It is not news to anyone reading this: working in a library is hard. Doing any kind of public-facing customer service work is always hard, and right now a lot of things are coming together to make it more complicated.

We can’t fix that for you. Sorry.

But this semester, we are going to provide small weekly stress-management/happiness builder ideas. They aren’t going to make all your issues magically solve themselves. But, everyone can use a reminder to take a step back and breathe.

We’ve been talking about small happiness-building things all semester. And one of the best, easiest, most effective ways to build happiness is to bring happiness to other people.

This may sound counter-intuitive: you are sad, you are having a bad day, things are crumbling around you. Wanting to take the time to think of other people may not seem like your first plan of action.

But, it really is. It really does work.

Say something nice to a colleague. Tell a patron you like their shoes. Hold a door for someone and smile at them. Buy a coffee or tea for someone as a surprise. Not feeling up to anything so verbal? Or, maybe you want a longer-term investment? Start writing nice notes and sticking them in library books. Leave anonymous notes in other places where people are going to see them.

The more you can do to spread some happiness around, the more content you can feel yourself.