How to find joy in your media work

News Editor and Career Mentor at BBC News, Omotola Adebanjo was right about most people spending more time at work than home in her recent post on LinkedIn.

Her advice to “Find joy in your work”  is however not something many can easily do depending on their perception of what work is about, especially the ones that keep you busy all day like in media houses.

As a media career coach and mentor, the post got me thinking about how journalists can find joy in their hectic job schedules that keep them away from home or being on the computer even while at home.

Below are my thoughts in no particular order of importance.

1. Know that not being joyful about what you do for most of your day can lead to depression, anxiety and other disorders that can affect your productivity. To be joyful is a healthy and wise choice.

2. Be intentional about liking your work even if you don’t, considering that how well you do the present one may determine if you will get a preferable one. You are not likely to do well in what you don’t like. Don’t take up a journalism job for want of something else to do. You need to be passionate and excited about doing it to give it your best shot.

3. To find joy in your work you must search for it. Know what aspect of your job can give you joy and focus on it no matter how long you spend on your job. It could just be the satisfaction of the impact your report makes, meeting people, going places, working in a team and more.

4. Be happy you have work to do or you are employed and would be paid for the hours you are working. That you are found suitable to do the work assigned to you is something you should be glad about. Many of your contemporaries who are jobless wish they can be as lucky as you are being employed or busy doing something.

5. Understand the nature of your work and see the long schedule for what it is to get the work done instead of being unnecessarily sad about how much time you are staying back at work. In a digital age, media job is now almost round the clock. Be sure you have what it takes to cope. Terms and conditions applies.

6. Bring joy to your work by contributing to having a conducive work environment in the way you relate and interact with your colleagues.  Come up with suggestions that can make the work fun. All work and no play can make journalists dull professionals. Journalists cannot live with writing or producing reports alone.

7. Associate with people who want to be happy at work. Some people have such a negative attitude to their work that they can easily infect you with their permanent state of gloom. Belong to groups that allow for interactions with colleagues and seniors. Find out how others are coping and come up with your own strategies.

8. Master your job well to be able to do it almost effortlessly even if it will take hours to accomplish your daily tasks. Avoid waiting till the last minute to do your work in a way that will put you under pressure.