How to Stay Motivated at Work If You Hate Your Job
In the New York Times, a frustrated employee shared with an ethicist the story of a lazy, do-nothing colleague. “She often takes lunch breaks, arrives later than her start time, and is not really working on her work day,” they wrote. “… Besides, she constantly complains and is indifferent to her projects. She gets her job done with minimal effort, often blaming clients or external factors for the results … None of our executives seem to notice or care, and they tend to let sleeping dogs lie. “
We all knew at least one such colleague. In some cases, you may even be that colleague without even knowing it. But maybe it’s not your fault; Perhaps the job description was misleading, or you burned out after several years in the same job. This week, Quartz’s Sarah Todd recently addressed the issue of what to do when you’re bored at work – and the answer doesn’t involve wasting time on Reddit or scrolling through Twitter.
Instead, Todd writes that if you’re struggling with boredom, it’s also very likely that your job is the culprit, and you’re struggling to find motivation in a role that is no longer your interests (or was never fun to start with). ). While you may not be able to change jobs, there are a few things you can do to make it less tiring.
If you want to get out of the Reddit hole you find yourself in during work hours, set short-term goals and find motivation where you can.
Change your job as a game
If you’re struggling to motivate something at work, Quartz links to an article by University of Florida social psychologist Erin Westgate, which has a helpful suggestion for surviving day-to-day responsibilities: Add a challenge level and make it a game.
This could mean setting a timer to complete the project, or responding to at least 10 emails before 10am. Creating a short-term goal can make the job more fun, or at least make it faster. (In our Black Mirror reality, the Washington Post recently reported on “gamification” of jobs by large companies to incentivize their employees; Lyft and Uber have set goals for their drivers, such as encouraging them to work longer. Some of its tedious warehouse tasks are turning into real games. similar to Tetris for employees. This is not what we recommend here.)
And once you reach that goal, set another one. “Be as busy as possible so time passes faster,” u / rishi_cup writes on Reddit . “… If you have breaks, divide your day off into smaller, achievable goals. “Oh, a break at 10 o’clock. I already have a quarter of the working day. “
And reward yourself too. After hitting the target, give yourself a maximum of five minutes on Twitter (and no more) or try the Pomodoro method .
Find motivation outside of work and change your daily routine
If you can, take a day off next week; you can find motivation at work if you really have something to look forward to. Alternatively, as another Reddit user suggests, try asking your manager to take on another project for a short time just to get rid of the boredom of your typical responsibilities.
“I had the opportunity to work another 12 weeks with a completely new team,” they wrote . “The project was not burdensome, it was within my power, and I got a break from all the annoying things in my regular work. The change was as good as a holiday … But the important thing is that during those three months I had enough space to understand what my intrinsic motivation to work was. I looked at what attributes of the job I needed and how well they fit into the job I was doing. ”
And the expression is correct: don’t take work home. This means that the physical (such as a laptop or paperwork) and the emotional (such as stress) must remain at work, which is always easier said than done. Don’t check emails, Slacks, or instant messages when you’re at home. And reward yourself for getting through the day – dinner with a friend, an hour in front of the PS4 – anything that can take you back.
Apply for another job
If you truly despise your job, take a close look at what is causing you problems at work before leaving the ship. “Is your boss a floating micromanager who doesn’t give you any autonomy despite your years of experience?” Allison Greene of Ask a Manage writes for LinkedIn . “Or maybe it’s the job itself; Perhaps you signed up expecting to do X but ended up doing Y, or the workload might be too high or so low that you get bored for hours every week. “
After you’ve figured out the problem, Green recommends taking the time to figure out if it’s worth fixing it, perhaps through discussion with your supervisor. And if the problem persists, it might be time to apply for another job – just don’t jump at the first opportunity that comes your way out of desperation.
“When you’re unhappy at work, it’s very easy to grab onto the first life raft that comes along, but jumping too quickly can mean you end up in a different place where you’re also unhappy,” Green writes. So take stock of your work and think about its benefits; maybe you have a great job on internal politics or a vacation schedule, and it might be worthwhile to delay another month.
And take your time exploring other opportunities so you can find a job that really motivates you to do more on your workday, beyond digging through Reddit posts or Wikipedia.