HOW TO FIND MOTIVATION AT WORK --Daniel Fleischbein, Senior Executive Search Consultant

Published on January 6 2019 by Flashmenews

It’s not even noon and you’ve already checked Facebook (twice), scrolled through your Twitter feed, read your two favorite blogs, and now you’re about to visit the break room for the third time. Sounds like you’re struggling to find motivation at work!

Sure, you may not roll out of bed every morning feeling super motivated for your job – that’s completely normal. But if you’re spending most of your time at the office procrastinating on tasks and underperforming, you’re in need of a serious work motivation boost. You may not love your current boss or your current project, but poor performance at work can hinder your ability to move on to a job that you do love.
Has work motivation become a problem? Here’s how to get out of a rut.

#1: Identify and prioritize tasks.
If it feels like you’re spinning your wheels, that’s probably because you are. Hopping from project to project can be counterproductive, especially if you’re constantly distracted with emails or co-workers popping by to say hello. Start each day with a list of five work priorities. Break these priorities into smaller tasks that you can check off as you go – and reward yourself with a short break after you accomplish each task.

#2: Seek out feedback.
If you don’t know how you’re performing on a difficult task, it’s easy to lose steam. That’s why receiving positive feedback from a coworker or supervisor is one of the most important motivating factors at work. Don’t wait for your boss to give you feedback. Check in with your supervisor at the end of the week or at the midway point on a project and ask for an honest assessment of your performance.

#3: Take an email sanity break.
When you spend your day responding to a constant deluge of email messages, it’s hard to make headway on bigger projects. Let your coworkers know that you’re instituting a “no email checking” rule for one hour each morning and one hour each afternoon. Use this time to really dig into a big project without any distractions. You may be surprised how much you actually like your job once the constant ding of inbox notifications is removed.

#4: Apply for a job you do love.
If it’s clear that your professional situation is not going to change, there’s no time like the present to polish up your resume and LinkedIn profile. Put out the word among a few trusted colleagues that you’re open to a new professional challenge. Testing the job market waters may be just the push you need to start seriously looking for a job that’s a better fit – or help you fall in love with your current job all over again.

Have you ever fallen into a motivation rut at work? I invite you to share your tips for improving job motivation below.
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