Make Work More Fun: Ditch The Crap

Recently I came across a very simple but powerful post on LinkedIn. It reminded me of pioneering organizations we've visited. Unfortunately, it's an approach that's often-overlooked.

Whatever management book you read, or TED Talk you watch, or (virtual) conference you attend, you will be bombarded with tips on improving your business, career or life. Do this, do that, start this, start that.

If you followed all this well-intentioned advice, you'd be kicking off initiatives every hour of the day. Not a good idea.

Ditch the crap

Instead, try stopping things—to progress. It's true in many aspects of life, but especially when making work more fun.

The most successful workplace experiments often focus on not doing something. For example, we've visited organizations that ditched 95% of their rules and policies—and flourished as a result. There's even a company which based it's entire way of working on the concept of 'less is more'.

Here's a starter list of inspirations to liberate yourself at work:

• Stop going to boring, useless meetings
• Stop making rules
• Stop emailing
• Stop telling people how to do their job
• Stop making decisions for others
• Stop wasting time on annual budgeting

What's not to like here?

The to-don't list

What would you advise others to stop  doing? Do you have tips on what to ditch in order to make work more fun?

Drop your suggestions in the comments below.

PS: Follow Corporate Rebels on LinkedIn for more practical inspiration. And connect with me personally here.

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