Your motivation always starts from the same place.
You can’t do great work unless you love what you do. It’s this love that drives your actions.
Look back at all the projects you were proud of finishing. You’ll notice the underlying theme of love behind all of them.
Once you understand how your emotions trigger your motivation you will get a better grasp on your productivity.
Here are 3 simple motivation tips that everyone should be applying to their work day.
1. Care About What You Are Doing
If you don’t care about the results you create then either figure out a way to care or find something that you do care about. You may have 5 cups of coffee pumping through you and your energy level is off the charts, but you are still avoiding your work then you simply have a caring problem.
When I’ve felt a lack of caring I always write a “bird’s eye view” list. That means stepping back and looking at how your work is affecting people.
For example if you work in the HR department and feel totally unmotivated then make this list.
My work helps…(List people’s names and why your work matters to them.)
1. Tom – Claim all his health benefits.
2. Samantha – Be someone that she can talk to about her co-workers.
3. Amy – Able to share my career advice so she understand her role in the company.
You should see a shift in your attitude very quickly.
2. Start Slow
Many times people don’t know where to start on a big project. All they see is this big mess of work and they procrastinate.
We all do this.
When this happens pick the easiest task you can out of this mountain of work and break it down into small segments. Even if the task should only take an hour, break down the task into three parts.
You’ll see how easy it will be to get started. Everyone can work for just 20 minutes. Once you get started you’ll start to see progress, causing your mindset to shift and make you believe it’s possible to get your project done.
1. Make a list of projects you need to do.
2. Break down each project into 20 - 30 minute segments.
3. Get started on the easiest and most fun task.
Once you get moving it's a lot easier to keep the momentum going.
3. Appreciate Your Hard Work
How often do you take time to reflect on your hard work?
I’m not talking about going out for happy hour after finishing a big project. Although that’s fun too. I’m talking about appreciating the hard work that you put into a project whether it was a success or not.
When you praise yourself for your hard work, you are teaching yourself to appreciate the energy behind the work, not just the results. If you can make this shift in your mindset it’s going to be so much easier to motivate yourself no matter what the outcome happens to be.
1. Keep an appreciation journal.
2. Every time you worked hard on a project write it in your journal.
3. How did the hard work make you feel.
By taking the time to appreciate your hard work you'll start to rewire your brain and let go of unmotivating goals. You'll bring the focus back to enjoying the journey of your work.
Core Motivation
Your core motivation all starts by using the above three tips. Once you shift your mindset you’ll begin to see results that will make you so happy you’ll want to dance on your desk. That’s at least what happened to me when I made this mindset shift.
Your Turn
What is your biggest struggle with motivation?
* Stay tuned. I’m releasing a course very soon having more energy and motivation.
I confess--I struggle with overwhelm, especially when projects start taking on lives of their own and expand to fill all available time, or suddenly start scurrying off in some new direction (aka scope creep and boundaries).
I like the idea of keeping an appreciation journal. I'd also add that we shouldn't shrug off our efforts when the project (or some part of it) came easily to us. We tend to dismiss our talents and superpowers as being "no big deal" because they come naturally to us, but it is a big deal when we have an opportunity to use our superpowers to serve others and help bring about a result that is the highest good for everyone.
Breaking things down into smaller time segments (or whatever unit works) definitely helps to minimize the sense of being overwhelmed. In addition to doing the easiest or most enjoyable bits first, it's also useful to schedule in the parts of a project that require the most amount of uninterrupted time or focus to the times of day when you are feeling most alert or refreshed and have the least number of distractions/disruptions.
Hi Sue, I think we all struggle with overwhelm. That actually should happen every so often. If we aren't pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones we aren't growing as people.
I also like that you talked about distractions. Every distraction is a chance to pull you out of your flow. By scheduling uninterrupted work time you can get much more done in a shorter amount of time.
Thanks for the great comment!
Hi Karl,
You point out something I think is extremely important for individuals and that is the need to feel relevant. As workers, we need to understand the difference we are making with others but more importantly, our values need to be aligned with those differences.
For over 15 years, I worked as a manager in an IT department supporting over 1000 Type-A commercial real estate brokers. For the longest time, I struggled with the concept my only relevance was helping make others rich. (Commercial Real Estate brokers are paid on commission only, but the rewards can be extremely high). Because money/salary was never a top five value for me, I was always in conflict with my work. What changed for me was a new perspective as to my relevance. I looked at how I was being relevant to those who reported to me and then worked on being a better manager/leader.
Anyways - sorry for being long winded but your post really resonated with me today!
Hi Bill, I love long winded comments. It helps me get a better idea of what you like me to write about. Finding the right mindset can be difficult if the work doesn't align with your core values, but if you look hard enough there is usually some emotional hook that can keep you happy for an extended period of time.
I like your view on caring about what you are doing. Most people just think that if you don't care about what you are doing you should change jobs into a job that you care about. I like the thought that it isn't your job you should change but your mindset.
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