For those times when working becomes a burden…
We have all experienced this at some point in our careers, no matter what your title is: employee, freelancer, entrepreneur, solopreneur, mompreneur, thelotpreneur, CEO…that feeling of meh, is that a feeling?
The pressure of a deadline, the overwhelm of reaching certain objectives, the boredom of repetitive tasks, the I-don´t-know-why-I-am-doing-this feeling…it sometimes gets hard to bear.
But what if there were a few simple tips that could remind you why you started doing what you do?
It is a fact that knowing why we do something makes it easier to do. Pulling through is often times a question of your mind being able to do something without focusing on the process but on the why. Let me explain: We might dread the though of filing a huge amount of data, however if we focus on why we are doing it and I mean on our why, not the company´s why. The company needs the data filed and organised in order to function properly but your why might be: with this month´s salary I will put a deposit down for my holiday in Bali.
See? If you are filing away with Bali, a beach, a cocktail…on your mind, that thought (that why) will take centre stage and the task will remain secondary.
The point is to make Your Why protagonist, not the task or job you don´t enjoy.
You probably have more than one Why,most people will have different types of why: the bigger vision, the smaller achievable steps…a more individualistic why (to become financially successful) and a more altruistic why (to help x charity) ; make a list of all your whys and update it regularly. By doing this, you will be keeping that motivation high, the mere thought of the reason behind your job or tasks will make that job and those tasks easier and will keep you on track when you don´t feel like doing them.
So, what is your main Why? What are secondary Whys…let me know in the comments below.
Create your list:
1- Big Why: your life/business vision. It could be your family, your legacy, the big reason you get up every morning and do what you do.
2- Secondary Whys: this will be a longer list. The smaller steps or goals that make you one step closer to your big Why. This list will likely need updating whenever you reach a new goal or stage.
3- Set achievable whys along the way towards your big vision. For instance, if you want to spend a few days on the beach next summer, put a percentage of your salary or commissions into an account (or a jar!) , that goal is something achievable (if that doesn´t sound achievable enough for you, think of something else). Every time you are bored at work…or worse still stressed out or tired, think of the jar getting fuller and therefore you getting closer to the sand and the sea…
4- Set reminders in your calendar to review your Whys systematically every month or two months. That way you will be able to update or tweak what´s needed. You will immediately feel motivated and with renewed energies to pursue your goals.
5- Reward yourself every time you reach a new objective. Set yourself deadlines and goals in your calendar. When you hit one, celebrate any way that feels good to you. It might just be sleeping in on a Saturday, grabbing a latte in Starbucks or getting those Choos…it all depends on your account and your priorities!
Would you like to learn how to use your environment as a reminder for your Why? Follow my Facebook page where I share tips on using your surroundings as motivational triggers.
Originally published at medium.com