Remember when you first started your current job? Or career? The thrill of it, the newness… kinda like dating, you find everything exciting and full of possibilities. There’s passion and a fire that makes you even love Mondays. Then, something happens… after a few years you kind of wake up from that dream state. The puppy love phase is over and you may wake up in the mornings dreading going into work.

Who doesn’t get burnt out after working at the same company or for the same clients all the time? Maybe you’re trudging at it alone starting your own thing and become confused and fed up… it happens! Luckily there are a few ways that you can fall in love with you job again and rekindle that fire that made going to work joyful.

Change Up Your Routine

First things first, you need to change up your routine. Whether you work from an office or from home, you probably have some sort of routine. Part of the reason people burn out and start getting antsy at their jobs is because it can become very monotonous. You answer emails, work a little, more emails, work some more… there’s rarely any time to go out and soak up different energy or creative juices from other places!

I work from home, and for a while there I did the same thing every single day. It became exhausting and made me produce mediocre work which in turn, slowly made me hate my job. When I changed my routine I felt so much better. I added two days out of the week to work out of coffee shops, I now have a lunch date with a friend every Wednesday and I take trips to Target to look at designs and patterns for inspiration. Whatever you can add to your day that enhances your job and gets you out of that cubie life (or home life), do it.

Get Back To The Basics

There was a point in my career where I was producing work for the sake of money. I needed to pay my bills, so I took whatever client came my way which meant that I got stuck with designing things I didn’t like. My creative input wasn’t taken into account and so I started hate designing to client specifications and it made me dread my job. I knew I was a good designer but I was client pleasing for the paycheck.

I needed that creative outlet so one day I started designing personal projects for things I liked and let my creativity flow. I remember immediately being in the flow state, loosing track of time and being genuinely happy. I designed the Villains and Heroes branding for fun and it made me remember how much I LOVE designing. Taking the time to go back to my basics created this spark inside me. After that day I actively looked for clients that were in tune with my aesthetic and stopped accepting jobs where I was underpaid and undervalued. So whatever the basics looks like to you, remember where that spark comes from and use it.

Take a Vacay

Put some space between you and your job and take a break. Sometimes you need to get away to gain some perspective. When you want to fall in love with your job again, getting away from it could be the solution. Its like a relationship, when your partner leaves on a work trip or is away for an extended period of time, you miss them a lot, and love them even more when they return. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? Try it with your job.

At one of my lowest points when I was lost on my purpose, Keal (my husband) and I, decided to just get away. We went to visit my in-laws in Florida, swung by Disney World and after a while I gained some clarity. I was having so much fun at Epcot that all my worries and all the pressure about finding my purpose melted away, leaving room for only positive thoughts. By the end of my trip I was oozing with new ideas and a whole new grasp on my business. Distance works ma friend!

Create New Goals

Sometimes we outgrow our jobs, sometimes we feel like we’ve gotten everything we can out of it. Other times we just loose sight of our goals altogether, so to fall in love with our jobs again, we need to redefine them. Maybe you want to learn a new skill that complements your talents and current job, maybe you want to attend a conference and network. Whatever it is, make a list of at least 10 new things you can do and set goals to accomplish them.

Job boredom can set in when we’ve mastered our current work and aren’t stimulated or challenged on a daily basis. A couple of years ago, I took up some calligraphy classes just to mix it up and add another service to my business. I am great at typography but I wanted to expand my knowledge to hand lettering. I loved it and I met some cool people on the way. Think of some goals that can enrich your career and expand it.

Align it With Your Purpose (Your ‘Why’)

It’s so easy to loose sight of why we’ve chosen a certain career or job. Why you get up and go to work every morning is very important, because when you do something with intention the value it brings to your life and the joy you feel is unparalleled. Getting in touch with your purpose will make work more fulfilling. I had to to this and even wrote a whole post so that I wouldn’t forget why I do what I do in good days and bad. It definitely helps me keep going.

When you re-focus on your ‘why’, you shift your perception and it makes all the difference. A job that seemed off or boring suddenly takes on a whole new meaning (and maybe new goals will emerge!). You can also align a current job, even if it’s not your ultimate ideal job, to your purpose. When you find even one thing about your job that can help your purpose, it becomes that more enjoyable and you fall in love with your job, at least a part of it.

It’s Time to Fall in Love With Your Job All Over Again

Many of us will fall in and out of love with our job over the course of our career. Like I said, it’s a lot like any other relationship! We start out with the puppy love phase and as time passes the buzz wears off and monotony sets in.

Just remember that it is a relationship, you and your talent, you and your purpose, you and your job. It takes work and you gotta put in the effort to see some change, but honestly, it is totally worth it. Whatever is easier on you, make the time to start changing it up and you’ll start seeing how much joy your job can bring.

–

Do you love your job right now? How do you reset your perspective if not? Do you have any tips? Share below!