Do you struggle with making deadlines? Do you feel burnt out and tired all the time? Do you put tasks off? These are some signs of being unmotivated. When someone is motivated they are more on top of their priorities and in the end feel good about themselves and their work. Here are four key ways to help you motivate yourself. Try these motivation tips to better yourself and your work.
1. Make time psychology work for you
If you have ever taken a time management course before, you have learned how to pack more into less. But have you ever noticed how difficult it is to leave a project or job incomplete? You can play on this psychology of completion by writing out a “things to do” list before you go home at the end of the work day. Chances are if you don’t know exactly where to pick up where you left off, you’ll have to start over. Tonight, before you leave the office lay out 5 calls you need to make tomorrow morning. Or go home right in the middle of filling out a prospect contact sheet.
2. Give yourself daily and hourly goals
Very few of us have the ability to stay disciplined all the time. Yet studies have shown that a big difference between those who succeed and those who fail is constant and concentrated activity. Big hitters report such behaviours as not taking lunch until they make a pre-set number of phone calls. They don’t allow themselves to play golf until they sell a certain number of units. Sure they make sacrifices. But in the meantime they also make sales. Most who practice this method of self denial say that when they do earn a lunch or a golf game, the taste is very sweet when linked to successfully accomplished activity.
3. Make selling a game
When you take your work too seriously, it becomes drudgery instead of enjoyment. Most top producers mention that their income takes a back seat to how much fun they have on the job. Interestingly, many poor producers look at their pay cheque as being the biggest motivator. The problem is that your sales production will fluctuate. You may go from a “Who’s Who” to a “Who’s He” in the space of a year. For example, “play” more often with your best customers. Send out birthday cards to prospects or customers you care about. See how many phone calls you can make in an hour or a day without caring particularly about the result. Remember to have some FUN while you are DOING!
4. Burn out is a key factor in maintaining motivation
A great way to avoid the symptoms of burn out is to link rewards to activity instead of success. One way to kill motivation is to increase your frustration and isolation. You have probably already done this at one time by withdrawing from the people in your life you love. But a great way to create motivation is to give yourself a reinforcement gift that comes as a result of superior effort. Remember – effort always results in success if it is maintained.
