We all have to do frustrating, inconvenient tasks, like going to Trader Joe’s on a Sunday—or going to work when you’ve started hating your job.

Sometimes this is an obvious sign that you should change jobs, and sometimes it’s just that you’re having a hard week or month. When you’re in the latter category, here are five ways to put one foot in front of the other right now, until things brighten up.

Focus on the 10%. Even when most of the stuff on your to-do list is scarier than the Thumb Thumbs from Spy Kids, there are often still a few tasks that are semi-enjoyable. As much as you can today, skip ahead to the projects you find satisfying—and leave the annoying tasks as a tomorrow problem.

Remind yourself why you’re here. Sometimes it helps to zoom out and remember why you took the job in the first place. And it doesn’t have to be the BS reason you probably put on your cover letter.

• If you took the job because of the great pay → look at your last pay stub.
• If you took the job to make a difference → look back at the org’s mission statement.
• If you took the job because of good benefits → look at how much the co has contributed to your 401(k) this year.

Eat a snack. More Tostitos and salsa = less hanger and uncontrollable rage directed at the nearest printer.

Find the people who ground you. Lean on your family members, spouse, or roommates when things are tough at work and you need someone to tell you that your job isn’t your whole life.

If none of these tactics are working, go ahead and get that lobotomy. Kidding! Instead, tell your coworkers that today just isn’t your day. It’ll release some of the pressure, and it also lets everyone know to tread lightly with any jokes about your forehead vein.—CS

It turns out putting “MBA” after your name on LinkedIn is not a guaranteed way to get a Benz-level job.

• If you graduated from Harvard Business School last year, for example, you might be one in five students who didn’t snag a job within three months of graduation. In 2021, only 8% of students were still looking three months after graduating.
• And that goes for the other top schools too. The number of new MBAs without jobs has roughly doubled in the past few years.

White-collar companies slowing their hiring plans means B-school grads are having to cast a wider net and maybe not go into consulting.

But sometimes the other answer is to not go to business school at all. Here’s how to start figuring out if going $200K in debt getting an MBA is the best next step for you:

Get into the right mindset. Start from the position of “No, I DON’T need to go to business school” and work backward from there.

• Ask yourself: What exactly do I want to accomplish by getting my MBA? More money? A better network? A career pivot from skeleton racing to tech management?

Try to achieve those outcomes without the degree. The best-case scenario is that you’re able to do everything you want without paying for another two years of schooling. So give it a shot before you even invest in those GRE prep books.

• If you’re looking to build a network, can you do that by reaching out to LinkedIn connections? Going to more industry events? Even just by going into the office more?
• If you want to pivot your career, can you gauge the potential for a career change within your current company? What about applying for a few jobs in that space and seeing if you get any interest?

Better understand the opportunity costs. Ultimately, an MBA can take two years of salaried employment and hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete. What would you be giving up to go down this road?

If you’re able to convince yourself after all those Qs, that’s when you know it may be the right call.

Our take: If you’re not expecting a huge gain from going to B-school, it’s definitely not worth it.

We’re all sick of googling “excel how to.” Which is why you’re invited to join Miss Excel for a free live event on Excel shortcuts and lookup functions.

Here are the deets:

• When: Tomorrow, January 24
• Time: Noon ET
• Cost: None

Bonus: Everyone who attends the live event will get a bundle of practice files, completely free.

Snag your spot today.

It’s 2024: Work-life balance is in and the grindset is out. But when you’re used to the work-from-sunrise-to-sunset lifestyle, it’s tough to figure out how to actually achieve balance in your day.

Here are a few practical tools to force yourself into finding balance.

The Clockwise integration helps you manage your schedule and adds an icon to your Slack when it’s pre- or post-working hours to discourage others from pinging you round the clock.

When coworkers don’t get the picture and message you anyway, Slack’s “silence notifications” feature does wonders.

• To set it up, go to your preferences and scroll down to “Notification schedule” to add in your working hours.

It’s a little more woo-woo than the Raise editors normally lean, but a few minutes of meditation on the Calm app is a great way to start your morning.

Swap your mindless TikTok scrolling for a productive (or even semi-productive) break during the workday.

• Best case, you get outside for a walk around the neighborhood.
• But even practicing your middle school–level French skills on Duolingo is better than watching Corporate Natalie reels on Instagram.

And when all else fails, get some balance at work by practicing your most professional-sounding “I don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.”