Motivation to Work:
Reasons You Might Lose It and 8 Great Ways to Bring It Back

Even for the most inspired people, a drop in motivation at work can occasionally happen. This loss of motivation for work can be fleeting or more permanent. Whichever the case, the good news is that there are ways to regain your motivation to work if you find yourself in either situation. Several reasons exist for this issue, and most are rectifiable.

A great way to regain motivation is by pinpointing exactly where and when you lost your passion and dealing with whatever the root cause is. For example, if you find yourself dealing with negative energy at work, try switching up your seating arrangement to be around more positive colleagues. Yes, sometimes it's that practical!

It's normal to think that whenever we embark on a new endeavor, such as learning or working, we'd start off enthusiastic and maintain momentum. However, as humans, we are prone to highs and lows — it's only natural. A definite pointer to a lack of motivation at work is procrastination. If you find yourself deferring tasks very often, you likely lack motivation.

One reason you may lack work motivation may be that you're too busy. Working constantly around the clock is very common in every sector but can lead to burnout and even kill your zeal. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 77% of 1,000 employees admitted to having experienced burnout at their present jobs.

Your boss's attitude may be another reason you often lose motivation. Some employers don't know how to motivate employees nor feel like it is their responsibility. It isn't uncommon to work under bosses that assume that fair pay is all an employee needs to stay driven. Emotional exhaustion, a lack of results, and, believe it or not, overachievement and lack of challenges are other situations that can cause you to lose passion for your work.

Experiencing a complete lack of motivation to work is not a death sentence. There are ways you can bring it all back and start enjoying your job again. These eight tips will help you escape the rut and get you whistling while you work.

Sometimes, we want to get immediate results at work or school. While this isn't all bad, the reality is that it doesn't always work out. At such times when our drive for instant progress is met with delays or setbacks, we may lose our zeal at work or the motivation to study. An excellent way to get around this is to aim for small victories instead.

Set small, achievable goals and break them up even further into smaller tasks. If a goal has to do with studying, for example, you can start by aiming to complete a chapter instead of reading the whole book at once. Each win will give you a morale boost and set you up for the next challenge. Little by little, you will be motivated to take on bigger tasks confidently.

If you're trying to understand how to get motivated at work, creating a detailed plan to guide you would be a great way to start. We suggest you compile your tasks in a single to-do list. This way, you'll be able to see all that you have to do at a glance. Analyze and then prioritize these tasks, and afterward, set up your working schedule so that you're dealing with major tasks earlier in the day. Finally, remember to delegate tasks when you can. This ensures that you stay focused on things that feed your ambition.

As suggested in the previous tip, you're better off handling the most challenging tasks early on in your day. It's better to deal with them when you're most energized instead of tackling them later. Speaking of getting your best work done early in the day, we recommend reading this piece on tips for starting your morning like a high performer. With the right habits, you will build the physical and mental energy to handle those daunting tasks and get the thrill that comes with getting them out of the way.

Have you ever heard of the 5-minute rule? It is a simple technique for dealing with procrastination, and it goes something like this. Whenever you have a task at hand but feel the need to procrastinate, start immediately but only work on it for 5 minutes. If you still strongly feel like dropping it after 5 minutes of working on it, then do so. If you're wondering how to get motivation after that, here's a quick quote: The greatest barrier to getting anything done is starting it.

Don't wait for a time when you'll feel ready before starting what needs to be done, as you will never be 100% ready. According to Dante Alighieri, "The secret of getting things done is to act!"

Your environment can significantly influence how you think and feel, and it can heighten or hamper your motivation to work. A simple act like decluttering your workspace can bring about a massive boost in your productivity throughout the day.

Furthermore, working alongside friendly and passionate colleagues can make you more driven to deliver and grow. If you work in an establishment that doesn't provide an ideal environment, there are ways you can get around it. Little changes like forming workplace friendships, decluttering your desk, and listening to soft music can enhance your work experience.

Blocking out distractions is a great way to stay focused and motivated and increase productivity. Distractions like taking regular breaks to check notifications on your phone or occasionally staring at the TV can easily result in losing the motivation to work. Blocking out these distractions can be as easy as setting down your phone, disconnecting your Wi-Fi, or silencing your notifications. After taking these measures, you may find that you never really lost motivation — you were just distracted.

Motivation and learning often go hand in hand. You're most likely to learn when you're interested in whatever it is you're doing. On the other hand, taking breaks and recharging is another way to guarantee that you keep learning. No matter how ambitious or driven you are, you will wear yourself out if you don't take enough breaks. It is tough to sustain your motivation when stressed. Remember that giving yourself some time to rest doesn't make you lazy; it simply makes you more productive in the long term.

Always have a life outside of work. A healthy social life is key to keeping you passionate about the work you do. We recommend you maintain a healthy work-life balance as this helps you perform optimally in both aspects of your life. Find time to go out with a couple of friends, grab a drink or two, laugh out loud, and enjoy your life outside of the office. It will ultimately affect your overall mindset and have a positive impact on your productivity at work.

Getting a new job or starting a new project can be very exciting. However, if you don't keep things interesting, you may soon begin to lose your drive. Working long hours, using a cluttered workspace, lacking new challenges, and several other little things that are often underestimated can make you dread going to work over time. You may eventually feel that the only thing left to do is move on to a new job, but that's not always the solution. If you find yourself at this point, what you need is motivation to work and a way to sustain it.
Never run out of reasons to stay motivated and active every day!