9:00 AM — Just got to work, ready to take on the day!
10:00 AM — Three tasks down, ten to go!
11:00 AM — Still not lunchtime, huh?
12:00 PM — Great, another meeting?
1:00 PM — Four…hours…left.
If the schedule above describes how you feel as the workday drags on, then you’re like the 71% of us who lack motivation on the clock.
Now your productivity, efficiency, and accuracy are suffering. It’s time to regain control of your engagement at your desk.
To do that, follow these seven ways to stay motivated at work!
1. Look at the Bigger Picture
Getting sidetracked at work is completely normal. But nothing will tank your workplace motivation more than not being able to see the bigger picture.
You just can’t seem to figure it out:
Why are you typing away at complicated spreadsheets for hours uninterrupted?
How many conference calls can one company really need to make?
To bring your focus back to what’s essential, take a step back. Look at your office like it’s a vehicle, with dozens of moving pieces that need to be in tip-top shape to drive.
A car without a transmission won’t work for long. And your business would go down in flames without a skilled computer tech to keep the systems up and running.
Figure out where you fit in, the critical role you play, and keep working hard!
2. Get Up & Get Moving
Motivation slowly circles the drain the longer you sit at your desk. The clock ticks away, the dreaded brain fog settles in, and you can’t stay off Instagram.
The medical community agrees that physical activity at work is crucial. Even just a few minutes, between tasks, can wake up your brain and trigger some motivation.
So it’s time to get up and get moving!
Here are some ways to get active at work (without packing your running shoes).
- Get up and talk to your colleagues face-to-face instead of via email.
- Use the far copier room to make your copies and send faxes.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Spend what’s left of your lunch break outside walking.
- Walk down the hall and back once an hour.
None of these things will take away from your work, but they sure will leave you refreshed and focused when you return to your desk.
3. Set Smaller Goals for Bigger Tasks
It says something about your work ethic when your boss trusts you to tackle a massive project.
But there’s a problem:
As you chug along and chip away at the project piece by piece, you get bored. It seems like this task is never-ending, and your quality of work takes a toll.
To keep motivation at the forefront, break the project into small chunks.
Let’s say you divvy up the project into 20 small pieces.
By the end of day one, you finished three of those tasks. 3/20 is 15%. The next day, you do four different tasks. 7/20 now brings you to 35%.
You can see you’re making progress, which in and of itself is a motivator!
4. Build Relationships With Your Colleagues
Sometimes, the lack of motivation for work comes before you even leave the house in the morning.
So give yourself something to look forward to at the office:
Make friends with your colleagues!
There are plenty of ways to do this without outright asking a coworker to be friends with you (a la, the kindergarten technique).
For example:
- Hang out in the breakroom at lunch.
- Ask a coworker about something that’s on their desk.
- Attend company picnics, festivals, and work parties.
- Do something nice for a coworker.
The best part is, making friends at work is easier than you might think! In fact, 21% of people say it just takes a few days to befriend a colleague.
Not only will you have somebody to eat lunch with, but you’ll also be on top of your game. Cause you know that a lack of motivation will negatively affect your new buddies.
5. Create a Daily To-Do List (and Stick to It!)
Deadlines can be tough, especially if you struggle to stay motivated! And sometimes you wait until the day before a deadline, only to realize you’re way over your head.
So make your own deadlines in the form of a to-do list!
Choose tasks that you’ll complete during the day, and check them off as you finish.
There’s nothing more satisfying than crossing items off a lengthy to-do list and seeing that list shrink as the day goes on. That can be all the motivation you need!
It also allows you to focus on the most prominent projects or nearest deadlines before all else. Doing so will send your productivity through the roof.
Confidence and success are great motivators on the job.
6. Consider Getting a New Job
Think about why you lack work motivation in the first place and ask yourself:
Do I enjoy what I do for a living?
Do I like the people I work with?
Am I happy with my salary or hourly wage?
If you answered “no” to one or more of these questions, you might just be in the wrong job.
It’s essential to put your happiness above everything else, see value in what you do, and strive to be better at your job each day.
So think about applying to other jobs to make these a reality.
7. Make Your Desk Your Own Space
If all you have on your desk is a few paper clips and a keyboard, you’re off to a bad start! Think about turning your office into a place you like being.
Add some flair to your desk with knick-knacks!
Here are some awesome ideas for decorating your workspace to fit your needs:
- A personalized desk calendar
- A container of kinetic sand
- A collage of your favorite photos
- A small potted plant
- Small home decor (like string lights or wall quotes).
Decorating your desk is a terrific idea for a few reasons.
First, you feel like this is your own space, making your desk cozy like painting your apartment walls. And you have something to fiddle around with when you’re bored.
Motivation will never fall by the wayside again!
Conclusion
Motivation at work can be hard to come by, especially when you’re grinding through an eight-hour shift at a job you stick with simply to pay the bills.
So here’s what you need to do:
Figure out why you lack motivation in the first place (Is it boredom? Are you in over your head? Do you just dislike this job?).
Then, your options are to either get a new job, figure out how to make the workplace more enjoyable for yourself, or work on staying on task.
Author Bio:- Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with Arch at Bloomington to help them with their online marketing.
