Tips for Getting Motivated

Getting and staying motivated at work is a constant struggle for me. My desk is overflowing with piles of work. When co-workers don't know what to do with something it's usually strategically placed in my in-box. I spend many days not knowing where to begin or working on several different projects simultaneously not finishing any of them. Recently, I stumbled across the following motivational tips taken from the "Get Motivated Workbook" by a colleague who attended a Get Motivated Workshop:

Visualize a clutter-free environment; focus on the desired outcome, not the effort.

Get started, what's bothering you the most? Start somewhere.

Try to remove the small irritants that hinder your achievement. Write it down -- identify your main time wasters, and create an ideal time schedule.

Do daily planning. Take the time each night to manage one of your most precious resources: the next 24 hours.

Avoid distractions - work on only one item at a time.

Clear the clutter-we simply have too much stuff.

Reward yourself-do something nice for yourself after you have completed a specific task. Hang a carrot out there.

Maintain Balance - Our lives consist of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. Commit to spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area and then your life will be balanced.

By recapturing a wasted hour here and there, you can make great increases in your daily productivity. Some top time wasters are: Shifting priorities, the telephone, losing things, lack of direction/objectives, attempting too much, ineffective delegating, and procrastination/lack of self-discipline. Does any of this sound familiar?

I am guilty of almost all of the time wasters. I have taken time management seminars in the past and usually come away thinking ~ organization and time management blah blah blah... it's not going to work for me. I think it's time I make an effort to really try. I can't afford not to. Can you?