I’ve always been one for having fun at work. Be it a spontaneous happy hour with coworkers, a surprise birthday celebration, or cracking a joke (when it’s appropriate, of course) with a work friend—I’ve invited fun into my work life whenever possible. Given that we spend around 90,000 hours at work in our lifetime, I can’t imagine a world where I don’t humanize my professional life every now and then.
And while it’s OK to work a job that simply funds your life, “hating” your job shouldn’t be the norm—90,000 hours is a lot of time that you’ll never get back. Of course, your job isn’t (and shouldn’t be) your entire identity, but it doesn’t need to be a place where you can’t have any fun, either. This is exactly what Bree Groff argues in her new book Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously).
Described by author, Seth Godin, as a “life-changing book about bringing intent to the way we spend most of our time,” Groff’s book speaks to the shared societal feeling of “work sucks”—and how to change it. The book is organized by Groff’s seven rules for better days, and as I read through my copy, I completely filled it with sticky notes and page flags to revisit again and again. And now, I’m sharing what I learned.
Today Was Fun
Alongside personal anecdotes, research, humor, and practical wisdom, Today Was Fun challenges the notion that professionalism means being buttoned up and overworked and provides seven key rules for better days at work and in life.
Bree Groff’s 7 rules for better days
Groff believes that you should love all of your days—even Monday through Friday. So, she organized her book, Today Was Fun, by her seven rules for having better days, and split it into two parts. Her rules, which act as the book’s chapters, are as follows:
Part One: Work should be a source of joy…
1. Most work, most days, should be fun
2. Your brain works whether you’re wearing a suit or stretchy pants
3. Shoveling shit is fun if you like your co-shovelers
4. Make brilliant work—don’t let busyness and conformity sabotage you
5. Keep it cool—we’re all in it together
Part Two: One of many in our lives…
6. You are the defender of date nights, crossword puzzles, and your health
7. Get good at life, not just work
5 lessons I learned from Today Was Fun by Bree Groff
1. Your work wardrobe should be whatever you feel comfortable in
Don’t get me wrong, I love a fashionable work wardrobe and an adorable blazer. But because I work from home, I also love having pajamas, sweats, and lots of casual seasonal attire days just as much. That’s why one of my favorite rules Groff shares is that “Your brain works whether you’re wearing a suit or stretchy pants.” She writes, “Somewhere along the way, we have decided to equate smart and professional with well-dressed and well-groomed, rather than well-exercised, well-rested, well-fed, and happy. We’ve confused being professional with looking professional.”
This made me consider the fact that perhaps the best approach to a work wardrobe—for me at least—is a blended one. I can rock my work wardrobe for an important meeting or a client call, while sprinkling in an equal amount of comfortable outfits in between. I should look for a happy medium wherever possible more often—like wearing a structured blazer with a soft, breathable T-shirt underneath instead of a collared shirt. The pendulum doesn’t have to swing so far one way or the other, so long as I feel good in what I’m wearing and am prepared to take on the day.
“It’s OK to be the person who ‘exceeds expectations,’ so long as it’s across various parts of your life, and not just at work.”
With that said, I don’t have to follow too strict of a dress code, but if you do, try identifying opportunities where you can push boundaries to challenge what it means to “dress professionally” in the workplace. Maybe that looks like pitching casual Fridays to your manager, or advocating for a less strict dress code policy.
2. Who you work with matters just as much as the job you take
Most career advice covers the basics, like how to land your dream job, how to make a career change, what questions to ask in a job interview, and how to negotiate a job offer. Don’t get me wrong, traditional career advice is essential and helpful in building and choosing a career. But no matter which job you take or career path you choose, you’re also choosing who to spend your days with—and that matters just as much, if not more. Whether you like it or not, the people you’re surrounded with can turn a great job into a terrible one. So, Groff’s advice is to “figure out who you like hanging around, and then go work with them.” A few questions worth asking yourself are:
- Do I enjoy being around these people?
- Do we genuinely care about one another? Trust each other?
- Are these the people I want to spend my days with?
- Would I actually want to be friends with these people? (Not always mandatory, but good to consider.)
