Work Motivation Tips For Greater Productivity

Enter any child’s classroom and you are likely to find at least a few boys and girls who are motivated to write the best story, draw the best picture, do the most interesting dramatization in the class play.

Classroom motivation seems so easy compared to work motivation. With work motivation you are dealing with adults. Money isn’t always enough of a motivator for some adults.

What is motivation?

Think of motivation as an empty box. It sits in the corner, day after day, not drawing attention as something that needs to be filled. Then, a day comes along that a manager needs that particular box. They need it now. They need it to be stuffed to the point of overflowing with xyz.

With work motivation you are looking for that employee’s empty box. Why not just grab any box from the storeroom and get the employee to start filling it? That describes the day-to-day activity in most work places!

While the morale of the group can seem to affect everyone, motivation can be a very personal thing. Like in the classroom, there are going to be some children that like painting better than writing stories.

So how do you motivate at work? Well, finding out what makes a person want to fill their box is a start. You’ll want to find out what people do away from work, for that. Hobbies and interests are where you’ll often find the hidden talents employees’ have- talents that with the proper motivation can make that person exceed everyone’s expectations.

A great deal of the time, it’s falls on management to keep people motivated and to keep morale up. That’s not always an easy task. To be able to find a person’s ‘empty box’, you need to take care of your own box first.

As the saying goes: You can’t give away something you don’t have to give. Here are some easy ways to work motivation into your daily life:

1. Read books.

Don’t just read a book that you think would be good. Find books that are valuable to you and your company. One of the classics in this genre is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.

2. Watch good television programming.

Learning TV is becoming more popular in many areas. You are sure to find something you can learn about. Movies are also a great way to find ideas for self-motivation. Sometimes, the more unlikely the place, the better the idea!

3. Take care of your health.

Let’s face it, if you aren’t feeling well, there is not much that will thrill or motivate you. Find fun ways to exercise and make sure to eat healthy foods and get enough rest.

Bring motivation into your everyday life by giving yourself lots of fun projects to do! Remember, nobody can be motivated all of the time. Accepting that about your own personal motivation will make you a better motivator, overall.