It’s easy to feel uninspired when staring at a never-ending task list. With anxiety and burnout at an all-time high in the workforce, it’s important to address feelings of overwhelm. For a number of reasons, it can be a challenge for organizations to reengage individuals and their teams when they’re sensing demotivation. However, you can motivate yourself!
If you’re familiar with the Sunday Scaries, you know they can limit your weekend joy. You don’t want anxiety to stall your progress or prevent you from concentrating on your projects and goals. Especially right now, as businesses work to recover from COVID-19 disruption, workloads are piling up. Available talent and new skills are contributing to labor shortages along with the growing desire for flexible work. There’s a lot going on! Try not to let it stress you. With two simple tools and professional resiliency, you can learn to motivate yourself.
How to Recharge with Preparation and Planning:
1. Preparation: Ready yourself for a healthy mindset.
It’s sometime easier said than done. However, you can prepare yourself for a healthier mindset. Identify some specifics around what is challenging you. Are you worried about emails piling up? Is there an upcoming meeting that’s worrying you? Perhaps, you are feeling guilty about not spending enough time with your family. Whatever it is, addressing it head-on can help you overcome those feelings. It only requires preparation. You see, proper preparation helps us feel calmer and more in control.
You Are Smart, Powerful, and Effective
Knowing how to motivate yourself starts with being kind to yourself. Feeling overwhelmed can lead to feelings of “not good enough.” Try not to be mad at yourself for not getting to everything on your list. That can compound your struggles. Practice healthy self-talk and acceptance. Prepare a mantra to start your day and/or challenging tasks. Complimenting yourself, whether professional talents or personal attributes, can be a powerful way to overcome negative thoughts and feelings.
You Are in Control of Your Outcomes
When preparing for a difficult task, meeting, or week ahead, focus on what you can reasonably accomplish. Prioritizing tasks can be an effective way to get important work accomplished. However, if you’re feeling unmotivated, starting with the easiest or most enjoyable thing on your list can often be a better strategy for getting work done.
2. Planning: Reinforce your ability to achieve.
Don’t Sweat the Details- Simplicity is Key
Once you ease at least some of your apprehensions, start planning for success. First of all, what does success mean to you? If your anxiety relates to lack of time invested in your family, what amount of your time is required to no longer feel that guilt? Then, simply make a plan that enables you to reach that goal. It may seem counterintuitive but try not to think about it in terms of time management. To motivate yourself, you mustn’t focus on minutia. Sometimes getting started means starting super simple. Just by starting, you are already achieving. Embrace the victory!
Use Assurance to Motivate Yourself
Especially when you’re already stressed, a simple goal is much easier to commit to. You simply must commit. You can ease your mind and overcome the hurdles that are challenging you even with minor assurances. For example, you can make up for lost time with loved ones by planning to on a weekly or monthly basis. Whether you commit to writing a letter, sending a video message, or placing a call, you can motivate yourself by making a plan. Then, simply commit. Scheduling a 30-minute call to your mom on your lunch break once a week can be a nice way to break up your day and feel less guilty about not seeing her more often.
It’s important if you’re feeling stress, anxiety, and overwhelm in your role that you also prepare and plan to discuss how you’re feeling with your manager and physician. In addition to improving their awareness, they may have helpful solutions to offer. They may even shift some of your tasks accordingly or recommend a new schedule. Of course, if you’re not taking pride in your work, it could mean it’s time for a career change. In today’s talent market, the opportunities are endless!
