Factors such as our working relationships, health and wellbeing, skill level, and workplace satisfaction affect how motivated we feel. Photo: File.
Michelle Gibbings says most of us have good days and bad days at work. The good days are easy, but she has advice for negotiating those times when everything seems to be conspiring to hinder our progress.
The working year is already well underway. Are you eager to move forward – or do you wish the summer holidays lasted until March?
Many elements impact our motivation levels.
Studies have highlighted how the weather impacts how we feel. Of course, you didn’t need research to tell you that.
On days when the weather is fantastic, it can lift your spirits and make you feel more energised and focused. When it’s cold, wet and windy, you want to stay indoors under the covers.
Other factors, such as our working relationships, health and wellbeing, skill level, and workplace satisfaction, also affect how motivated we feel. When we feel good, we achieve more, which makes us feel better about ourselves. It’s a continuous cycle.
Having a deliberate focus on thriving at work is crucial. A 2023 survey found that 74 per cent of employees now value wellbeing more than career progression. You play a central role in creating a positive work environment that works for you and, if you lead people, for your team, too.
Building that positive work environment and finding your optimal working rhythm requires deliberate, targeted and regular steps. Here are some ideas to get your rhythm on track as your 2025 working year continues.
Pick your playlist: Think of your working week as akin to listening to music. Every day there are songs you can select, platforms you can access, and devices you can use.
While your working week is more complex than listening to music, you can select options to ensure you make the most of each day.
At the start of each week, consider what’s on your work playlist – tasks, meetings, or other activities. Plan your day so you do the most energy-intensive tasks when your energy is at its peak.
If you can, delete from your workday playlist the items that aren’t helping you (or others).
Shift the environment: Your environment impacts your mood and, therefore, how you work.
Consider, for example, having plants in the room and fresh flowers on your desk. Use brightly coloured pens and folders, and even better, have coloured walls or pictures. Colour is scientifically proven to impact how we feel.
If you work from home, burn incense or use an oil diffuser. Scent has a powerful impact on your mood.
Access natural light as much as possible, and make sure you go outside the office during the working day to get air and sunshine.
Find the noise level that works for you. Some people like background noise, while others need silence.
Find the stop button: The working day can sometimes feel like it is never-ending and on fast-forward, so you need to find the stop button.
This takes discipline, and so it helps to know what really matters to you. At regular points during your working year, answer the question: Do you know where you want to get to, and are you holding yourself accountable and on the right path to achieve that? Asking that question helps you narrow your goals and be clear about where you focus your energy.
With those insights in hand, you can then buy back time. The less-obvious way to buy back your time is to say no. Passing on a promotion might ”buy” you more time with family. Declining the dinner invitation might ”pay” for the time you need to exercise.
The more clearly you know how you want to spend your days, the easier it becomes to say no to the requests that steal your hours.
Control the manipulators: Many elements vie for our attention and time on any day.
One of the biggest is social media and the plethora of apps on our digital devices. Consider whether you are controlling your day, or someone (or something else) is holding the controls.
Next, use the settings on those digital devices to set periods where they automatically go into silent mode. When you don’t control your day, your working rhythm can become out of whack and feel overwhelming.
Promote healthy activities: Exercise releases endorphins, which make you feel good about yourself.
When you feel good, it is easy to get started on things that matter, or that task you have been putting off for a while.
Go for a walk or run at lunchtime. Find time to step outside and notice what is around you.
Book your forward benefit: Always have something to look forward to. It may be a mini-break or holiday, lunch with a friend, completing a course, reading a new book, or attending a concert.
Having something in the diary to look forward to is such a joy. It makes that hard day go just a little bit faster.
Rewarding yourself with something you want to do can motivate you to reach the finish line.
Get connected: People in your team want to feel like they belong, so set aside regular social engagements and opportunities for team members to share, laugh, and connect, whether virtually or face-to-face.
Maintaining secure connections with work colleagues – sharing how you feel, talking to people and being open about experiences – is critical for your health and wellbeing.
When you feel connected, your positive energy increases. You will naturally have good days where everything feels easy – and hard days, when it’s one big struggle.
With anything, it’s about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and keeping going.
Michelle Gibbings is a Melbourne-based workplace expert and an award-winning author. She’s on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces – where people thrive and progress is accelerated. She can be contacted at [email protected].
