Yoga at work - part 2

As humans, we lable things. That's how we communicate; how language was first formed. We even have lables of our own (usually chosen by our parents, but one can always get creative later in life ;) )

So at work, it makes perfect sense that we lable things here, too. Some of them are useful at times. Your "To Do" box tells you what needs to get done. But, as we all know, feelings of apathy, boredom, feeling depressed or overwhelmed, or sheer panic can set in when looking at that In Box. Here is a little exercise to try the next time that happens.

First of all, take just ONE thing out of your In Box. You can only deal with one thing at a time, and for now, it is this. Now, especially if it's something you don't want to do, pretend you're doing it for someone else. Don't lable it as anything unpleasant. Instead, give it an imaginary lable like "very important document". Imagine that you've just done your best friend in the world a very nice favor, taking care of that important document. How does that feel? Much better than still staring at it in the In Box, right?

Now, I know this exercise is imaginative, and silly to some extent, but in another way it makes perfect sense. Every time you complete a difficult or unpleasant task at work, you ARE doing a friend a favor - yourself. You will reduce your stress level, feel more able and competent, and begin to see that by applying yourself meditatively even to those tasks that aren't your favorite, you are contributing to your place of work (even if this is home), which in turn contributes to the whole Universe. And who doesn't want to show up to work to help the whole Universe? :)