Choice: Jaclyn Rudebeck 

What choices have you made today? And which ones have you ignored? Do you often feel you have very few options, that you're stuck in a stressful routine, and can't get out?

Do you avoid taking time off because there's too much work to be done? Do you leap out of bed in the morning eager to tackle the day, or hit the snooze button "just once more, I swear" until you can muster the energy to get up?

Jaclyn Rudebeck was the director of operations at Greenhill Humane Society for several years.

She's a big believer in the importance of having fun at work. Why should that matter? Well, if you care about productivity and quality, it matters a lot.

Happy employees:

• Have superior performance and productivity
  
• Are less likely to experience burnout or compassion fatigue
  
• Have less conflict with their coworkers
  
• Think more creatively and flexibly
  
• Move into management positions with greater comfort and skill
  
• Identify more cooperative strategies
  
• Miss fewer days of work and are less likely to quit
  

You're making choices all day long. Some of your choices are on autopilot. They're things you decided long ago and have stopped questioning. 

They may be relatively unimportant things like what you eat for breakfast. 

Or these choices may be monumental like where you work, where you live, and how you interact with other people. Forty percent of your life satisfaction comes from your intentional activities.

One of the most powerful things you can do to improve your life is to take time to think about your choices. Really examine them.

Are your choices working for you? Are you getting the results you want? If not, what could you do differently? 

Get specific. Start by focusing on what you DO want.

What choices could you make that will move you closer to your goals?