Finding that mid-year motivation
With June around the corner, we’re almost halfway through the year. And although time seems to be flying, there’s a certain drag that comes with this six-month mark. December feels like an eternity away and we start to lose steam. So, how can we ramp up our motivation and productivity to finish strong? We have a few ideas on how to beat the mid year slump and gain some mid-year motivation.
Stop what you’re doing
Now this may seem counterintuitive when we’re talking about boosting your motivation, but interrupting yourself halfway through a task – whether it’s challenging or mundane – can actually help it stick in your mind and motivate you to get it done. This is known as the Zeigarnik Effect. Interrupting yourself helps improve your recall, and there’s a certain cognitive tension that arises as the unfinished task sits in your mind. “Your brain will start itching to get back to that thing you stopped,” says consulting psychologist and researcher Kate Sullivan.
Reassess your goals
Goals are important for both our careers and personal lives, but how specific are yours? If your goals are flabby – like ‘bring in more business’ – you’re very unlikely to feel motivated to achieve them. So why not reassess the goals you’ve set for yourself and see if you can improve on their specificity? This isn’t about setting new goals, but enhancing the ones you already have. For example, research has shown that when people have a dedicated timeslot for exercise every day, they’re more likely to improve their fitness levels.
Here’s an example of what we mean by specificity in a business context:
Increase sales of our washing powder.
VS
Increase sales of our washing powder by x percentage over a timeframe of x, in the following customer segments…
The more specific your goals, the more motivated you’ll feel to achieve them. You’ll feel like your goals are more attainable if they’re broken down into descriptive parts as opposed to sweeping statements. The SMART goal setting principles, as overused as they may be, still hold water. Make sure you relook your goals mid-year with a SMART lens: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
- Specific: Be specific about what you need to achieve; what steps do you need to take and whose support do you need?
- Measurable: How can you measure your goals so you know when you’ve reached the finish line? Can your progress be tracked?
- Attainable: Is your goal something you can realistically achieve? Do you have the resources to make it happen if it’s something new?
- Relevant: Does your goal make sense to you, whether personally or from a business standpoint? Why have you set your goal?
- Time-bound: Do you have a timeline and is there a definite ‘end’ once your goal has been achieved?
Surround yourself with people
If we’re talking about motivation and getting things done, you may think surrounding yourself with other people could lead to a world of distraction. But other people can actually increase your motivation and productivity. Research shows that you’re motivated to work harder when people are watching – you’ll run faster, be more creative and think harder about problems. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The other aspect of this is that when you know people are watching, you feel like what you do is being “magnified” which can then fuel motivation according to professor Ayelet Fishback and senior lecturer Janina Steinmetz.
Think about working alone in your home versus at a co-working space. There’s a different energy and buzz when you’re surrounded by other people, knowing you’re being watched. So, if you’re feeling stuck in a motivation slump, having more people in your space may be just what you need. And remember, ‘more people’ doesn’t necessarily mean your colleagues or your office cubicle. You’ll very likely find that breaking out of your routine and gifting yourself a change of scenery will help you feel motivated all by itself, and adding others into the mix simply enhances that.
