Do you wake up each weekday eager to get to work or dreading it? Have you started counting the days until your retirement? Somewhere along the way, your joy has drained out, and each day is a grind. Two weeks ago, I blogged on how to Rediscover the Joy in Your Work. I shared five tips then, but we need all the help we can get.

Most of us can handle the usual stress of the jam-packed life of a school librarian. It’s the added tensions of the scrutiny and suspicions of what we do, why we do it, and how we do it, that are siphoning off much of our love and passion. Our students, teachers, and our administrators need us to continue to bring our joy when we help and work with them. Which is why I was pleased to find the blog post 10 Ways to Find or Create Joy at Work from the Career Contessa Team.

The team prefaces their advice by asking, “What if you have tried, and your work holds no joy?” They then proceed to answer their question. Here are their first five suggestions:

1. Identify Your Core Values + Beliefs – As a school librarian you embrace the Core Values of Librarianship from ALA. You also share the six Common Beliefs in the National School Library Standards. Beyond that, what are your beliefs? Write them down (try to keep it to no more than five so you don’t get overwhelmed).
2. Find Ways to Infuse Your Core Values into Your Work – Take this identification to the next step by journaling by listing some ways you bring your core values and your beliefs into your day. Look at what you wrote and congratulate yourself for making a difference each day. Take in how these values make you feel. There is joy there.
3. Make Time to Laugh + Share Laughter – We have only to look at the number of comedies set in challenging situations to appreciate the power of laughter. It has even been scientifically proven to be good medicine. Look around = there are funny and ridiculous things that happen everywhere. If you look for it, you will find it. And when you find it, you can share it.
4. Share New Ideas – This is natural to school librarians and a wonderful place to find joy. We are curators. The ideas don’t need to be library or even school related. I just shared on my School Librarian’s Workshop Facebook group about a school district that is bringing inclusion into the community by having one school lunch each week be from one of the diverse communities represented in the area.
5. Start a Club – It could be for students, but it can be for teachers. Your club should be something that you like to do, but it need not be a book club. You might do one on gardening or knitting or some ways to contribute to the school or outside community. Your club can be ongoing or have a limited duration. It forms connections, builds relationships, and makes everyone feel better. Something for people – including you – to look forward to. Instant joy!

Becoming joyful about being a school librarian shouldn’t be one more task. Pick one or two from the list and try it on for size. If it’s not you, pick something else. Let me know if you want me to share the remaining five. And in the meantime, I hope you’re able to find more joy and bring it to your work and life.