How do you guys get motivation at work?

I really like what I do as a designer, but sometimes I get stuck trying to get things done without success. I either have no tasks left and it takes to much of my to write new tasks, or the task at hand isn't as straightforward as I thought and it is too difficult to keep going and so I start procrastinating more and more and when I look at my current progress, it's been a while and I've done practically nothing. I would like to hear if there's someone else like me and how do you cope with it.

goodgrooves

I totally get you! I can be the same. Sometimes what helps is to do the thing for 5 min - put a timer and just try to get a tiny progress in that time. Usually it gets me going even more and I get excited. What also helps is to do the smallest thing you can.. Just turn on the computer, open the file etc. If nothing works, it's probably a sign that you are exhausted and need to rest. I can allow myself to rest but sometimes I need more than I would like and I start to feel guilty.. But we need to have some compassion to ourselves! Those days or weeks I try to do the bare minimum at least. And just wait for the energy to come back.

goodgrooves

One thing I thought of today was that when you have a very exciting goal in mind or you need to help other person it will give a huge motivation. I guess it would benefit if you had a visual reminder (for an example a photo) in front of you that will keep you motivated and going. ❤️

ghostavo

Thanks for the great advice! I'll try to put those tips in use 👍

beetlejizz

I would like to know as well. I spend most of the day doing nothing, and speaking with people too much as they try to escape me. Then go into full panic mode, sweating and brain jumping through thoughts like a million bouncy balls in a tumble dryer. The last 2 hours trying to do everything all at once and jumping between numerous jobs feeling incredibly stressed. Then for some reason I'll decide it's a great time to work on promotions, setting up new pc software or networking systems that aren't even necessary. Side track on that for an hour whilst the other jobs I started are left maybe a quarter of the way through. I end up apologising every time to team members. I feel terrible for leaving anyone work that I should of completed and had time to do, and each time I think afterwards next time I'll make sure to do all the important things at the start and make sure they're out the way. Of course, I don't, and it frustrates the hell out of me. I don't understand my thought processes or why I do things like this all the time. Then I feel so overwhelmed by tasks at work and at home that I resort to drugs to escape and not think (which is super dumb), and rather than use as needed I'll just keep hammering in more until I'm a mess and have no control over this weird obsession to use something every half hour. Financially it's killing me, physically it's killing me, it's hurting my family and friends and all I want is a normal life. I see families walking around happy, shopping, going to the park for some footy or a nice walk and my brain cannot comprehend how to get there. Sorry for the rambling. I meant to be supportive and offer advice. Instead I made this about myself. The only advice I have is, if your lack of work due to procrastination is leaving others with more work to do or causing them stress then maybe try to think about them and use the empathetic effect to push you to get started and carry on until finished. When I do start something, I cannot stop until it's finished, which can often make things worse if I'm unable to complete the task as I'll not sleep and get increasingly frustrated. Is this similar for you? If you managed to read this far, then thank you. I've got a terrible habit of this. Spilling my brain onto the screen as my thoughts run. So thank you and also apologies

goodgrooves

I know this is hard, but you should put on some boundaries and rules for yourself. If you know something is causing you trouble and you can't actually handle it, discipline yourself and don't allow that to continue. For example I quit smoking in one day. Just knew it's causing me a lot of pain and I stopped (I read Allen Carr book). I was done with that... Years later I also just stopped drinking alcohol. Not that I had any addiction, it was purely on social occasions, but I hated that I could feel the way it drew me in. I could feel that I had a hard time to know my limits. So I just said to myself - it does not serve me, it's bad for me and I don't want that in my life. I can find better ways to relax. I just got so upset with both of those things that I did not want anything to do with them. And that was it for me! My husband stopped drinking alcohol too and we are both very happy with our decisions! (We didn't even drink in our wedding.) A lot of behavior is learnt and is habit based. If you haven't tried and you can afford it - you should try behavioral therapy. Or at least watch some videos about it and read. I haven't done it myself but I want to someday! I have just done some exercises here and there.

ghostavo

I understand you mate. Even though I don't have as much trouble with work, as have been able to hold things ok, I know the feeling of being overwhelmed all the time with things, and all that guilt and stress that comes with it. I wish I could help you more as well, and I've been trying to adapt more to our condition by trying different techniques and seeing what sticks (even though I sometimes need to change strategies because some of them stop working). I think these in app guides are very important to watch and take notes or something because they carry some very important tips and if you have the pro version, they definitely can offer some great tools for our day to day life 👍 Take care and hope things run smother in the future

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