Is maintaining motivation as hard as it seems? Maybe you are thinking of new ways to motivate yourself. Maybe you want to find ways of maintaining motivation within your team. Whatever the case may be motivation is an essential part of you being able to get tasks done effectively. In an ever changing world it is important to keep motivation high. With the outbreak of Covid, this has made teams struggle with motivation when working at home. This is where this article can help as it offers ideas and methods you can adopt for yourself and others.
Gene Swank published an article explaining how accomplishing anything great takes short-term sacrifices, pain and stress. All of these things can be demotivating if you’re operating with a short-term mindset. However, when you look at where you’ll be five years from now because of this sacrifice, it tends to keep things in perspective. This is an effective way of building your motivation. This next point ties in closely with a point made in our purposeful motivation post about a healthy lifestyle. When you focus on a healthy lifestyle, you are more motivated and can weather the challenges that life throws at you more effectively. Planting yourself in an environment that is surrounded by productive individuals can also help motivate you massively.
An article written by Ayelet Fishbach stated that effective self-motivation is one of the main things that distinguishes high-achieving professionals from everyone else. Learning and developing this ability to provide motivation intrinsically is the gateway to success. The article then goes on to express the important use of setting goals. This is because they should be triggering intrinsic motivation as you work towards what you set out to achieve. The important thing to remember, however, is that they should be challenging but realistic at the same time. one final point stated was being consistent. Motivation needs to be sustained over a period of time and a lack of consistency will drive your motivation into the ground.
An article on reed by Aaron Obeng talks about how stepping outside of your comfort zone can lead to a change in ideas, and overall outlook on your working situations. Also, going back and evaluating what you have achieved is a great way to remind yourself of how far you have come with your successes.
Here are some additional best ways/methods you can use to improve your self-motivation:
- visualize your goals
- be realistic
- have a setback plan
- develop a routine
- reward yourself
- think long-term
Motivating your team
Keeping your team motivated is essential for consistent achievement. With the Covid breakout, a lot of teams have moved to online calls for meetings and so this may cause a disconnection between you and your team. As a result of this, the motivation of your team may be at risk of falling as they work from home. Teams are eager to be motivated, especially to find meaning at work during this crisis. Remote work means that both the acquisition and bonding drives are harder to meet via traditional means such as raises and team outings.
An article from Deloitte explains that as a team leader you have to remember to stay empathetic to others in their adjustment to their new working environment. other things to consider is to be patient, watch your tone, be respectful, trust your team, avoid presentism and set objectives for the day and be clear timelines. Another key point to remember is that the members of your team will be more valuable to your organization, and to themselves, when they have opportunities to learn new skills. Making them aware of what they can gain is important as this will both help motivate them and provide them with self-motivation where they can create their own goals. Recognition on good work from your team will also go a long way in motivating them.
Here are some additional best ways/methods you can use to improve your team’s motivation:
- providing a pleasant working environment
- offer opportunities for self-development
- avoid useless meetings
- encouragement
- be available to any concerns
After having read the best ways to motivate yourself and your team why not check out our purposeful motivation post discussing more broad points about overall motivation.
Blake Wolsey-Cooper
