via IM, Facebook, Twitter etc., working all alone can still be lonely. You may go through an entire day of working at home, then realize you haven’t moved more than 20 feet in the past 8 hours. You also haven’t even spoken more than a few words (to yourself). This is fine for a day or two, but it will quickly remind you of how much you miss the random social interaction you get from your office.

You may think that working from home is a panacea and will fix all of your problems, but trust me it isn’t and it won’t. It has its’ advantages for some, but for the majority, I believe that working in a real office will enable you to stay more focused on your work, and keep you at least mildly social.

The dreaded work commute, is there anything worse? Whether or not you actually like your job, commuting is rarely spoken of with kind words. Some people have to deal with an hour of car traffic, while others have to cram onto a subway train with the masses. Every once in a while, a new report comes along with data indicating that people are working from, a.k.a. “telecommuting” at higher and higher rates every year. Well, until we reach a time when that is the norm, we all have to deal with commuting. So in the meantime, did you ever stop to consider the upside to it all?

You know it’s coming, so just accept it and relax

You wake up, get ready, and head into work. However you do it, it’s your routine. There really isn’t that much that differs from day to day for most of us. You’ve been doing this for a while, you know how it works, and accepting it all is the key to being able to relax.

If you drive to work, I’m sure you take the same route or two every day. You know about the traffic mess, you know about the potholes. This isn’t a surprise, so just take it all in stride. There’s no need to stress out, and add to the road rage, honking your horn, driving aggressively etc. Since you already know what’s coming, just turn on some music, and use it as some quality time. When else during your week will you have a solid hour to just sit there and listen to music, or a good podcast? Make use of this time for some enjoyment, instead of just wasting it by raising your blood pressure and getting angry at the world.

Go with the flow, don’t fight it

If you’re a mass transit commuter, you have to deal with an entirely different set of commuting challenges. Yes, schedule changes, bad weather, and breakdowns are definitely a headache, and there’s not much you can do about them. However, if you step out the door each day ready to just go along for the ride, and don’t worry about everything being ideal, it helps.

Into music, then bring along your iPod and just zone out. Actually enjoy it, instead of having it as a soundtrack to your stress. Put on something relaxing to help set the tone. Bring along a book or a magazine, and think of delays as a bonus to get to the next chapter. I promise you, if you’re in the middle of reading something you really enjoy, you’ll actually be happy if you miss your train, and have some extra time to kill.

What if you don’t have anything to read, or listen to? Not a problem, time to get creative. I’m a firm believer that “people watching” should be a sport. I’m not talking about stalking the cute girl on her way to work, I’m talking about noticing people, and all of their differences and peculiarities. Imagine who they are, where they’re coming from, what makes them so interesting/weird/angry/happy. You can make a little story up. It definitely beats staring at a poster, or down an empty subway tunnel.

Remember, whatever you do to pass the commute, this is totally free time where you don’t have to think, or be responsible for anything, other than keeping your car in a straight line, or walking along with the crowd into an open door. Let your autopilot take care of the routine, and use that free time for a little fun!

Now get to work in a good mood, or at least a neutral one.

Whether you realize it or not, doing an excellent job, and moving up the food chain within your company often have no connection with each other. You would think that exceeding expectations, and always getting the job done would be enough to gain the favor of the higher ups. Unfortunately, most of the time, the final ingredient needed for success is a little bit of office politics.

If you’ve never heard the term before, go ask the guy in your office who is always trying to be near the big wigs and talk to them…about anything. He know’s exactly what office politics are all about. Basically, work itself it not enough to get noticed. Sometimes, you basically just need people to like you, which often involves having somewhat fabricated conversations, just so they know who you are.

This sounds somewhat ridiculous, as far as helping out with your success is concerned. Just think about it for a minute though. If there is an open position that you’re hopeing to be considered for…and there’s an equally qualified guy in your office going for the same spot, chances are they’ll hire the guy they are more friendly with. Sad but true. There’s no playoffs when it comes to this sort of thing, just a bit of very casual favoritism.

