How To Motivate Yourself To Work When You Really Don't Want To
A post on a Facebook group recently caught my eye. It said, "Can we talk about motivation? I have plenty of deadlines approaching and I want to do NOTHING. How do you push through?"
Someone commented on the thread, "I LOVE what I do. No pushing needed."
I call bullshit.
You won’t always be motivated to do your work, even when you love and believe in it wholeheartedly. We all need breaks. We all need downtime. We all need space from our jobs whether we work in a corporate setting or run our own business. Here's the thing, you can push through, sometimes you just have to. But can you imagine a kinder, softer approach and option?
Less force, more rest. Then resume.
Give yourself permission to pause when you need to. Log out. Take a walk. Breathe life into something else. White space and time for rest and/or play are necessary for creativity, stamina, and positive evolution.
Here are a few practical tips if you're lacking motivation for work:
1) Create small, bite-sized goals: Behavioural psychology tells us that people respond positively to achievement, no matter how small. Setting attainable micro-goals for the day can help you stay motivated to keep going and also minimises procrastination.
Think about the big picture goal first. Once you have that, figure out exactly what you need to do to get there, work backward and break it down from one big goal to a few smaller goals.
2) Practice Essentialism: If you haven't read the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown I highly recommend it! One of the big ideas is about "deliberately distinguishing the vital few from the trivial many" aka eliminating the non-essentials and removing any obstacles so the essential things have a clear, smooth passage.
How can you map out what is absolutely essential for your day, week, month etc? And focus solely on that.
3) Take Mindful Breaks: Taking breaks to get up, move your body and separate yourself from work is important. Choosing how you'll fill those time gaps is even more important. Choose mindful activities over mindless. God, I know how enticing it is to just lay on the couch and scroll through social media, but I also notice how easy it is to check out and all of a sudden my breaks last a lot longer and it's harder for me to get back to work.
A mindful activity can be journaling, gentle stretching, a walk, a call to a friend, meditating, repotting your plants, or taking a power nap.
4) Make sure your days off are completely off: I've been trying to stay off technology during the weekends and I can't tell you how two days away from my laptop and social media has refreshed and recharged my creativity. When Monday rolls around I'm 100% more ready to tackle work than if I continued to work through the weekend. Find a schedule that works for you. Maybe you don't take the traditional Sat-Sun off, but definitely have rest days integrated into your schedule.
5) Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate: Regardless of the size of the project, celebrating our wins is crucial for our self-esteem, motivation, and confidence. When you reward yourself for reaching a goal, you're reminded of how it fits into your larger vision and can help re-ignite passion.
Do you have a small list of friends, family, or other business owners that support and cheer you on? Have a core group of people that you can share your wins with, and in turn, make sure you encourage and support them in their goals. *If you live on the Surf Coast, check out the Surf Coast Women in Business Group that I co-founded.
Which of these tips resonated with you? Can you take one and implement it into your week and routine? Let me know in the comments below!