Get ready
First you need to find a quiet corner.
A tip for those who work in open space offices: this is not your workplace. A car won't do either - there are too many things around that will distract attention. Most likely, it will be more convenient in the foyer or on the balcony. You can arrive early so that no one disturbs you. You will also need a notebook or notebook for notes (make sure you have a pen with you). And of course it will take hours. Otherwise, how will you be able to time it and be sure that you do it in exactly seven minutes?
What is productivity and where to look for it?
Productivity and efficiency are what should accompany our every day and the ability to maintain this state for a long period of time. Productivity is based on many factors, but largely depends on the initial mood with which the day began, as well as on the physical condition of the person. If you observe people who can boast of high performance, you will notice that all of them follow certain tips that help them. But what works for some may not work for others. What does it mean to be able to motivate yourself to work? First of all, it is the ability to replace negative emotions with positive ones. Secondly, do not take problems and minor troubles to heart, look for the benefit in everything. And finally, the ability to solve problems immediately, and not leave them “for later” and constantly stress yourself out and think about them. The ability to overcome laziness and force yourself to work is a real art.
First minute - clear your mind
We are not going to delve into religious issues, give sermons or encourage everyone to meditate. But it is vital for every person on the planet who has to work to follow this universal truth. You need to clear your mind.
Put aside the phone with many inboxes or the tablet that you never let go of. You won't need them for the next seven minutes. Clearing your head of thoughts means showing up for work, trying to forget about household chores and catching your breath.
Reasons for reluctance to work
Let's look at the main reasons:
- Most often, the main reason for reluctance to work is simple fatigue
. The pace of modern life rarely allows for relaxation, and this comes with its own consequences. Trying to match the surrounding rhythm, a person begins to exhale, fatigue accumulates, and there are few opportunities for relaxation. The endless desire to do everything in time and fulfill the plan turns into a nervous breakdown and weakness of the immune system. This affects normal functioning. - Laziness
becomes a serious obstacle to fulfilling responsibilities and implementing plans. It rarely appears suddenly, often forming at an early age. It is inherent in almost everyone, but its consequences will not be too destructive if you learn to fight it. If you let it take over, then the work will go slowly, and only serious motivation can change something. - Endless stress
has a negative impact, and it is more difficult for a person to force himself to work. They have similar effects to fatigue, but are more difficult to combat. Stress can result not only in a reluctance to work, but also leads to apathy, neuroses, and depression.
From three to six minutes - take notes and draw
I write in my notebook all day long, as soon as I wake up and drink a cup of coffee until I go to bed. Including at meetings and conferences. But what you have to do now has nothing to do with note-taking or a personal diary.
As soon as you arrive at work, write down the first five thoughts that come to your mind in your notebook. Draw them as sketches or doodles. This is a way to prioritize, to decide what is important to you and what is not important. Just don’t get hung up on the design, it’s better to focus on your thoughts.
How to force yourself to work?
So, we figured out the reasons and each reader recognized himself in one of the listed points. Now we need to do something about this. Depending on the cause of fatigue and reluctance to work, approaches to solving the problem will be different.
Unload yourself
Reducing your workload is the best thing to do if you are seriously tired and overworked. To do this, analyze your to-do list . You will likely find that much of what you do can be delegated to subordinates. Otherwise, why did you hire them in the first place?
Remember the Pareto principle. 20 percent of effort produces 80 percent of results . By delegating authority to employees, you can focus on this very 20 percent, and distribute secondary tasks among subordinates. And you won’t be busy with routine and be distracted by little things that eat up the bulk of your time and cause fatigue.
Read our article on how to set goals. It will teach you to prioritize your tasks, discard unnecessary things and focus on the essentials.
Spoiler from the article. The goals are:
- important and urgent;
- important but not urgent;
- unimportant but urgent;
- unimportant and not urgent.
As a leader, you can easily deal with only the first two, and delegate the rest or postpone them for any period of time.
If you have delegated so much that there is nothing else to do at work, use this time profitably. No, you can, of course, fire the deputy and take over all his work, but this is not constructive. Your goal is not to cram your workday to capacity. The free time is better spent on business development. A lot of free time - think up a new grandiose project and devote yourself entirely to it.
This way you will kill not even two, but three birds with one stone. Firstly, time will fly like a supersonic fighter and there will simply be no time to think about fatigue. Secondly, there will be a chance to take the matter to a fundamentally new level. Thirdly, you will upgrade yourself. New beginnings require knowledge and you will have to expand the horizons of your skills.
