How do you stay happy and engaged while working?

This question was recently raised by BlogHer and I have to admit, it intrigued me.  Why?  Because, for the most part, I don't usually put "work" and "happy" in the same sentence.  It's not that I don't like my job, I do, it's just that most days, it's a struggle to do the whole working mom/wife/juggling thing.

So what do I do?  After some thought I realized that there are some things that I do to maintain that whole happy/engaged thing.  For starters, I make it a point to stay in touch with people that mean something to me.  I may not do it in conventional ways (thank you for the 47 games of Scrabble that we keep up, Cathleen!) but even a quick phone call to say hello to a friend helps keep my spirits up.

I take about 15 minutes after work to just have "me" time.  Whether I lock myself in the bathroom with a book or put on my iPod, I take that time to just let the day roll off of me so that I can put all of my focus back on my husband and kids and have a peaceful night with them.

I do things that make me happy (or try to) in my spare time.  You all know I love to write and so I try to work on that as much as possible in my spare time or pick up a good book (Susan Mallery, anyone?).  I think that if you get to do the things you like in the hours you are not working, you'll have a better attitude for those hours when you are working.

What about you?  Where do you find your balance?  How do you stay happy and engaged while working?  BlogHer has a great article on the subject written by Dr. Aymee called "4 Steps Toward Serenity While Working".  Interesting.  It's definitely worth checking out.  Also, you can enter the Life Well Lived Sweepstakes on BlogHer for a chance to win a $250 Visa giftcard - and wouldn't that help in making you happy???

Share with us here what you do to make you happy and then head over to BlogHer and share it with even more people and remember...happiness is a good thing!