How to Motivate Yourself at Work
Whether you’ve had a late night, you’re overwhelmed by your workload, or you have personal distractions encroaching on your brain space, motivation at work is bound to have peaks and troughs, especially with the increase of homeworking in recent years.
If you often feel you have no motivation to work, these practical tips and strategies on how to be more productive can help you increase productivity and become a team player no one would want to be without. These tips include realistic and simple techniques you can implement to improve your motivation at work and help you if you’re unsure how to prioritise tasks.
Workplace Productivity: How to Be More Productive
It can be challenging to stay on top of everything and consistently have a high level of motivation at work especially if you’re going through a period of growth or staff shortages see your workload increase. These factors can, in fact, reduce productivity because sometimes, if we don’t know where to start, it can feel easier to do nothing at all. Of course, this only exasperates workplace stress, so it’s not a tip you’ll find here! Instead, we’ll talk you through some simple ways to increase workplace productivity including:
- Setting up the perfect workstation
- Prioritising tasks
- Using traditional or technological tools to organise your to-do list
- Keeping a healthy body and mind
- How to avoid procrastination
How to Be Productive: Improve Your Workstation
Whether you work in a large or small office, or you predominantly work from home, investing in comfortable, ergonomic office furniture can help you stay focused and productive. Having the right office chair and desk where you can work comfortably makes a world of difference. Even if you have a home office set up, these are the basics to success. A great quality posture chair helps you keep your spine aligned and reduces strain on the neck and shoulders, they are an excellent investment when sitting for long periods in the office or at home.
Ideally, your workstation will have adequate natural light and good airflow. A box room can be great as a small home office but do ensure you let the natural light in and keep the door open if you can. Those small spaces can get pretty stuffy and leave you feeling lethargic come the middle of the afternoon. And whilst coffee is a great little pick me up, you don’t want to be knocking back caffeine to counteract the effects of an unhealthy work area.
Your workstation should be comfortable and have everything you need within easy reach. Organise your stationery with a desk tidy and keep the space as organised as you can.
How to Set Goals and Achieve Them
A to-do list will be your best friend when it comes to setting and achieving goals. Whether you use the traditional notepad and pen or an online tool to keep you on top of your tasks, it’s vital that your to-do list is easy to access at all times. There is a certain level of satisfaction that comes with ticking an action off your to-do list, it can really help you feel you’ve achieved something that day and gives you something to show for your hard work.
Additionally, make sure you know how to manage everything on your to-do list and if a task confuses or overwhelms you, ask your manager how they would tackle it and get some guidance – that’s what they’re there for! Fearing certain tasks can stop you in your tracks and you might end up avoiding your to-do list altogether and instead doing anything but working. This is what we call procrastination, and procrastination is the thief of time.
What is Procrastination?
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task. Avoidance is a hallmark of procrastination, you might end up making a drink, chatting to colleagues, reorganising the stationery drawer or filing emails instead of tackling important tasks. If you find yourself questioning ‘Why do I procrastinate so much at work?’, it could be down to several factors, including perfectionism, fatigue, anxiety, fear of failure, or lack of motivation. You can avoid procrastination by ensuring you set deadlines to meet targets, eliminating distractions such as social media or TV and talking to your manager if you have tasks assigned to you that you feel unsure of.
Additionally, it helps to tick your least favourite tasks off the to-do list first, so you don’t feel like they’re hanging over you as the weeks go on. You should also consider breaking down tasks into smaller steps to make them less daunting. Once you start, you'll gain momentum and accomplish more, ticking the task off section by section and giving you a sense of achievement.
How Do You Stay Focused and Productive at Work?
Focus can be a struggle, especially if you’re tired or feeling overworked. Follow these tips to help you focus when working for long hours at a computer.
Take Regular Breaks
Taking regular active breaks throughout the day is critical for work productivity. Breaks help you stay focused and avoid burnout. They are vital for your health as sitting for many hours at a time is no good for you physically or mentally. So get up, stretch those legs, grab a refreshing drink and return to your computer when your brain has had a chance to reset.
Look After Your Eye Health
You might not realise it, but you could very well be straining your eyes when working long hours on a laptop or PC. Eye strain makes you feel tired and can give you headaches which are no good at all for productivity! Eye tests are cheap (sometimes even free!), quick and painless and you can get a nice pair of prescription glasses that won’t break the bank.
Drink lots of Water
Proper nourishment and drinking lots of water are essential to staying motivated during office hours. Whether you pop to the water cooler and have a chat with Laura from accounts or head out to the shop and grab yourself a bottle of Evian and soak in some fresh air at the same time, hydration is vital to brain function.
Improve Your Posture
It’s really important you’re comfortable when you’re working. Niggles in your back and neck can really throw off your focus and concentration. So, make sure you’ve done your workstation checks and you’re sitting in the right position, your screen is at the correct level and your mouse is positioned correctly. Posture chairs are ideal if you’re prone to slouching and you might also want to consider chair accessories such as foot and back supports to align the spine.
How to be Productive When Working From Home
There are plenty of potential distractions when working from home. From seeing a few dirty dishes on the side to the dog practically begging you for a walk or attention, a dirty carpet, or a pile of laundry. So how can you keep your focus on what you’re being paid to do? Follow these productivity tips when working from home.
Clean House, Clear Mind
Our first tip would be to start the day with a clean house and workstation. If that pile of washing isn’t staring at you or the dishes are neatly stacked in the dishwasher the moment you wake up, you can easily crack on with work without those bits and bobs niggling away at you. So, get those things done and off the ‘house to-do list’ the night before.
Lunch Breaks Matter
Make sure you take a lunch break. It’s SO easy to sit at your laptop during your lunch when you work from home. But if you have house chores you really want to do, take your full hour at lunchtime. That way, as you squirrel away in the morning, those chores won’t bother you, because you know you’re going to do them at lunchtime.
Don’t Let Social Media Distract You
How easy is it to sit and scroll on social media? Reels are true to their name, and they really do reel you in. Shopping ads and news stories can lead you down a rabbit hole. You might have popped on to check the details of an event at the weekend and before you know if you’re watching a true crime short documentary. It’s dangerous! One tip we’d have is to turn off your social media notifications. That little ping on your phone can seriously distract you, the red dot on your homepage pulls you in like a moth to a flame. So do yourself a favour and save social media for your own time because it encroaches on your productivity more than you might realise.
We hope our tips on staying motivated at work and when working from home have helped. Now it’s time to implement these tips and see the difference it makes in your work life!