Change format or field of activity
This is for those who don't like work. Try to understand what exactly you are not satisfied with in your responsibilities. If you don’t like the very essence of business, switch to something else. Well, you don’t like selling building materials - your soul asks for more. This is not what you have dreamed about all your life. So what's the problem? Go to work in a niche that suits your taste. If you love cars and can spend hours talking about brake pads, engines and tuning, open an auto parts store. And the wolves are fed, and the sheep are safe.
When you are completely satisfied with the business itself, but don’t like your job responsibilities, try changing your area of responsibility . For example, at the very beginning, you and your partners divided the areas of activity. One deals with suppliers, the second does accounting and communicates with the tax office, and the third, let it be you, determines the development strategy for the online store.
Time passes, and you understand: not mine. Well, there are no new ideas, and those that come to mind are either complete nonsense or fail miserably. It's bad for everyone. But you would be happy to start calculating taxes, communicating with regulatory authorities and other bureaucracy. So invite your partner to swap responsibilities - perhaps he, too, is tired of running around the authorities.
Dealing with professional burnout
But first, ask yourself the question: is it worth it? Yes, there are ways to overcome this problem. But usually they last only for a while, and then everything repeats again. And why deceive yourself if you’ve been tired of everything for a long time and want something new? See above: maybe it's time to explore new horizons.
The main thing here is not to mess things up. Yes, the matter is disgusting and does not bring joy. But it brings in good money - there is plenty of it to live on and there’s even some left over. There is no need to destroy all this for the sake of illusory ideas. In the end, you can hire a manager and take on a new project yourself . Or arrange a transition in several stages. Choosing from the shoulder, selling the business and going nowhere is not our method. Always be safe and give yourself some room to maneuver. Don't forget about love for money. If I make millions on concrete, I start to love concrete.
Deal with life's challenges
If an external factor interferes with your life and work, it must be eliminated. True, a person cannot always independently understand what exactly is going wrong. It seems that everything is in place: a good job, order in the family and no health problems. But something is gnawing at me and preventing me from sleeping peacefully. In this case , a good option is to contact an experienced psychologist . A specialist will help you understand yourself and find an antidote to depression.
When the problem is known and lies on the surface, we need to act. We will not advise anything - each case is individual and requires a special approach . The main thing is not to let things take their course and think that everything will resolve itself.
What to do if the reluctance to work is caused by poor business results?
But here there is no ready-made recipe yet. Perhaps you just need to push harder and do something to improve your performance. Or maybe it’s high time to quit and switch to something else. See for yourself: if you realize that you have relaxed and things are not going well, step up and get down to business. You work as hard as you can, but there is still no profit - think about changing your activity.
Finally, establish a daily routine
Start simple and set aside working hours during the day . Let's say I work from 10 to 18 and there are no concessions. Use the rest of the time as you wish. Don't forget about rest. Even with the busiest schedule, you can find time for relaxation - this is vital. Well, stick to the basic truths:
- go to bed and get up at the same time;
- eat right;
- spend more time in the fresh air;
- play sports. Even simple morning exercises can work wonders.
The main thing is not to give up and act, act, act. Find the cause of fatigue and rule it out. Happy is the one who rushes to work in the morning and home in the evening. That's what we wish for you. Good luck!
Learn to visualize the result of your work
Why are you working? What is your work motivation? Any activity entails a result; it cannot be any other way. If you feel like you don't want to do a certain job, try to recognize its importance to your future results. This can be done through visualization. Once you understand all the positive and negative aspects of your activity, you understand how important it is for you in the future, a wave of motivation will simply hit you. The task is to make the most of this feeling.
Set achievable goals for yourself
Small, accessible goals will help motivate you. Create some tasks for yourself or for your team if you are a leader. Setting the bar too high often only leads to disappointment when goals are not met on time. Reward yourself and your employees with small rewards for achieving these goals.
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Create a Ritual
Morning ritual: Freepick
A ritual is understood as a certain action or set of actions that “turns on” a person and puts him in a certain mood. Various options:
- vigorous exercise;
- cold and hot shower;
- a cup of coffee or tea.
Psychotherapist Nicole Urdang recommends making a delicious, leisurely breakfast a ritual. Immerse yourself in the process completely and enjoy it. Anticipating your favorite ritual makes waking up much easier.
Improve yourself
Starting the morning with exercise is always good, but this way you only wake up physically; after exercise it would be nice to relax. But you only need to do something useful. For example, this could be one chapter from the book you are currently reading, an episode of an educational program, you can read articles about productivity and immediately start putting the tips into practice. Meditation will fit into such a pleasant start to the day, which will help you tune in to the work day. Remember that the morning is an ideal opportunity to be inspired for new achievements, because there is a difficult working day ahead and there will be no more time for it.