So how to go about doing this? It’s really not that hard. It’s more of making a point to not just ignore social situations. You’d be surprised how far dropping a “Good morning” at the coffee machine can take you. Or a quick little “Ahhh Friday” while waiting for the elevator. As insanely simple as that sounds, that can really be all it takes for someone to remember you as a nice guy.

Taking it one step farther, don’t be so quick to just ignore any social events. Someone you know in the office is having drinks for their birthday, or a going away party? Just head on over and grab a few. You might just talk to a few friends, or you might incidently rub some elbows with your boss etc. Just having your face somewhat recognizeable by the upper brass is a good thing. It certainly can’t hurt you…as long as you’re not the guy that shows up and has WAY too many drinks, and makes a fool of himself.

So the next time you’re crossing paths with a big wig, or some event presents itself, just get in there and toss a few simple words out! A few simple comments may be all it takes for you to stand out above a sea of similar employees stuffed in a cube.

It’s a few weeks into the 2009 summer, and the news is still talking about the flu. Not just any flu, but the dreaded H1N1 virus, a.k.a. the “Swine Flu”. It has even gotten to the point where the little ice freezer in my office has a sign that reads “Warning: Due to the current flu epidemic, please do not use your hands to remove ice”. Wait a second, that means if not for the sign and current flu going around, there would be people in my office using their germ ridden hands to grab ice? Hmmm, let me think on that…..gross!

You may not realize it, but your office is one giant collection of germs. Let’s face it, not everyone has the best hygiene. Think of the guy you just saw in the bathroom who didn’t wash his hands. He opens the door by touching the doorknob….spreads germs. Then he goes into the kitchen to grab a plastic fork for lunch..spreads more germs. While he’s there, he opens the fridge to grab his food…a few more germs find a home.

This is a completely common scenario, and basically spreads germs everywhere you could imagine. You don’t have to actually have a disease/cold/flu or whatever to be spreading this stuff all over your workplace. So many people just aren’t in the habit of washing their hands regularly, they can’t help but act as a subway system for those microscopic commuters.

So what can be done to combat your coworkers lack of cleanliness, and prevent you from accidentally spreading whatever germs you’ve come in contact with?

Wash your hands
An oldie but a goodie. I can’t stress this one enough. It almost too simple to ignore. If you walk outside for lunch, and come back inside, you’ve probably touched a few doors and elevator buttons. Guess what? That totally dirty smelly guy in your office probably touched the same exact things. So whatever his hands came in contact with, yours just did too! Do everyone a favor, and just head straight to a sink and wash your hands with some soap. Just running them through water for 2 seconds doesn’t cut it.

Careful what you touch
Pay some attention to what your hands come into contact with, and where you put them. Even your own stuff probably has a good deal of germs on it. That bag you put on the floor of the subway, then put on your desk? There’s probably trace amounts of fecal matter on it AND your desk now. You tap your fingers on the desk, then do some work. Now your computer, and probably your whole cube could have a little something extra on them.

Clean it up
You sit at your cube for at least 40 hours a week. It’s basically inevitable that everything in your area could do with a little cleaning. Why not spend a few bucks on some anti-bacterial wipes, or some spray, and give it all a good once over? You’ll not only be helping yourself out, but possibly preventing the accidental spread of your own germs to your cube neighbors.

Get creative with your appendages
You’ve got a lot more than just hands…so might as well make use of it all. You see that nasty toilet handle? You know it’s not clean, so use your foot to press the handle down. That gross door on the way into your building? Use a closed fist to push it open. It’s the little things like this that might actually save you from a cold or two throughout the year.

The point is that you never know what you’re touching, or what else has been in contact with it, so be careful. Wash those hands, or get some hand sanitizer gel. Think before you stuff that finger in your eye. Keeping it clean is keeping it healthy. Most importantly, don’t touch the ice!