Category: Loving

Plan for Happiness

What happens when one of the largest publications nationwide focuses on Joy? In an effort to explore the many ways one can find and maintain a state of happiness, Time magazine did an entire special edition issue called “The Science of Happiness.” The article outlines fourteen different ways to reach a joyful state. It isn’t a step-by-step guide to happiness, rather a pick-and-choose of ways that you can find happiness in your day. From savoring the small things to finding purpose in pleasure, it’s a fantastic list to try. Last but not least on the list is “make Sunday future-fun day.” In other words, plan for the next weekend and allow yourself to anticipate the Joy to come. Productivity consultant Julie Morgenstern suggests that all weekends should be designed around the acronym PEP: physical, escape, people. When those three elements are at the core of your time, it’s inevitable that it will be filled with Joy.

While some of our team members and providers don’t always have the luxury of working a “traditional” schedule with free weekends and time off. How might we encourage them to take personal time and practice self care? How can we encourage and support our people in planning for happiness and designing for Joy?

Today

Artist Scott Thrift was tired of the way we were marking time, so he changed it. Today, featured in this month’s action kit, is a 24-hour clock aimed to enhance the understanding and Experience of the present moment and remind us of the bigger picture of time. Thrift realized that our society has been using the same clock with the two 12-hour cycles since its invention. “The way we measure time dictates our behavior and so we deserve access to scales that are more appropriate for the way we live our lives now and far into the future,” Thrift said in this TechCrunch article. The goal of Today is to encourage us not to feel limited by time, rather instead feel freed by living in the present.

In what ways might we physically remind our team members, providers, patients, and guests to slow down and mark the Moments? While certain Moments at our organizations depend on the traditional marking of time (the time a child is born, the time someone is scheduled for surgery), what Experiences could be enhanced when disconnected from traditional measures of time?