Sometimes, the best way to find out why you act the way you do at work can easily be done by simply asking yourself this question: what motivates me?
Many things can motivate people. Parents tend to be motivated by their children, young professionals tend to be motivated by the thought that a better, high-paying position is waiting for them in the company, while many artists and musicians are motivated by fame, recognition, and the fortune that often follows it. Only you can tell your greatest motivator, but if you haven’t figured out what it is yourself, you can figure out what fuels your desires just by examining your wants out of life.
Focus on What You Really Want
If you pretty much know what you want out of your career, your personal life, and your social life, it should be easier for you to zero in on your personal goals. Focusing on your personal goals gives you a better idea of your motivations. For example, if your goal is to find a better paying job this year, focus on this goal and use every opportunity or endeavor you figure in help you pave your path towards that goal.
Motivation and focus are like dancing partners-- they are closely intertwined and one would not exist without the other. What you focus on working towards is obviously your motivator, and what motivates you should be your main focus in life.
For professionals, focus on your primary goals at work or in your career, and make decisions that would bring you closer to the fruition of these goals.
Sometimes, focusing on one thing for far too long could potentially burn you out. Don’t fret-- this is normal, and even the most focused individuals suffer from being overwhelmed by how distant their goals may seem. When you find yourself in a slump, there are many things you can do to get back up and re-motivate yourself yet again.
You don’t always have to base your decisions and plans around your goals. You can always think and explore other topics, endeavors, and activities that might not be directly relevant to your goal, but they should, at the very least, be engaging enough to kickstart your interest once again.
Create an Environment that Makes Goal-Achievement Easier
Sometimes, your thoughts, decisions, plans, and the rate at which you reach your goals are largely affected or influenced by your immediate surroundings. This is the reason why CEOs, and other successful individuals tend to work from an office that is populated by things that remind them of their personal motivators and oftentimes, it reflects what they want out of their day, week, month, or year. Planting a goal, after all, is a lot like planting a crop: without the right seedbed, or environment, your seed may not grow.
Although changing your environment will not immediately inspire you to become more motivated, it can make work so much easier. Think of your environment as something part of your journey towards the achievement of your goals.
Designing the right work environment depends entirely on your career or the stage you are in, in your life. If you work from an office and you are usually exposed to a sedentary lifestyle, ergonomic office equipment such as standing desk converters can make work easier for you. It follows that when you are able to accomplish work on time and efficiently, you are most likely to achieve your key performance goals efficiently, as well.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help -- Delegate.
One trick in the book that many successful individuals rarely talk about is that, sometimes, delegating your task to someone else can be a good, if not a wise, idea. As much as we’d all try to be jacks of all trades, there are simply some things we can’t do well on our own. This is where other experts come in, or in the case of the corporate hierarchy, where secretaries and project managers can all prove their mettle.
That being said, don’t be afraid to delegate key tasks to other people. Doing so allows you to cut your work effort by at least half, and you get to achieve your career plans with the assistance of individuals who know can execute plans better than you could have done on your own.
