Fun at Work

Hi all! Happy Friday. Are you, like me, wondering what just happened to the week?

(And are you, like me, sitting on a couch surrounded by/on top of not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but SIX stuffed dogs right now, wondering if perhaps this abundance of stuffed animals—and the clutter that surrounds you and them—might have something to do with your inability to focus? No? Oh well. Had to ask.)

ANYWAY. Today I’m pleased to bring you a new episode of the “How to Feel Alive” podcast: a conversation between me and Devin McNulty, who writes the Substack newsletter

Fun at Work by Funmentum Labs

and is Funmentum Labs’ co-founder and “brain-tender-in-chief.”

You may remember Devin from our previous conversations and the “funterventions” that we’ve led together. And the especially focused among you may remember that a month or so ago, we put out a call to Fun Squad members asking them to submit work challenges for Devin and me to brainstorm solutions for, using the power of fun. (For a refresher on what the heck I’m talking about, click here.)

Well, we did it! We brainstormed! In today’s episode, we tackled challenges from three readers:

-Someone who works at a nonprofit and is struggling getting her employees and co-workers to meet deadlines (which touches on the broader question: how do you motivate people without nagging them?)

-Someone who is a stay-at-home mom with multiple kids (and a very challenging collection of family dietary preferences), who is trying to figure out if there is any way to possibly make cooking feel more fun (how can you make your own daily drudgery feel more tolerable?)

-Someone who used to have a boss who talked about the importance of fun at work — but in fact made work the opposite of fun

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Do you have a question or a problem? Tell us!

As a reminder, all members of the Fun Squad (my term for my paid subscribers) are welcome to ask us questions in this forum, and we will do our best to personally answer them in a future episode.

I’ll be back next week with a new podcast episode and post.

To scrolling less and living more — at home, at work and beyond,

Catherine

Would you, for some reason, prefer to watch this conversation? Here you go!

PS: Does anyone out there know a place that accepts gently used stuffed animals? Please tell me in the comments. This situation is becoming out of control.