Your Fun & Profitable Online Business · Episode 63
How to Add More Joy to Your Business
Adding joy does not require a dramatic business overhaul. Use this six-step framework to create small, repeatable resets that change how you think, act, and show up.
Press play and build your personal joy toolkit
Having trouble? Open the audio directly.
Small shifts can change the whole workday
A six-step path from forced business mode to joyful momentum
Joy becomes practical when it is personal, small, well-timed, attached to your day, easy to repeat, and observed like useful business data.
Identify
Name what genuinely makes you feel lighter, not what should impress anyone else.
Shrink
Turn it into a five-to-ten-minute micro-joy you can actually access.
Reset
Use it when frustration begins, before you reach exhaustion.
Attach
Connect the reset to a reliable point in your existing day.
Lower
Set the bar at “helps a little” so joy does not become another obligation.
Observe
Notice what restores energy and helps you think more clearly.
Learning how to add more joy to your business is not about creating a different life or waiting for a calmer season. It is about changing your state in small ways inside the workday you already have.
Why joy can feel irresponsible when business is busy
When the task list is full, enjoyable activities can look optional or unproductive. You may tell yourself you can relax after the launch, after the client work, or after everything calms down. The problem is that joy remains permanently postponed while forced business mode becomes the default.
This episode reframes joy as a condition that can help existing work function better. A brief shift in state can reduce frustration, open your thinking, and make the next decision easier.
How to identify what genuinely brings you joy
Begin with what actually makes you feel lighter, not what sounds impressive, productive, or universally joyful. Your sources might include nature, music, movement, quiet, connection, a different view, a candle, warm tea, or time away from electronics.
If you are unsure, experiment. Notice what changes your energy without requiring a complicated setup. Your best joy sources are personal and repeatable.
What is a micro-joy?
A micro-joy is a small, accessible pocket of enjoyment that often takes five to ten minutes. It might be texting a friend, stretching, playing one song, stepping outside, making tea, or looking at what is blooming in the garden.
Shrinking the activity matters because the perfect version often never happens. You may not have time for a hike, but you may have three minutes outside. The smaller version can still shift your state.
When should you use a micro-joy reset?
Use it at the first signs of forced business mode: editing the same sentence repeatedly, opening more browser tabs, circling a decision, feeling subtle frustration, or pushing harder without gaining clarity.
Do not wait until burnout or the end of the day. The reset is most useful while you still have enough capacity to notice the signal and change course.
The micro-joy reset
Frustration is building
Use one small joy source
Re-enter the same task differently
How to make joy part of your business systems
Attach the reset to a moment that already happens: the beginning of the workday, after a client call, before a focus block, at lunch, or when you notice frustration at your computer. A dependable cue turns a good intention into a repeatable rhythm.
The system should remain light. If tracking, scheduling, or preparing the joy practice takes more energy than the reset gives back, shrink it again.
Why lowering the bar makes joy more sustainable
The goal is not a dramatic mood transformation. Aim for something that helps a little or leaves you slightly better afterward. That standard protects the practice from perfectionism and gives small improvements room to compound.
A reset still counts if it does not produce an exciting idea. It may simply make the next email easier to write or help you stop fighting a decision.
How to build a personal joy toolkit
Pay attention to which activities restore energy, improve thinking, reduce tension, or make action easier. Keep a short list of what works in different situations: a two-minute option, a ten-minute option, something social, something quiet, and something that gets you moving.
Your toolkit becomes more useful than generic advice because it is based on your own evidence. You learn which reset fits the state you are in.
Why attempts to add joy often fail
Two patterns commonly interfere. First, waiting until you are already exhausted makes a small reset less accessible. Second, treating joy as a reward means it only becomes available after the list is finished, which may never happen.
Move joy earlier. Use it as an ingredient that supports the work rather than compensation for surviving it.
How joy can create momentum without reducing ambition
Joyful momentum does not necessarily mean doing less. It can mean less dragging, fewer circular decisions, faster adjustment, more experimentation, and more willingness to stay in motion. The work changes because your relationship to it changes.
Your action step
Choose one micro-joy activity and make it usable this week:
- Name one activity that genuinely makes you feel lighter.
- Shrink it to a version that takes five to ten minutes or less.
- Choose when and where you will use it.
- Use it when you notice yourself slipping into forced business mode.
- Observe how you return to the task afterward.
Questions about adding more joy to your business
How can I add joy to my business when I am already busy?
Use a small reset inside your current day. A few minutes of music, movement, fresh air, connection, or quiet can be enough to shift your state.
What if I do not know what brings me joy?
Try several simple activities and observe how you feel afterward. Choose what genuinely restores you rather than what you think should work.
Is taking a joy break just another form of procrastination?
Not when it is an intentional, bounded reset that helps you return. Choose the activity, keep it small, and reconnect with the task afterward.
When is the best time to use a micro-joy?
Use it when you first notice frustration, overediting, indecision, or mental tightness rather than waiting until you are fully exhausted.
How do I make a joy practice stick?
Attach it to an existing moment, lower the bar, and track which activities genuinely improve your energy or thinking.
Read the full episode transcript
Episode 63 transcript: How to Add More Joy to Your Business
How to add more joy to your business
Hey there, and welcome to episode 63 of your fun and profitable online business. This is the podcast that helps you grow your business in a way that feels as good as it looks. I'm Wendy Muzzy, a certified money coach and online business strategist, and I help women entrepreneurs create fun and profitable online businesses using simple systems and intentional decisions. And today we're getting really practical. Because over the last couple episodes, we've been talking about joy in your business, what it is, why it works, and what it's actually doing behind the scenes. Now we're at the point where you might be thinking, okay, I get it, but how do I actually add more joy to my business? So today we're answering that question. All right, let's get to it.
