After spending a week or two relaxing on a beach, hiking in Scotland or many long weekends in the garden, you might imagine your team are refueled and eager to get back to performing within their role. In reality, despite our best intentions, this is the time of year to start thinking about motivation and the tactics required to help ourselves and our teams focus on what’s important in the final quarter.
The need for strategy to stay motivated
Our Co-founder, Olympic Medalist, Ben Hunt-Davis often talks about the need for strategy to maintain motivation and keep up the momentum. His rowing eight team didn’t win gold in Sydney 2000 without the understanding that no matter how desperate they were to win or how excited they were when beginning their journey, they would need strategies to keep the momentum going in order to achieve their goal.
Regardless of passion or determination, if I came into your business today I might find experienced and talented professionals, but even the most motivated of people will benefit from strategies to stay on track.
Winston Churchill, once quoted “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” And in truth, the first day in the office, commute to work or board meeting that follows long walks on the beach and indulging in afternoon ice creams can prove challenging to move through. But have faith, you and your team will get back into the swing of things, if you can muster the ability to find your motivation again and keep the momentum going. Here’s 3 exercises that can speed up that process.
Flick the switch
The power of visualisation should never be underestimated! Imagine yourself flicking the switch from holiday mode to work mode as you walk into the office. The moment you flick that switch you’re focused and working towards that goal.
Ben talks about flicking the switch the moment he put his hands on the boat, he may have messed around at breakfast, on the way there or right up until moments before training, but the minute he put his hands on the boat it was time to focus.
The flicking the switch visualisation is a great tool that helps us get into the specifics of when work starts and the holiday ends. Putting a time in the diary and visualising yourself flicking the switch will help you get on with it on the mornings you haven’t jumped out of bed overjoyed to start the day.
Get competitive
Find someone to bounce off and get competitive about a task or project together! Most of us are more competitive than we realise, so pushing each other onwards and upwards can prove rewarding for your own morale and the completion of a project.
The ten minute rule
A tried and tested time management technique, the ten minute rule is a great way to overcome the first stage of getting something done! Sometimes the idea of switching the fiction novel you were reading at the poolside for the board report that needs completing is actually far more challenging than actually doing it. Finding the motivation to get the first bit of a project or tiresome task completed can prove much easier if you don’t feel you’re about to take on a marathon. Instead set yourself a goal of working on something for just 10 minutes, and allow yourself to stop if you need to. Often we find after the first 10 minutes we’ve got into the task at hand and don’t feel the need to stop.
Delivering over and over again is challenging, especially when we’re returning from holiday, lacking motivation or pushing through the final quarter in today’s competitive businesses. Focusing and preparing ourselves with strategies to overcome demotivation and keep the momentum going everyday will improve the focus within yourself, your teams and your organisation.
For more tips to stay motivated pick up a copy of our Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? book or speak to our team about a programme that could benefit your organisation.
