Hating your job is one of the worst feelings. Every day you wake up knowing that once again you have to deal with supervisors that probably purchased their degrees off the Internet and coworkers that don't know the difference between "you're" and "ur."

Here's a hint, coworkers: "You're" is "you are" while "ur" is code for "I don't know how to type like an adult."
Whenever I fell into the trap of hating my job, I always felt this unbelievable anxiety – a level of stress that would have me calling in sick for work not just because I wanted to get out of work, but because I was literally sick from the stress of going to that work place. But it's a tough economy, and unless you've got another job lined up, putting up an "I Quit" sign on your desk with bright neon flashing lights isn't the best idea. So in the absence of a winning lottery ticket, you need to find a way to make work something you look forward to every day, no matter how much you hate you job.

How to Make Work Fun

• Overachieve

At first, hating my job made me want to work less. For a while I would do just enough to get by, and the rest of my time was spent playing FreeCell or drawing inappropriate caricatures of the CEO on useless memos. While that was fun in its own right, I realized there was something I could do that would make work better – be hilariously good at my job.
I knew I could do it. I know I had the skills to be fantastic. But I wasn't using them, because I didn't like the job. It was then I realized that, in a way, I could be the best possible employee ironically. I would over-achieve. I would be so good at my job that they'd want to give me raises and promotions and praise.
Being this good gave me power. It meant that if I left they'd be without their best employee. It meant that they'd have to respect everything I did. It made me feel great to know I was that good, and that I was doing that good because I was unhappy, not because I was happy. Over time, I started to enjoy it so much that I even started to like my job again.

• Turn Tasks Into a Game

I had a job that was strictly data entry. Every day I would come in to work, handed numerous sheets of data, and had to enter all of the data in one at a time. It was tedious. But it also taught me a trick that I used at every job I had since – turning every one of my tedious tasks into a game.
I started trying to "beat my best time," and was constantly on the lookout for ways to be better, faster, and more skilled. Rather than simply be a "Data Enterer" I became a Level 12 Data Entry Warrior with +12 Typing Boost. I made entering data a challenge to myself, and that made my tasks fun, not tedious, so that every day I had to enter data was a day I was playing a game that I was determined to win.

• Be the Life of the Office

It's going to start out disingenuous. Chances are you dislike most of the people you work with – otherwise your job would already be more fun. But think of this as an opportunity. Since you already don't like your officemates, why not challenge yourself to see if you can win all of them over?

You can become the life of the office, social and friendly with everyone. This can also be like a game, seeing if you can be the most well liked person with everyone in your workplace. Worst case scenario is that they don't like you, but since you don't like them either, there is no loss. Best case scenario, you realize that some of them are great people and working with them becomes more fun. It's a no-lose situation.

• Turn Your Work Life Into a Book

You go to work all day, and you no doubt have breaks. What do you do during these breaks? Do you sit and look at the computer, wishing the day was over? Or do you sit back and observe all of the hilarious things that go on in the office?

You should consider doing the latter, and then taking everything you see home and turning them into essays. Make the people at your workplace characters in a never-ending novel that you write for yourself and your friends. Rather than a job, they become characters in a book that you're creating, and someday when you've left the job and moved on, you can look back on everything you wrote and laugh at the funny stuff that all of your coworkers did.

• Do Something Ridiculous

It's not the 1960's anymore. People don't always go to work dressed in a ten thousand dollar suit (although if they still do this at your office, it's no wonder you're miserable!). So one day, you should just show up and do something ridiculous that won't get you fired. For example, show up to work wearing cat ears and cat makeup, and act confused when people ask you about it as though it's totally normal. Doing something ridiculous once in a while gives your workplace a happy memory, and easily helps it become something more fun and interesting.

• Strategically Hide Funny Jokes in the Office

One of the greatest days I ever had at work was when I remembered that post it notes existed. Post it notes can go pretty much anywhere, and you can use them to say anything you want. So pen in hand I crafted dozens of little jokes and random factoids (Did you know that squids have three hearts?) and placed them randomly around the office, hiding them in files, bathrooms, etc. Over the next several months, coworkers would happen to find these pieces of paper and laugh out loud at their desks, sharing the latest one they found with other coworkers.
Of course, don't do this if it would get you fired. Not all workplaces like you touching files you're not supposed to touch.

• Decorate Your Desk With Macaroni Art You Made Yourself

Okay, you don't really need to do that specific idea, but you get the gist – the goal is to make work fun, and doing something completely off the wall, like creating a desk filled with macaroni art that wasn't created by a child is something that's going to have you coming to work laughing and carefree. I suffered from pretty serious anxiety, scoring high on every test for anxiety out there, and even I felt great after doing ridiculous things at my office.

Do Something Every Day

You don't like your job. You want to quit, but you can't, and you shouldn't. This presents the perfect opportunity for you to make your work fun. You have nothing to lose anymore, so as long as you refrain from any inappropriate behaviors and focus only on the things you can do in your office without getting fired, you'll find that there are ample ways that you can make your work a place you look forward to going to. All you need to do is stop thinking of work like work, and turn it into something that is new and exciting every day.

Author's Bio: 

Ryan Rivera realized that hating your job can be almost as fun as loving your job. He has tips for overcoming other workplace stress issues at www.calmclinic.com.