We’ve all been there; you’re at work and you find yourself lacking motivation or drive to work hard. How do you motivate yourself and avoid seeing your performance drop over time? It’s important to always make sure you work your hardest to improve not only your company but yourself. In this article, we will discuss 5 ways you can motivate yourself at work.
- Always have your next goal in front of you.
Whatever your goal is for today, whether it’s to complete a transaction with a difficult client or finish a project you’ve been working on, make sure you have it written down somewhere at your station where you can see it. Use this to remind yourself throughout the day that there is a specific goal you are striving for in the short term. This will help break up your days and make it easier to focus on one task, rather than feeling overwhelmed by your workload or feeling that there is just too many things to think about. If necessary, make a list of the 10 most important things to do today, in order of importance. Work down the list and check off each task as you complete it to give yourself a sense of achievement and therefore a small pick-me-up throughout the day.
- Think of each hour in terms of its value.
This especially applies to work in administration, retail or customer service, where roles are often paid by the hour rather than as a salary. If you do have a salary, however, you can always work out what the rate of pay per hour is. Write this rate down somewhere that you can see it while you work. Use this throughout the day to remind yourself that each hour you work has a monetary value and is therefore worth something. This will help you to feel your work carries some weight and therefore importance to you personally and not just the company you work for.
- Remember and focus on what you like about your job.
It can be easy to forget why you took your job in the first place when you’re feeling unmotivated. Take a few minutes to remind yourself each day what it is you love about your job and use that to fuel motivation. Whether it’s the people you work with, talking to customers or any aspect of the role that makes you happy, focus on it and use it to remind you why you are there. Take a few minutes to talk to your co-workers in your break, or have a chat with the customers and enjoy it. As long as what you’re doing is within the bounds of what your employer deems acceptable, it’s worth it to cheer yourself up. After all, there is no reason you shouldn’t be happy while you work.
- Consider the next steps for your career.
If there is the possibility of a promotion in your future, use that to focus on as your next big goal. If there is a progression system where you work based on your performance each month, remind yourself to constantly out-perform your previous reports. There is always another step in your career (unless you’re the CEO) so keep that in mind while you’re working, as the people who work the hardest will go the farthest.
- Set yourself targets.
If work is slow and you’re in a bit of a slump, or your job isn’t the kind to have targets each month, set personal targets so that you have something to work towards. Tell yourself you will complete (x) amount of reports/forms/projects each day and try to achieve that target every day. It might not seem like it’s worth it since you don’t get anything out of it from your employer but you will find yourself feeling a sense of achievement if you do meet those personal targets, especially if you set ones that you initially think you might not be able to achieve.
Motivation can be hard to find at work at the best of times if you’re not feeling up to it and it happens to the best of us. However, as long as you continue to find new ways to motivate yourself, you will continue to achieve and perform at a rate that you are happy with. If you are trying and still can’t seem to motivate yourself? Maybe it’s time to think about moving on. Why not have a look at our job boards and see if there’s anything you like? As always, good luck!
