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Staying motivated during a job search is one thing, but what do you do if you lack motivation at work? It can happen to anyone who has been in a job long enough. It’s easy to take what you have for granted and start to see your working week as monotonous and predictable. When motivation departs, your job becomes the bane of your existence where once it was the shining beacon of it. So how do you get back that missing motivation and return to loving what you do?
Remind yourself of why you’re in this field
It can be easy to forget the achievements and high points that have happened during your working life but there is a lot of motivation to be taken from recalling them. Cast your mind back to the times you made yourself proud to help restore some faith about why you do what you do. Confidence in yourself is a fantastic motivator.
Take breaks
We harp on about breaks for good reason. They are the number one make or break factor for happiness at work in so many areas. When it comes to motivation, there’s no exception. If you aren’t taking regular decent breaks any work will start to seem overwhelming and unenjoyable. Make a point of taking proper breaks (and that means away from your desk) and if you’re feeling particularly demotivated at present, up the number of them for a while.
Set/revisit your goals
Demotivation can occur when you don’t have something to work towards. Without goals, work can become a bore with little to keep you interested. So, if this sounds like your situation, take some time to either revisit goals you may have sidelined or set new ones. Discuss them with your boss if you need to, or merely create personal goals for yourself. Create deadlines and achievement points along the way so you can track your progress and feel yourself moving forward and reward yourself when you hit the goal you were going for.
Focus on a healthy work/life balance
If your home life is happy, it will have a positive effect on your work life. When you leave work, try to switch completely over to your non-work life and be active within it. No going home to watch TV, catch up on Facebook and go to bed – do something meaningful.
Keep the right outlook
Keeping the right perspective is crucial for all of the steps to winning back your motivation at work. Staying positive and aware of the hard work you put in to get where you are will help to renew your vigour in the workplace.
Talk to the boss
If you genuinely have tried everything you can to get motivated again at work and nothing has worked, it might be time to consider talking to your boss about the problem. There may be some options s/he can offer you that you weren’t aware of.
Losing motivation at work can transform a happy work-life into a miserable one. Take some time to really focus on the issue, instead of skimming over it and accepting that you dislike your job, which is actually rarely the reality.