unWINEd

When work is driving you insane, this is how I unWINEd

Work is a consuming thing in adulthood. I feel like every day I wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, and repeat. Unfortunately, it is an extremely difficult time to find a job that is fun while also being enough to pay the bills. My job pays my bills, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it fun. Retail has become my fate, and it is like walking into a living hell every day. Here are a few tips and tricks I use to make the most of the worst.

The hardest part of working is not having coworkers to giggle and gossip with. Some of the best friendships ever formed are through mutual hate of the same workplace. Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked at the same company, and I gained some of the truest and most reliable friends ever. Work friends are the best solution to hating your job a little less. Finding work friends can be a little tricky. My best advice is not to rush this process. It may feel like you’re waiting an eternity, but the real ones take time. I must warn you, though. When your work bestie leaves, that is one of the worst heartbreaks you can feel. I hope it never happens to you, but know it happened to me. I still daydream about the days working with her, and I miss every second of it. Sad.

Coworkers cannot be your only saving grace. My next best hack to making work a little more bearable is to truly laugh about all the dumb ass things that happen throughout the day. In retail, someone is an absolute asshol to me every single day. They treat me horribly, and then expect me to want to help them “because the customer is always right.” News flash: you’re wrong. I think I am a reasonable person, and I always try my best to help people. However, once someone catches an attitude with me, game over. I may be wrong for this, but I utilize these people to make my day a little more entertaining. You want to yell at me? I am going to make your day miserable and then forget what your face looks like. I really do enjoy it when assholes get what they deserve. At work, I am serving them consequence after consequence, and it feels so good. Some of you may think I am completely wrong for this. All I have to say to that is, work retail. You will understand 100%.

Decompression. I cannot emphasize this enough. You cannot survive a terrible job by going home and stewing in the work hatred. Everyone has different ways they decompress. My top two choices are the gym and my Nancy Drew computer games. One stimulates the body, the other stimulates the mind.

The gym truly is one of my happy places. I cannot motivate people to start going to the gym. You are the only person who can motivate yourself to go to the gym. I started going to the gym out of spite of a man. After starting, I fell in love. The way you can channel all your frustrations into lifting heavy shit is what works absolutely perfectly for me. However, this is not the solution for everyone. I recommend finding something that you can do to get your body moving. Go for a walk, swim laps at the pool, hike, do pilates, or yoga. The possibilities are endless. All you have to do is move your body, and let the frustrations and stresses of work leave with each movement.

Now, let me tell you a thing about these Nancy Drew games. You want something that will clear your mind of anything and everything work-related; it is these games. If you love point-and-click mystery games, HerInteractive makes THE BEST Nancy Drew games. I will support them to the end. I have been playing these games for over 15 years. These games take my mind so far away from work, it is crazy. Not everyone has to like these games, but something that stimulates the mind is so refreshing after a long day of work. My second go-to if I am not feeling up to computer games is reading. It took me quite a few years to get back into reading after high school, but now I am utterly obsessed. I recommend having a few different activities that you like to do for your mental stimulation. I cannot read every day, and I cannot play computer games every day. It is important to have options so that you don’t ruin your love for these things.

Sometimes, the only option is to stay at a job you don’t really like. People will tell you to quit, but that isn’t always a feasible option. It is okay to stay, but you have to make sure that you take care of yourself while you are there. A bad job doesn’t mean a bad life. Enjoy the little moments at work, the people that make it better, and don’t forget to reset when you get home. I am grateful that I have a job that allows me to pay all my bills and live a really good life. I am super thankful, but I am still going to complain a little bit about my job. However, I am making the most of it. I hope that you all have the ability to make the most of your shitty jobs and enjoy the little things in life.

❤ Tootie