Over at Intuit's Fast Track blog, we received the following reader question:
Here’s the question, with our experts’ responses below:
Do you have any tips for concentration or productivity in the
office? I’m more than a year into my first full-time position in
marketing, and I’m either experiencing burnout or a newfound case of
ADD. My company is small, and sometimes I get to the office and am alone
for several hours of the day. I seem to get sucked into checking blogs,
wanting to sleep, texting friends, thinking about coffee breaks, etc. I
put off my work, thinking that I’ll tackle it later that night, but
when I get home, I am so exhausted that I barely move from the couch.
When I do have a deadline, I am able to meet it, but it’s not
because I work ahead – more like I rush until the end. The work my
company does is very meaningful, but I just stopped caring recently and
don’t know what to do. I want to be successful, productive and energized but it seems my mind and body are fighting against me. How do you stay motivated?
Here's my answer:
Although you ask about productivity,
I’m going to focus your last statement on motivation because I believe
this is the crux of your issue. Getting motivated isn’t easy in today’s
professional world, which is stressful and chaotic even in
organizations with meaningful missions. However, the good news is that
your own level of motivation is in your control, and you have the power
to change it.
The lowest hanging fruit here is to read (or re-read) a few of the great business classics – I recommend Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People/How to Stop Worrying and Start Living and Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
– and posting some of your favorite inspirational quotes in your cube
or office. Share the concepts that resonate with you most with others,
and you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to believe in them
yourself.
Sign up for any personal development or leadership courses your
company offers, and stay busy so you don’t have time to sit around and
think about your lack of motivation,
or waste time, which just makes you feel worse. If you haven’t already
done a self-assessment or thought carefully about what you really want
out of work and how you can get it, now’s the time. Once you formulate a
big picture, don’t let it out of your mind. Do something every week,
like mastering a new skill or taking on a new project, that brings you
one step closer to your overall career goal, and celebrate your little
successes along the way.
There will still be days when you just can’t get it together. When
that happens, be patient and wait for the mood to pass. Pretend it’s
your first day of a new job, and imagine approaching every task with
confidence, eagerness, and enthusiasm. You can do the same thing by
imagining that this is the best day of your working life. When you get
home from work, you are still full of energy because you have
accomplished so much and touched so many people. Keeping these types of
thoughts at the forefront will help you battle the malaise that
inevitably creeps into everyday life.
For more great tips from the other experts, check out the full post.
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