From time to time we are all experience a really horrible day at the office. While this is a reality for even the most positive person, not every day at the office needs to be a terrible day. It is a known fact that a happy worker is the most productive worker. While we are all entitled to having a bad day from time to time by consciously choosing to improve our working situation it is possible to enjoy work and love what it is that we do for a living. Provided you are in your desired line of work and by consciously choosing to make your work environment one that leaves you inspired and excited work can be fulfilling and fun.

Bad days at the office are all too familiar with everyone with a personality and some days that personality just doesn't get out of bed when you do. Here are some tips on how to improve a bad day at the office and turn your office frown upside down.

Keep it Clean and Simplify

Your workspace, office and desk are a reflection of the kind of worker that you are. So take a look around, is your desk cluttered, dirty and chaotic? As with your home, your office and at best your desk, should be your personal safe-haven, conducive of maximum output as well as provide you with the personal inspiration that you require in order to perform optimally. Some may argue they quite enjoy wading through the organised chaos in their office, however if continuously experiencing ghastly days at work you may want to consider a spring clean. Avoid 'irritable office syndrome' by cleaning up and throwing our on a regular basis. While you may feel like 'Suzy Home Maker', the results of being surrounded by orderliness, cleanliness and basic organisation makes the world of difference to your time spent at work. Make a habit of clearing out the coffee cups, using and 'in and out' tray to organise lose papers and files and throw your rubbish away. Hoarding doesn't make you look more important or productive but conversely, that you don't have a handle on your responsibilities nor respect for your work and the environment in which you spend 70% of your day in.

Bring a piece of outside, Inside

Before starting to fill your office with beach sand and an umbrella (as I would do, if taken literally), essentially what I am referring to, is bringing a piece of home, a photo, artwork, ornament or anything that is not work related but makes you happy, to your office. Naturally be conservative and remember that you are at work, an environment where professionalism and moderation should be exercised at the best of times but there is nothing wrong with a little piece of external stimulation that allows for a moment of escapism here and there. Similarly to a bachelor having house plants to make his lady friends feel more comfortable in a masculine setting, office plants in fact do offer a sense of peace and tranquillity in a stressful environment. Whether plants come to you to die or you have a natural green finger, test out placing a small pot plant (start with a hardy type such as a cactus) on your desk and notice how its presence sooths you and instantly lowers your stress levels at work.

Get Your Heart Beating

When you feel the pressure mounting during a bad day at the office, take 5 minutes, regardless of the feeling that you don't have enough hours in the day to get your work done and get moving. Go for a walk down to reception or take an amble up the fire escape (but don't jump) and get your heart beating again. When sitting at your desk for long periods of time most of the blood in your body sits in your feet and thus oxygenated blood moves slower throughout your body, which results in moodiness, and lethargy. Try to take a couple of breaks even if you are a diehard workaholic, essentially in doing so you will get more done and feel better about yourself at the end of the day. Another recommendation to mention under this point is to drink plenty of water during the day. While it is vitally important to keep hydrated during the day for sustained concentration and work endurance, the frequent loo breaks that you will naturally have to take will also provide for the momentary escapes that will get your going again.

Positive Practice

While this is the most common and obvious of the ways in which you can improve the quality of your working day, its significance is worth the continued mention. Avoid negativity and try to practice the power of positive though as soon as you begin to feel down. We are all our own hardest critics and it is very easy to slip into a habit of 'Stinking Thinking' and poor me syndrome. Instead of focussing on everything that seems wrong with your life and your job, identify the things that are right (friends, family and things outside of work that make you happy). If you are overwhelmed with deadlines, remember that the weekend, at most, can only be 5 working days away and you will be able to put your feet up again, rest and relax if only for an hour here and there. Try to concentrate on even the simplest things that might be going right for you during times of pressure, stress and depression. There is always one thing that we can hold onto or look forward to when we just can't seem to get through a bad day at the office. Also remember to smile, even if you don't feel like it or if you feel as though your face might break when doing so, smile anyway. True to the saying; Smile and the whole world smiles with you, give it a try and you will be astounded at how powerful a simple smile can be.

Everyone at any given moment in time is carrying a weight that others might not be aware of. What makes this worse is, when times are tough, often the first place to feel the weight of this baggage is our work experience and time spent in the office. Practice these basic and simple efforts in improving our experience at work and begin to notice a marked improvement. Regardless of whether or not you need to do so, exercise these simple methods and improve your productivity and job satisfaction even further.

Copyright (c) 2008 Camilla Patten