10 Ways to Stay Motivated at Work
Imagine it’s 2:30 on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon. You go for one last oversized mug of coffee before another attempt at catching up on your emails all while urging 5 o’clock to hurry up. Maybe you’ll take a sick day tomorrow…
But what if I said that you didn’t need a buzz from caffeine or have a performance review around the corner to stay motivated at work? Play around with these 10 ways to self motivate to re-spark your job performance.
Frontload your day
Nothing new or earth-shattering here, however, this is a reminder that we all need to hear: don’t leave the boring, repetitive work for last. Instead, tackle those annoying obstacles first thing. You can also try to alternate between a task you enjoy and one that you don’t.
Take breaks
We all need to let our minds rest from time to time. Breaks might be leaving the office for lunch, taking a vacation or a mental health day, walking a few blocks for a Starbucks coffee, turning your phone off after 6 PM, or any number of things. Breaks help you to feel refreshed and energized.
Set up a reward system
Bribing yourself can be incredibly motivating. Set a goal and a deadline. Then, when you accomplish that deadline, treat yourself to a favorite snack or maybe that pair of shoes you can’t stop thinking about.
Stop caring about the things that don’t matter
Simply put: if you can’t control it, don’t worry about it. Don’t waste your precious time and energy dwelling on things that will happen regardless.
Use a to-do list
A physical to-do list will help you stay focused on what’s important for the day. As new items pop up, you can always add them in where they seem to fit priority wise. It’s also rewarding to be able to physically scratch out a completed task.
Get Feedback
For some, feedback can be intimidating. However, if you’ve been killing it, then the feedback can serve as an ego-boost and push you to work harder. Likewise, if you’ve been slacking, constructive criticism can serve as a kick in the right direction.
Be surrounded
Surround yourself with positive people and you will find that you are more of a positive person. Surround yourself with negative people and you will always find something to complain about.
Learn something new
Learning a new skillset can help spice up your daily tasks even if it only provides you with a new option/way of doing the same tasks.
Set a quit time
No one is motivated 24/7. If you set a time that you will turn your monitor off and walk away, then you will be motivated to get your work done in that allowed time
Consider the Why
Stay connected to the reason or vision behind your work and focus on the underlying “why” behind every task. The bigger picture is usually more inspiring than the tiny task.
Find one or more tips that work best for you and stick to them! As you motivate yourself to be proactive rather than reactive, you will re-spark your love affair with your career.
By: Miranda Hardesty Hoffpauir
