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Is Your Enthusiasm As Flat as a Pancake? Discover 12 Tips To Stay Motivated at Work
15 Jan, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Why you might struggle to stay motivated at work.
- How to keep yourself motivated at work.
- Where the latest jobs are and how to apply for them.
With Pancake Day rolling around for another year, you should be feeling flipping fantastic! However, if you’re feeling as flat as a pancake and struggling to be productive at work, you’re not alone! When the responsibilities start stacking up or you don’t believe in what you are doing, it can be difficult to stay motivated and be enthusiastic about working.
It’s important that you don’t let it get you down because there are many ways to keep yourself motivated at work, flip your troubles around and achieve great results.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or lacking enthusiasm at work, here are 12 tips that will help you stay motivated and productive in your job.
Why do I struggle to stay motivated at work?
Whether you work in an office, school or from home, staying motivated to accomplish tasks can be difficult. According to a Gallup study, only 8% of UK employees are motivated at work, the lowest engagement rate in Europe.
Reasons why you feel unmotivated at work include:
- You’re overwhelmed and stressed.
- You aren’t being challenged at work.
- You don’t feel valued.
- You are being underpaid.
- You don’t believe in what you are doing.
- You’re feeling burned out.
- You’re struggling with your mental health.
How do you keep yourself motivated at work?
Here are 12 strategies to keep motivated at work:
- Stay positive.
- Set professional goals for yourself.
- Create a schedule/daily plan.
- Track your success.
- Prioritise tasks and keep track of time
- Build relationships.
- Contribute and share your ideas.
- Clear all distractions.
- Reward results.
- Take breaks.
- Separate work from home.
- Prioritise your mental health.
Stay positive
Motivating yourself to focus on the bigger picture can be difficult, but a great way to stay motivated is to have a positive outlook and attitude towards work. In a recent blog, we uncover 23 ways to be happier at work!
Instead of spotting issues, problems or mistakes, look out for positive or successful moments! Positive self-talk will make you more determined to succeed and grow. Take note of what went well and aim to find something good in every project, meeting or just every day!
If you think your job is making you depressed it might be time for a new job; as an award winning recruitment agency, we can help you to explore new job opportunities in your area.
Set professional goals for yourself
Set small, attainable goals for yourself to recognise your achievements. Unrealistic and unattainable goals that only focus on the end goal or the bigger picture can interrupt momentum and feel too overwhelming.
Create realistic goals, balancing small, individual tasks and larger projects or responsibilities. Set goals daily, weekly or even hourly as completing these can help you to feel that you’ve accomplished something at the end of every workday or workweek. This will motivate you to persevere even if the workload is overwhelming.
Have a routine or daily plan
Follow a routine or revert back to a plan to make sure you’re taking the right steps to stay aligned with your goals and aspirations. It can be difficult to keep enthusiastic and stay motivated enough to complete tasks and focus on what it is you want or need to do.
A schedule, routine or to-do list can give a sense of responsibility and a set system to follow.
Whether it be a daily routine from the time you get up in the morning up until the time you go to sleep at night, or just a plan solely for work, having a schedule or routine is a practical way to allow you to be more productive and motivated throughout the day.
Create a plan of action and focus on what it is you want to accomplish to develop a sense of motivation and structure. Being organised and efficient can help you to stay motivated and feel in control, especially during busy or stressful periods.
Track your success
Set and track your own performance at work to boost your morale, reputation and to keep motivated. It is important to take notes, check off lists and mark down achievements to feel a sense of accomplishment and meaning at work.
Determine how you want to record your success whether that be in a spreadsheet, notebook, online portfolio or even a voice recorded note.
Employees who closely track their performance will also be better prepared for performance reviews or one on one meetings.
Prioritise tasks and keep track of time
When you’re working, it’s easy to get stuck on a task or let time run away with you, so when it comes to motivation, it’s important to focus on prioritising your time and objectives. Focusing on important tasks that keep you mentally engaged also keeps you motivated at work.
Be aware of your responsibilities and goals and determine how long it takes to accomplish daily tasks. This will give you an idea of how to fit your workload into a schedule and to know which tasks to prioritise or spend more time on.
Auditing your work and breaking down tasks and responsibilities into smaller components also helps you to prioritise effectively and keep track of time. Knowing how to spend your workday can strengthen personal motivation and make employees feel in control, determined and more productive.
Build relationships
It’s important to communicate and collaborate with colleagues at work to build relationships based on trust. Maintaining and building great working relationships will help to relieve stress - a problem shared is a problem halved!
