Whenever I meet new people in business situations whether at a conference, virtual meeting, or interview, there is one thing that I base my interest on seeing them again on: "fun". If you are going to be a bore, a stickler, or a show-boater, I have no reason to want to have another conversation with you or work on another project with you. Having a fun attitude, smiling, and attacking problems with gusto makes me want to work or play with you again. Here are three things to explain what I mean:

1. Work turn into play
• Every one knows the saying "work hard, play hard" but why don't we simply propose having work become fun? We turn chores into games for our kids so why don't we do that ourselves? I bet you can't finish that spreadsheet in 20 minutes because it usually takes you 90. Every time you respond to an email request eat an M&M. You can't refill your coffee until you complete that PowerPoint presentation. It might sound childish but doesn't it sound just a bit enticing and like an environment you'd want to work in?
2. Creativity improves
• Remember galloping around the grocery store like a horse and not caring if customers laughed? The imaginations of kids are full of stupid and silly ideas that makes you jealous of their spontaneity and carefree spirit. Well, why not be like that?! Yes, sometimes saying the crazy "out-of-the-box" ideas during a meeting might get you laughed at, but it also might spark the conversation that turns into a great idea. Adults are smart enough to know applying yourself turns challenges into results so be willing to take more chances and be silly!
3. Reduces stress
• There are proven statistics about laughter increasing productivity and decreasing stress levels. Kids like simplicity and the equation of Laughter + Work = Better Results is easy to understand and easy to do. Try telling a joke before every monotonous team meeting or try smiling at individuals during presentations. It will brighten their day and yours!

A few ways to get that kid mentality flowing is to go back to using crayons to write notes, crazy colored trapper keepers to store files, and daily calendar puzzles to fill those writer's block moments. These things don't take away from your actual work tasks - they just make those tasks a bit special. If you need some ideas, here is a fun article to read or a great video to watch. What do you think about bringing the fun into the workplace?