Focusing on What’s in My Control—and Finding Joy in It

Over the past few months, I started sending emails to my private inbox.

Each one marked a moment at work when I felt in flow, in sync, energized. Not because of praise or great performance reviews, but because I was doing something that felt meaningful to me.

Now that I’ve passed the 5-year mark in my career, I’ve been reflecting on a simple but important question:

What kind of actions brings me joy at work—regardless of the outcome?

Here’s what keeps showing up in those emails:

What Brings Joy at Work
-Maintaining tools that others rely on
-Sharing helpful info with teammates, even if it feels small
-Reaching out to new colleagues—an intro email, a quick call
-Making things beautiful and functional—slick wiki banners, floating TOCs, dropdowns, branded dashboards
-Congratulating a teammate on a win
-Breaking down complex topics and documenting them for others
-Planning joyful moments—team events, celebrations
-Developing a skill through troubleshooting, then scaling that solution for others
-Creating tools that reveal insights I was craving
-Seeing those tools actually used by teammates
-Untangling complex or tense situations through deep listening and careful problem-solving

What I’ve learned:
💡 These are all things I can choose to do. And when I do, my days feel more purposeful and energizing.

Tracking these moments helped me notice them more—and create more of them. It reminded me that fulfillment often comes not from what I get, but from what I give attention and care to.

I’ll keep this email ritual going. Because if I want to keep my work from turning into a grind, I need to stay close to the actions that make it feel like a privilege.

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