It is common to feel overwhelmed at work no matter how confident or experienced you are. In every job, employees can feel overwhelmed by their workload, their responsibilities or dealing with issues at work.
Sharing the responsibilities with colleagues could help to lighten your workload. Communicate with colleagues to reignite your passion for your job and forge relationships that motivate you to work harder with enthusiasm.
Communicate with your manager
If you have any queries, suggestions for improvements or concerns, don’t keep them bottled inside. It’s important to communicate with those around you as they may be able to relieve the pressure or offer effective ways to beat stress that you are experiencing. If you are feeling under appreciated or overwhelmed by your workload, having a conversation with your manager could result in positive action.
Your manager may be able to distribute some of your tasks to other employees and put a plan in place to improve your work experience.
Clear all distractions
Having a lack of motivation or enthusiasm can also be confused with being distracted. A study by Clockwise found that 75% of people feel more productive when distractions decrease.
To increase your motivation, remove daily distractions and temptations such as noisy phones, loud or interruptive co-workers and social media, to focus on the completion of tasks.
Reward results
Don’t be afraid to celebrate your achievements no matter how frequent or small. If you achieve a goal or complete a task, it’s OK to give yourself a pat on the back. This doesn’t always mean spending money but it does mean giving yourself the opportunity to reflect on your talent and accomplishments.
The reward could be an early finish from work, going out for dinner or just having a piece of chocolate! Recognising the importance of rewarding yourself for completing a task can keep you motivated at work and this positive stimulus can help you deliver better results.
Take regular breaks
When you’ve completed a goal or task, reward yourself with a break and you’ll find you feel more motivated and productive once you’re refreshed.
According to a survey by Compass Group, 82% of UK workers said that taking regular breaks throughout the workday improves their overall productivity. Taking regular breaks is crucial to keep employees engaged, active and motivated at work.
Ensure that your workday is broken up with regular breaks to help you refuel, improve employee morale and productivity. Take a walk, go out for your lunch or even make a brew, to recharge your focus.
In addition to short breaks throughout a working day, it is important to utilise annual leave to take longer rest breaks. However, research from Glassdoor revealed that the average UK employee sacrifices 6.5 days of their holiday entitlement each year through fear of being out of the office. Taking holidays, even if you’re not physically ‘going on holiday’ will help you to feel revitalised and motivated when you return back to work.
Separate work and home
When people don’t recognise how to keep their work and home lives separate, it is common for them to feel less motivated at work. Finding a healthy balance to keep work and home life separate will help you to shut off from work when you get home.
Overworking or not being able to separate work from home can have a negative impact on productivity and mental health. When employees fail to establish boundaries, they risk becoming overwhelmed by work demands. Why not spend time with your family and friends, socialise, or find hobbies and interests outside of work? Learning that balance is a key aspect of motivation could increase your enthusiasm for your job.
Prioritise your mental health
Mental health can play a huge factor in an individual's motivation, enthusiasm and productivity. Exposure to high levels of stress, pressure or an increased workload can result in burnout.
Exhaustion, depression and isolation contribute to poor mental health and not being able to stay motivated at work. It is essential to get good sleep, maintain a work life balance and ensure that your mental, physical and emotional health is a priority.
Prioritise your mental health to ensure that you are energised and enthusiastic to find motivation in day-to-day activities at work. If you are experiencing poor mental health, it would be prudent to understand your rights with mental health at work.
Time to find a new job?
If you're feeling unhappy or unmotivated at work - and you just can’t seem to shift the feeling - it might be time to find a new job. As one of the UKs leading recruitment agencies, we have hundreds of public and private sector jobs available spanning a number of specialisms.
Check out all the latest job opportunities now or upload your CV and one of our experienced consultants will contact you when a relevant opportunity arises.
Need help recruiting?
If you’re struggling to fill a role, why don’t you give us a call on 01772 954200 to see how we can help? One of our consultants will be happy to listen to the challenges you are facing and advise on the best possible solution for you.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
We are an award winning recruitment agency based in the North West that has been innovating and reshaping the recruitment industry since we began in 2017. We are driven by our desire to make an impact, enhance the candidate experience, and perfectly match candidates to their dream job!
Recruitment to us is about providing candidates with a job role that has the opportunity to enhance their salary, prioritise their mental health and better their work life balance and standard of living.
As we continue evolving, our commitment to having a positive impact on everyone we encounter is unwavering and is driven by our hard work and innovation. From individuals seeking a new career to organisations looking to expand their horizons, we thrive off making a positive difference!
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
