With the massive shifts in workplace environments over the past few years, many workers struggle to maintain their motivation. Many things can affect your work performance, and lack of motivation is one. When motivation dips, it can lead to various issues, including increased stress and lower quality work. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to keep your work motivation high and make sure you are productive.
Work motivation – table of contents:
- Psychological Methods to Boost Motivation
- Offer yourself feedback
- Consider your work’s impact on yourself and others
- Celebrate wins
- Practical Methods to Boost Work Motivation
- Make a to-do list
- Break long tasks into smaller ones
- Give yourself a reward
- Find a role model you admire
- Develop a clear plan and vision for each day
- Utilize project management tools
- Motivation grows with consistent practice
It’s time to bring the power of psychology and practical techniques together to boost your work motivation.
Whether you are working from home or are still clocking in and out of the office, check out these tips for boosting your motivation while at work.
Psychological Methods to Boost Motivation
Many looking for quick fixes for motivation will jump to the nearest app or shiny to-do list software. However, it’s also good to consider using psychological methods.
1. Offer yourself feedback
A good way to boost your motivation is by offering yourself feedback. This takes time, but you can do it with a few minutes each day, and best of all, at less than $0 per hour.
Start by writing about what you have accomplished for that day on paper or in an app on your phone, and then take some time to read through it again before you head to bed for the night. You can also write about what you have accomplished in a journal and then read through it when you next sit down with your coffee or tea.
This method is good for boosting motivation and as an accountability measure since there will be evidence of all that has been done each day.
2. Consider your work’s impact on yourself and others
By considering how your work impacts you and others, it can be easier to stay motivated. When you see your role at work as more than just a job, it can help keep you going.
Consider how your work helps people, saves lives, or makes the world a better place in some way. Suddenly, you’ll find that it is easier to have motivation for the task at hand now that you are making a difference!
This is also true if you can see yourself in what you do as well. For instance, if you’re an accountant, you see how your work helps businesses operate, and if you’re a nurse, you can see the difference you make in people’s lives.
This is also known as self-efficacy theory, which states that our motivation levels are higher when we believe in ourselves than when we don’t. Consider ways to boost self-esteem by doing something you enjoy or spending time with someone who makes you feel good about yourself.
3. Celebrate wins
It’s easy to be motivated when there is something positive happening. One of the fastest ways to help bring positivity to your workday is by celebrating wins.
You could do this by setting five-minute or one-hour timers to allow for personal celebration periods with a cup of coffee, allowing yourself to chat with coworkers about what has been accomplished, and then share what happened through social media.
This is simply an acknowledgment that you are doing something good, and it can be easy to forget in the busyness of a day.
Practical Methods to Boost Work Motivation
With the right psychology in place, you can start using some common tools to boost your motivation in your daily work. Here are a few practical methods for boosting motivation each day:
1. Make a to-do list
There are many ways to use a to-do list, but the best way is by making it short and achievable. This will help you stay motivated as you feel accomplished each day. There are plenty of to-do list productivity apps on the market today.
2. Break long tasks into smaller ones
Motivation can also be found by breaking tasks up in time or space to be not overwhelming. For instance, if you have a report to write, break it into five smaller tasks and set deadlines for when each task is due.
If you’re more into the topic of project management, you can even start setting project milestones.
3. Give yourself a reward
This is one of the best ways to boost work motivation because it’s both a sense of accomplishment and a time-management strategy.
If you have trouble staying motivated, mix up rewards for yourself – sometimes reward with something physical such as food or coffee and other times with pleasure activities like taking time to read an interesting article or watch your favorite TV show.
4. Find a role model you admire
One of the easiest ways to stay motivated at work is finding someone you admire who has accomplished something in their career that you want for your own life and then following them on social media or reading up on what they do each day. This can be an online business mogul, a famous CEO, or even someone who is running a small business.
This can be especially motivating if you’re trying to set goals for yourself, as watching them reach their goals will give you inspiration and motivation that they have done it before, so it’s possible for others too!
5. Develop a clear plan and vision for each day
This is a practice that should be done whether or not you’re feeling motivated. When we know what our goals are for the day, it can help to stay focused and focused on achieving them.
To make this practical, write this vision or mission down on paper each and every day before you begin your work.
6. Utilize project management tools
Another great way to stay motivated is by utilizing project management tools. This includes setting up a timeline, dividing tasks among team members, and using a shared document for notes on what has been done or needs to be done.
Motivation grows with consistent practice
The tips listed above are great for boosting your work motivation but only work their magic if practiced consistently.
Commit to one of the tips for a week, and then switch it out with another the next. Monitor how each one works for you and see which one is the most effective so that you can make it a part of your daily routine.
Want to see more great content like this? Check out the full list of work resources, tips, and more at Firmbee online!