How to find motivation
Ever find yourself just going through the motions? Day in. day out. Send an email here. Attend a meeting there. These work slumps or career ruts can get in the way of us achieving our goals and disrupt our normal productivity levels.
Following these steps, you can say goodbye to those workday blues and get your zest for life and work back.
5 ways to get out of your work slump
- Self-evaluate
- Return to what inspires you
- Focus on one thing at a time
- Take a mental health day
- Find effective rewards
Self-evaluate
To find a solution, you need to understand the problem. Before you can get your mojo back, think about what’s got you in this slump. When did you first start feeling this way? Is there anything you’ve been avoiding?
People find themselves in career ruts for a variety of reasons, including:
- Feeling bored and complacent in their work
- Job dissatisfaction
- Burnout from overexertion
Seek inspiration
Sometimes when we’re in a slump, we find ourselves retreating even from the activities and hobbies we enjoy and get inspired.
Inspiration is a powerful tool for boosting motivation. When we are feeling excited, we’re more likely to succeed. What activities or interests energize you? Some people find relief through the arts, while others might find this reprieve through athletics or taking some time to be one with nature. Whatever you choose, make sure it inspires and reignites you.
Focus on one thing at a time
With a never-ending mental to-do list, our minds can’t help but begin to race until we eventually just shut down. You try everything in your power to multitask, but it only leaves you feeling more overwhelmed.
The human brain is not capable of multitasking. When you take on too many things than you can handle, you’ll likely end up making careless mistakes and producing work that barely hits the mark. The more inadequate work you produce, the more de-motivated you become.
Rather than try to tackle everything in one go, take each task one at a time. Draft up a prioritized to-do list and work through it based on urgency and task difficulty.
Each task you complete will help you gain momentum and get yourself out of that work slump.
Take a mental health day
Everyone needs a break once in a while, no matter how satisfied you are with your job.
If you’re feeling chronically stressed to the point where you just can’t handle anything, it might be time to call in for a mental health day.
A mental health day is like a sick day for the mind. Just like you need rest for a cold or the flu taking mental health days is necessary to decompress and prevent burnout.
When taking a mental health day, avoid any stressors or tasks that will add pressure to your already overwhelmed mind. Instead, do activities that are relaxing. For some, this could mean spending the day in your pyjamas watching movies, while for others, it could mean going on a hike or cooking your favourite meal. Whatever you choose, make sure it will leave you feeling restored and re-energized.
Find effective rewards
Rewards or incentives can be as elaborate or as small as you choose. To keep up the momentum, give yourself smaller rewards as you hit those milestones when working toward a larger goal. If your workplace doesn’t have an effective reward and recognition program, it might help to implement some incentives of your own.
You might book time off for a vacation after you wrap up a long and challenging project, but until then, you might treat yourself to a coffee from your favourite shop for each milestone you hit.
Be careful when choosing rewards. Achieving a goal can often lead us to give in to our vices or temptations, which can undermine all your hard work. If you work hard one week and reward yourself by slacking off the next, you’ll likely just fall back into a work slump.
That being said, choose rewards that bring you joy but won’t diminish the effort you’ve put in.
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