Whether you’re an employee, a business owner, or a manager, you might sometimes find yourselves struggling with motivation at work. It’s normal to feel your motivation flag and then recover sometimes at work, and you don’t have to feel eager, alert and ready for what’s next every moment of every day. However, if you’re going through a long period of just not really feeling the enthusiasm any longer, you may need to take some of the steps below to fix it.
Look for the Small Stuff
Sometimes, you just have a bad run of luck. Your printer died, your best employee handed in their notice and you’re getting audited. It can start to feel like the world is stacked against you, and this can be profoundly demotivating. A good way to combat this is to remember that you don’t have to score huge victories. Look for small things that you’re doing well and that are going right to help steer you away from negativity.
Fix the Problem
Sometimes, your motivation is lacking because of a persistent problem that needs addressing, and the only way to really get it back is just to tackle the problem head on. If you work in fleet management and you have been struggling with compliance issues, you can review a guide on ELDs for trucks. This can help you understand what the benefits are and whether they are the right solution for you.
Reward Yourself
This is not reserved just for employees and managers. If you are the business owner, you might feel as though your company’s success should be its own reward. Still, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also give yourself rewards for doing something difficult or accomplishing something important.
Stop
Don’t stop forever but take a break. This can be as small as five minutes to duck outside and get some fresh air or as big as going on vacation. One of the unfortunate components of burnout is that you often can’t see your way to the other side of it. You don’t realize how badly you need to step back and do something different. Consider coping strategies like using apps for reducing stress, using essential oils, and 5-minute meditations that encourage you to take pause and regroup. You also might fear losing your pace of productivity, not realizing that you will be more productive if you give yourself some time off. In fact, you might experiment with shorter days in general to see if you work better in those circumstances. You may be surprised to learn that you do as much or more work in a six or seven-hour day as in one that is nine or ten hours long.
Know Your Work’s Importance
If you work in a business, you might sometimes feel as though what you are doing is not very important. You might tell yourself that if you were something like a teacher or a nurse instead, you’d be more convinced of the significance of what you do, or maybe you imagine you should be a big tech entrepreneur instead of running the small company in your hometown that you do. The truth is that all of those people get burned out on their jobs too. Reminding yourself of the ways that your role matters to, at minimum, your coworkers can help you refocus.
