With uncertainties and a seemingly endless news cycle that leaves us asking “What Next?” knowing how to stay motivated at work is more important than ever before.
Motivation is crucial for maintaining a positive mindset and momentum to work through your to-do list and goals list.
As times become tougher or more challenging than we’ve experienced, it is easy to lose motivation and drive. It can take a toll on your work or business “world”.
Why? Because without motivation, it’s hard to reach a ‘productive’ stage.
Without motivation, it is easier to allow work and other tasks to fall by the wayside. It will eventually have a negative impact on your overall business. .
In this article, we’ll share some simple ways to increase your motivation and productivity at work, even during challenging times.
Why Am I Lacking Motivation?
A lack of motivation (and thus low productivity) can come around suddenly or be a slow burn and it happens for a number of reasons.
You may be adjusting to a new mode of work, a new environment, even a coworking space and trying to find the best, most flexible schedule to suit your life. There will sure be road bumps along the way.
You could be feeling deflated and unmotivated due to all the noise and news in the world right now. It sure has been a challenging time with many world issues playing out before us every day. Some people are more affected by these world issues than others.
When these bigger world issues play out, it’s easy to reflect on your own life and work and feel insignificant? Or redundant even. These feelings, combined with any self-doubt you feel could lead you to feel out of place, and out of touch with your work, clients, business or peers.
If you are lacking motivation, it serves us well to think outside the box: think of new approaches to stay productive and healthy (both in mind and body) whilst continuing to work.
Also, remember what you are passionate about, why this is your passion and what your passion helps you to achieve.
Increasing Your Motivation And Productivity
Top Tips To Increase Motivation and Productivity
- Remember Your “Why”
If you haven’t seen Simon Sinek’s famous Ted Talk on Your Why, watch it now. It will motivate you in ways that you haven’t thought of before and give you the drive to wake up and succeed every morning. You can connect with Your Why every day on some level and keep yourself motivated to strive for your goals. - Clearly Know Your Goals
Spending time working on specific goals that are going to get you to the next stage of your business or life is essential. You don’t know where you’re going, if you don’t plan for it! By achieving these goals in bite-sized (or big sized) chunks, then you motivate yourself to keep going, keep working, keep achieving. - Cut Down the Noise And Distractions
Phone calls, notifications, emails (Netflix on if you’re working from home) basically anything that is not relevant to your task can be a major drain on your overall productivity. - Specify Deadlines
Give yourself a realistic deadline for certain tasks. Working to a specific time or day for completing a project or task can encourage you to ensure it gets done. Most people are driven by a deadline in handing in a piece of work, submitting a proposal or finalising a deal, so make it happen. - Make Your Workplace A Happy One
Typically, we don’t like to work in an environment that is stressful, uncomfortable, or dreary. The right furniture, lighting, air conditioning, and ventilation tend to have a major impact on the overall workplace efficiency. Modern workspace design and new technology can help in nurturing better motivation and productivity (like our spaces at JAGA). If you work from a custom-designed coworking space that has thought through the benefits of open spaces, meeting rooms, nooks for socialising and client meetings, then you will most likely be primed for the best productivity. - Encourage Effective Teamwork
This can be challenging if you work from home or are a solopreneur. However, it’s not unachievable if you surround yourself with a team (even a small one) mentors or peers. If you are part of an existing team, a happier, more motivated team can result in improved productivity.
Coworking Community and Workplace Productivity
Coworking is the latest trend in both mainstream working and freelancing. It is a type of workplace setting that enables individuals to work together within a common, integrated space. However, members of a coworking community work on their own projects and business.
Although workers primarily tend to be independent of each other, they are joined as a dedicated coworking community and as such, coworkers can look forward to consulting, inspiring, and motivating each other through their combined wisdom and strengths.
Some of the useful ways in which the development of a coworking community, like our community at JAGA can boost your productivity are:
- Seamless Flow of Ideas
As you continue working with other like-minded professionals, having unique talents and skills, you can easily tap into their knowledge if you get stuck. Moreover, as you will have others to consult within the coworking space, it is easier to come out of a challenging situation – especially if you are a solopreneur. Coworking also leads to learning and brainstorming new things on a daily basis from a wide spectrum of talents and skills around you. - Happy Workers = Productive Workers
It is estimated that 75 to 90 percent of coworkers admire the personal connections that are made possible with the help of coworking communities. Coworkers tend to feel more engaged and motivated to work at coworking communities thanks to the “group mentality”. They feel less lonely and happier at work – consequently boosting productivity. - Innovative and Different Spaces
A coworking space (like ours at JAGA) typically have different, innovative spaces built into the design. Hot desks, private offices, meetings rooms, break out rooms, kitchens, quiet rooms, phone booths, podcasting booths, shared spaces – there are a plethora of options to keep your brain inspired and switched ON. Changing up your location can help in increasing your productivity. - Improving Work-life Balance
Whether you are a freelancer or a solopreneur, it can be hard to maintain a sustainable work-life balance. In some cases, you are expected to focus on your professional responsibilities, but your pets and kids might have specific preferences as well. When you work from a coworking space (as opposed to working from home) you are given the luxury of ‘cutting off’ and focusing on your tasks at hand. Putting in a ‘good’ days work at a coworking space, you are less likely to bring work home with you, thus able to really spend quality time with your family and friends outside of work hours.
We hope these motivation tips help! The world is a little crazy right now, and we’re all in it together. Do we have all the answers? NO. But we can remind you to be gentle with yourself; there will be days when you do not feel like working as much or as hard, or being productive at all. When that happens, give yourself some time, you could be feeling burnt out, lethargic or even sick. If you are in dire need of a break, take one!
If you see a pattern emerging and you feel like your work or life is suffering from your lack of productivity, then reach out to a trusted friend, colleague, supervisor or peer and share your concerns.
