How to properly celebrate ‘Fun At Work Day’

Table Football

Usually, Fridays are fun. But this Friday – January 31st – can be even more fun since it is Fun At Work Day.

So, you have a legitimate reason to spend your day at work in a funky and fun way. If you are not sure how to do that, here are several ideas for you.

Personalize Your Space

You can start from the place around you. To have a brighter day, decorate your workspace with details that would bring a smile to your face. You can frame a funny picture from vacation, exchange your usual coffee cup to the one with a funky twist, or even put up some lights to brighten the mood.

Personal space can not only make your day more fun, but it can also boost your productivity. Craig Knight, a psychologist and founding director of Exeter, tells BBC: “Employees who can personalize their own space however they want are up to 25% more productive than those who must work in a more sterile space.”

Celebrate A Milestone

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” – wrote Jack Torrance in the movie The Shining, and it didn’t end up so well. To avoid that, find something to be playful about. Milestones can help with the gamification process.

Arnas Stuopelis, Chairman of web hosting provider Hostinger, suggests celebrating both personal and team milestones: “It’s fun to reach or even surpass your goals. When you reach your milestone, it doesn’t have to be another checkbox. Celebrate with the whole team – when one achieves, all achieve!”

Work On Our Pet Project

Sometimes the distraction from work can be some… fun work. Pet projects let you break away from your current projects, but they still improve your skills. Think of something funny to create. For example, Medium suggests Pac-Man: “Building Pac-Man is a great way to get a feeling of how games are developed from a very basic perspective. This could be made with a JavaScript framework like React or Vue.” 

Pizza Is So Much Fun

Pizza for team lunch can be a fun team-building activity. Just think about the teamwork to decide on what pizza to order. The wait for the pizza is easier together. And it’s easier to take a break from work when everyone is doing that. The best part about pizza lunch is the work-unrelated chat with your team. Pizza can fill both: your tummy and the distance between colleagues.

Toys Bring Joy

Some days are hard, and it’s not easy to just jump into being fun. Toys can help you with the transition. Marelisa Fabrega suggests that toys for the office can include koosh balls, Pez dispensers, hula hoops, a sand tray, wooden blocks, origami paper, and so on.

When playing on your own, you can distract yourself from work. When playing with colleagues, you can strengthen your bond. And even if you are not playing at the moment, the presence of toys can remind you of the good times you had before.

Just Goof Around

To make this Friday truly fun, spend some time just goofing around. You don’t have to turn it into a planned celebration. Be spontaneous and improvise on the spot. Spontaneity is really simple yet effective. Lifehack suggests that: “It could be as simple as ordering something new from a local restaurant for lunch or putting on a different Pandora station while they get their work done.”

In addition to the fun, spontaneity can also make you less stressed out in the future. Because when deciding on the spot, you get used to dealing with things that are not planned. And it can also make you more creative because you break your daily paths.

Even though Fun At Work Day is this Friday, that doesn’t mean that you should have fun only this day. Try out several ways to have fun at work, and don’t quit after this day is over. Having fun is beneficial to you. It can improve both: your well-being and performance.

To begin with, personalize your space. Your day can be more fun if you find a milestone to celebrate. Pet project can also distract you from work and give you some fun. It’s hard to imagine something funnier than a pizza. Toys can be a great distraction as well. And to be truly funky, try to be spontaneous and just goof around. And remember to repeat it not only this Friday but any other day, when you feel like it.