Lucia Knight
A Joy At Work Experiment: Your Golden Gift
What if you were given 30 extra minutes every single day—just for you? In this episode, I explore how to reclaim small moments of joy, connection, and meaning in a world that constantly demands more.
Imagine waking up tomorrow with 30 extra minutes gifted to you every single day—for the rest of your life. No one else knows, no one else can see it, and you can’t tell a soul. How would you use it?
Most of us would let work creep into that sacred time—another email, another task, another meeting. And just like that, the golden gift would disappear. But what if, instead, you protected that time for joy, connection, and meaning?
The Joy At Work Experiment: How would you spend those 30 minutes?
1️⃣ Write down ten things you would do if you had an extra 30 minutes a day.
2️⃣ Make sure none of them involve work, obligations, or responsibilities.
3️⃣ Get creative—would you take a walk, start a conversation, soak in a bath, read just for fun?
4️⃣ Realize that you already have this time—it’s just waiting for you to claim it.
This week, let yourself play with the idea. Next week, I’ll show you how to actually create your own golden gift—no magic required.
Next Steps:
If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment. It's a 30-minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down. I call it Derailed and it's a fabulous place to begin a joy-at-work redesign.
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Your Golden Gift - Joy At Work Experiment
Lucia Knight: [00:00:00] You're busy, yeah? There's never enough time to focus on your future work happiness, but if you don't focus on it, things just stay the same, don't they? In these short episodes, I want to give you some tiny ideas, some mini experiments to try out this week to either dial down a pain point for you at work or dial up your potential for joy at work.
Let's dive in.
Thought Experiment: The Golden Envelope
Lucia Knight: Come with me on a thought experiment. Tonight, you go to bed as usual. Nothing seems different. But before your alarm goes off tomorrow morning, before you even open your eyes, you sense something has shifted. You take a deep breath. Your eyes are still closed, but you know you're still you and yet something in the world has changed.
[00:01:00] You stretch across your pillow. And find a small golden padded envelope. It's beautifully wrapped, not in the usual neat, efficient, British style, but in a French way. Too many ribbons, too much charm, too jougey, decadent. But you open it, and inside the golden envelope, in beautifully inked calligraphy, it says, You've been gifted.
Not fame, not money, not a promotion.
The Gift: 30 Extra Minutes a Day
Lucia Knight: You've been gifted 30 extra minutes every single day for as long as you live. From this moment on, your day is no longer 24 hours in length. It's 24 and a half hours.
What's the catch? I hear you say. The catch is you [00:02:00] cannot tell anyone or the gift disappears. Oddly, you're not even a bit sceptical. You just know this is real.
So what do you want to do with it?
Avoiding the Trap: Using Your Time Wisely
Lucia Knight: If you're like most people, you'll probably let work creep into that half hour. Answer another email. Cram in another meeting. Tidy up that must do list. Make yourself just a little bit more productive. And just like that, your golden gift, this tiny slice of heaven, turns to dust.
Instead of asking, what would you do? Ask, what could you do?
Because here's the truth. We are machines built for joy, not just worker bees. We are not meant to live with our heads down, bums up, [00:03:00] constantly checking tasks off a list. We are vessels of potential, waiting to be used in ways that bring us meaning, wonder, and connection.
Ideas for Your Extra 30 Minutes
Lucia Knight: What if, instead, you used your 30 minutes to, here's some ideas. Strike up a conversation with someone you pass every day. A barista, a neighbor, a bin collector, a stranger at the bus stop. Ask their name, learn their story, or move your beautiful body. Walk, stretch, dance, breathe fresh air, touch a leaf, really look at it, wonder at it.
Or sit in a coffee shop without rushing. Observe the world. Listen, or pick up a book from that pile you've been meaning to read. Not because you should, but [00:04:00] because it feels right. Or ask someone a meaningful question. What's your favourite novel? What's the best autobiography you've ever read? If you had enough money and no responsibility, what would you prioritise in life?
Or do something just for you. Run a bath. Doodle. Play music. Stare at the sky. Name a star. Get naked in your back garden. Or solve a problem that actually matters. With kids. With friends. With strangers. Show someone you love that you give a giant damn about them.
Challenge: Create Your Own Golden Gift
Lucia Knight: This week, play with this idea. Write a list of ten things you might do. If you were gifted an extra half hour every day, not for work, [00:05:00] not for obligations, just for you.
Because here's the thing, you already have this time.
Conclusion: Embrace Your Gift of Time
Lucia Knight: Maybe not in one magical block, maybe not tied up in a golden ribbon, but it's there Waiting to be claimed and next week I'll show you some ways you can actually create your own golden gift of 30 minutes No magic required But for now the question is yours, what might you do with your gift?
Bonus: Life Satisfaction Assessment
Lucia Knight: If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment. It's a 30 minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down. I call it Derailed. It's a fabulous place to begin a [00:06:00] joy at work redesign.