Why joy can feel irresponsible when business is full
Now, before we get deep in the how, I wanna talk about something really important, because this is where people can get stuck. They hear this idea of bringing more joy in the business, and their brain immediately tells them they don't have time for that. Or they plan for it once things calm down, or they get through this season, or they get over this next big hurdle. And I get it, because when your business feels full, or even messy. It can feel almost irresponsible to plan for something enjoyable, like you should be using that time to be productive. But here's the shift I want to offer. You're not trying to create a completely different life here. You're just learning how to shift your state inside the life and business you already have. Because like we talked about in the last episode, joy is a state, which means it's something you can access in small ways. Not all day, not perfectly even, but consistently enough to change how your life and business feel and how they function. Because when you don't intentionally shift your state, it's easy to go in that default forced business mode we've talked about, which is where things can feel heavy, complicated, slow, or even frustrating. So this isn't about adding something extra. It's about making what you're already doing work better.
A six-step framework for practical joy
Now, I'm going to walk you through a six-step framework you can start using this week. Keep in mind, this isn't about big dramatic changes. It's about small, repeatable shifts that actually stick.
Step 1: Identify your real joy sources
Step one, identify your joy sources. Now, this is not what should bring you joy. This is what actually brings you joy. I've watched clients overthink this or try to come up with something impressive or something that sounds productive. I want to say this out loud. Your version of joy doesn't have to make sense to anyone else on this planet. Only you know what brings you joy. If it helps you feel lighter, that's enough. For me, it's being outside. Nature, movement, fresh air. All of it is my reset. It isn't always a hike in the woods. Well, I do love a good hike. But sometimes it's just standing outside for a few minutes. Or walking around the yard and looking at what's blooming in my garden. Or even just sitting under the gazebo with my husband. For you, it might be something around music or a quiet space or connecting with someone or moving your body or changing your view or lighting a candle or just stepping away from electronics for a few minutes. I'm guessing you probably already know what it is for you, but if not, spend some effort trying new things this week to see what brings you genuine joy.
Step 2: Shrink joy into five-minute resets
Step two, shrink it. Sometimes we think our version of joy needs to be perfect, and then we don't do anything. So we're going to shrink it into a micro joy. These are typically five to ten minutes. They're simple, accessible, and repeatable. Here are a few ideas. Texting a friend that you're thinking of them. Standing up and stretching. Putting on a song you love, or just making a cup of warm tea. Now, the goal here isn't to escape. It's just to find a small pocket of joy somewhere in your day.
Step 3: Use micro-joy before exhaustion
Step three, use it as a reset. Now, we're not adding joy randomly here. We're using it strategically. We're not waiting for exhaustion to set in. I want you to start noticing when you're getting into that forced state. And I want to slow this down for a second, because this moment is easy to miss. Imagine with me that you're sitting at your computer. You've edited something three times. You've opened another tab in your browser, and you're trying to figure something out. And you can start to feel that subtle frustration building. That's the moment. Not when you're completely burnt out. Not when you're done for the day, but right there where that frustration sits. That's where this work actually happens. It's your sign not to push harder, but to make a shift. And when you do this, you come back different. It's the same task. You're just in a different state. And suddenly things feel clearer. You make decisions faster and you move forward. That's the power of this.
Step 4: Attach joy to a reliable moment
Step four, attach it to your day. Now, I say this often, if you don't plan for it, it won't happen. So instead of thinking you'll do this when you have time, I want you to decide right now when it'll happen. It could be at the start of the day, midday for a break, after a call, or when you're sitting at your computer in that frustrations place. This is where it becomes a system. Not something you hope you'll remember, but it's something that's built and baked into your day.
Step 5: Lower the bar until it is easy
Step five, lower the bar. Like, lower it a lot. This is really important because if this feels like one more thing you have to manage, you're not gonna do it. We both know that. So we're aiming for something that helps a little and makes you feel slightly better afterwards. Why? Because those small shifts compound.
Step 6: Build your personal joy toolkit
Step six, pay attention to what works. This is where you start really learning yourself. You start noticing what brings your energy back and what makes you think better. And it becomes something you can put into your personal joy toolkit. Not some generic advice, but something that works for you personally.
Why joy practices fail to stick
Now, if you've tried this before and it didn't stick, it's usually because of one of these two reasons. Number one, you wait until you're already exhausted to try it. Or number two, you treat joy like a reward, like when everything's checked off your list and done.
How micro-joy changes the workday
But imagine this version of your business. You're not waiting until things feel overwhelming to take a break. You're not forcing every decision. You're creating a space for ideas to come to you. You're moving through your work with energy. More ease. And here's what's really interesting. You're not doing less. You're just doing it differently. No dragging yourself through your day. No avoiding decisions. You're in motion. You try things. You adjust faster. And that changes everything.
Choose one intentional reset
All right, I'm going to get to your action step for this week. I want you to pick one micro joy activity, just one, and decide when and where you'll do it and when you'll use it as a reset and then use it intentionally. Now, this is not just when you feel like it, but when you notice yourself slipping into that forced state, because that's where it matters most.
Small state shifts create momentum
All right, today we talked about how joy doesn't have to be big or time consuming. It just has to be intentional because small shifts in your state change how you think, how you act and how you show up. And that's how your business moves forward.
Practice joyful momentum with support
Now, if you're thinking this sounds great, but you're wondering about those times where you don't feel like it at all, rest assured, that's what we're talking about next episode. And if you want a place to practice this, CEO Hour is a perfect place to do it. It's my weekly coworking session where you can bring one small step and take it in a simple space with other business owners. It's free and everyone's invited. Find out more at wendymuzzy.com/CEO. All right, until next time, happy building your business with a little more joy.