Motivation to work – psychological tools for effective work

Everyone has experienced loss of motivation and burnout at least once. And he wanted to know when the motivation to work can return to him.

To increase the desire to work and bring your motivation to a new level is primarily in your own interests. Doing what you don't like is not the best way to become happy and successful. We spend most of our time at work, and it is very important to learn, if not to burn with your work (which would be ideal), but at least to see the meaning and know why you are doing what you are doing.

Why does work motivation drop?

The desire to act can disappear due to internal psychological reasons:

• laziness;
• disbelief in one's own strengths;
• emotional burnout;
• lack of interest in the duties performed;
• lack of motivation and purpose.

And because of the external:

• uncomfortable working environment;
• insufficient level of remuneration;
• problems in the team;
• lack of career growth.

Let's take a closer look at the internal and external factors that affect the process of motivation to work.

Motivation to work – What's inside

Let's talk about internal causes and conflicts that cause a drop in motivation.

So, our enemies on the way to efficiency are:

Laziness

Laziness never arises on its own. What we really like, we usually do not get bored. But it happens that even what we are interested in, we still postpone for later.

To effectively fight laziness, let's find out your personal reason for its appearance.

Disinterest in the kind of detail you do.

Everything is obvious here – you just do not like your duties. The situation is unpleasant, but worldly.

There are two methods to help correct dissatisfaction: set clear goals that you can achieve through work and work to achieve these desires. For example, you are saving for a car. Then take the unloved job as the road to your dream. Yes, you do not get sick of your business and look forward to Friday every week, but you get the opportunity to buy what you need.

The second way to overcome disinterest is to think and look for ways to change jobs. The decision to move to another area should never be an emotional one. Unfortunately, positive thinking doesn't always work, as it is written about in popular psychology books. Everyday visualization of your dream job is not enough, you also need specific actions.

Prepare the ground. Ask yourself a question about what you like. If necessary, get additional education or search the Internet for free courses. The process may take several years. Take your time and do not make rash decisions ahead of time.

Self-doubt

The second common cause of laziness is the fear of making mistakes and lack of confidence in one's own abilities.

You may not even realize it, postponing things for later. After all, sometimes the true reason sits somewhere deep inside and becomes visible only when you hear about it from someone.

If you find yourself thinking that the reason for your lack of motivation is the fear of being worse than you are, do not despair. The fact that you found the cause is already great. Now try to understand why you adopted such a belief for yourself. Perhaps you were wrong before? They were exactly wrong. Because everyone makes mistakes. But that's no reason not to do anything at all.

Fatigue and burnout

Don't forget the importance of rest. If you haven't been on vacation for a long time, then at least spend a relaxed weekend in the countryside.

Everyone has experienced burnout in one way or another. This is the very loss of motivation in its extreme version.

In order to be reborn as a specialist, analyze your work-life balance and try to give yourself more rest.

Perfectionism is not always good. Therefore, be careful not only to work hard, but also to rest no less hard.

Failure to appreciate what we have

Let's get philosophical. Appreciate what you have, even if you think you could have more. Spend 5 minutes a day on a short exercise-meditation. Think of those who have no job at all. Just imagine what they would give to be in your position!

Being grateful is a great way to motivate yourself to work.

What's outside

External factors also influence your attitude towards work. Global corporations have long understood this and are devoting time to creating new benefits and privileges that will help to better motivate staff. In large companies, there are often bonuses such as yoga in the office, fresh fruit on Fridays, themed events and sports for employees.

If your company cannot boast of anything like this, you have no choice but to create conditions for yourself. Try to equip the workplace. A soft pillow on a chair, a foot massager, a couple of potted flowers and a favorite mug – and now your work area has become cozy and comfortable, and work has become more pleasant.

Motivation to work – what's next?

It is important to set clear goals and see the prospects for professional development.

Let's turn again to the experience of global corporations. For each employee, a development plan is developed for the year, where all the goals and indicators that he must achieve are prescribed. After six months and a year, the plan is evaluated. In this way, it is possible to accurately assess which performance indicators have been exceeded, which tasks the employee has performed well, and which still need improvement.

If your company does not conduct such performance monitoring, draw up such a plan yourself.

Write down clear goals, according to SMART, which should be:

• achievable;
• specific;
• measurable;
• important;
• time limited.

An example of such a goal: I want to become an assistant to the head of the department in 2 years.

• This goal is achievable—you don't want to be the CEO. Specific – you want to take a specific position.
• Measurable – the result is clearly stated in the goal itself.
• Important – you really want to take this position.
• Time-limited – you want to achieve a promotion within two years.

Try to create your own SMART goal, and then think about what you need to do in order to achieve what you want. You may need additional education, experience or dialogue with colleagues and superiors.

Here is a meaningful goal that can help motivate you to work. The point is small – do not forget to rest so as not to burn out, believe in yourself in order to work more efficiently and follow our proven advice.