When I read this portion of the book, I thought about the people who have their dream jobs but not their dream coworkers. You might be wondering—as I did—if you should leave your job to find people you’d rather spend your time with. The answer? Not necessarily. Instead, Groff encourages you to decide what you value more: the work itself or who you want to be around. If your answer is the latter, it might be time to search for your next gig. If it’s the former, stay put as long as your job serves you. There are no right or wrong answers, but the critical thing to remember is that you can decide whom to spend your 90,000 hours with.
3. Busyness and conformity prevent brilliant work (and fun)
Groff advocates for doing brilliant work—the type of work that lights you up, helps you flex your skills, or creates the potential for big impact. She argues that this is what allows us to grow healthy businesses, create impact on the world, and is, most importantly, “one of the coolest parts of being human.” However, when we experience busyness (perceived or real) and conformity (doing things the same way as everyone else) in the workplace, we miss opportunities to do brilliant work.
If you’ve ever felt drained at work, you might experience one or both—I know I have. One method Groff recommends for combating this is indulging in a “do nothing day”. Or, a productive day of thinking that allows you to explore, dream, and conjure. Basically, she advocates for incorporating intentional days, ideally at a non-work-like location where you can get intentional, sit, and just think about your work. You might use this day to go to a museum for inspiration, listen to motivating podcasts, drink tea in a cafe while doing some creative writing, or even go for a long walk outside without headphones.
If this doesn’t feel realistic, depending on your schedule, maybe you can schedule a “do nothing day” once a month. Or maybe you can set aside a half day every other week. When we take the time to “do nothing,” we give our brains the creative space to dream and plan our next big thing instead of getting caught up in the hustle.
4. It’s up to us to protect our non-working hours
Hustle culture tells us we should give our all to our work, but at what cost? In exploring this question, Groff shares a memory of when she visited her 93-year-old grandpa. She took a few days off work for the visit, but spent one evening upstairs working on a proposal for a client that she ultimately didn’t land.
“It’s within our control not to miss moments in our lives with people we love most. There will always be more work to do, but not always more time with our people.”
She shares, “Would I give my right arm to have another shot at that evening—to sit in the warmth of my grandfather’s home, chatting about this and that with my mom and grandpa into the night? In a heartbeat. The next time you find yourself telling someone you love, ‘Ten more minutes,’ just shut the computer and go to them. Trust me.”
Beyond work-life balance, Groff reminds us it’s within our control not to miss moments in our lives with people we love most. There will always be more work to do, but not always more time with our people. Her sentiment made me stop and think long and hard about how I manage my own non-working hours. Since then, I’ve implemented these boundaries to protect time with my people:
- I don’t have any work-related notifications enabled on my phone
- I incorporate a “daily wind down” block on my calendar every day at 4:15 p.m. to signal the transition period between work and life
- I schedule workout classes after work to hold myself accountable to not working late
- I communicate vacation time weeks in advance and use my OOO features to remain fully present on vacation
- I leave my laptop at home when I’m not working
Boundaries look different depending on the type of work you do, your organization’s expectations, and the role work plays in your life. But one thing is clear: No one will protect our time for us, so it’s up to us to set and maintain these boundaries.
5. Work is only one small piece of the good life pie
This one is for my fellow high achievers and former straight-A students: it’s OK to be good at work, but there are many other areas of life you can be good at, too. Show up for your friends, spouse, kids, and yourself just as you would for your work. Be the friend who checks in on others. Build the healthiest relationship you can with your spouse. Do spontaneous and fun things with your kids to remind them never to stop seeking joy. Commit to your workout routines, your sleep schedule, and the acts of self-care and service you need to show up as the best version of you.
Groff reminds us it’s OK to be the person who “exceeds expectations,” so long as it’s across various parts of your life, and not just at work. At the end of the day, you should enjoy your life inside of work and outside of it. We have the power to enjoy our time with the right mindset. Whether you’re stuck or simply looking to invite more fun into your world, trust me when I say that Today Was Fun can help you make that happen.
Alyssa Towns, Contributing Career & Finance Writer
Alyssa Towns is a Denver-based writer and communications professional whose writing and expertise have appeared in Business Insider, Clockwise, G2, The Knot, Passion Planner, Thrive Global, and more. In addition to being a freelance writer, Alyssa has a background in internal communications and change management and is passionate about helping humans thrive in the workplace.
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Source: Cosmo Politian
