You don’t feel ambitious enough to climb out of bed every morning. You experience low-grade dread aka ‘Sunday night blues’ regularly. You just can’t pump yourself up to finish a project that’s been dragging on. Your productivity is plummeting and you cannot seem to find creative solutions to challenges that arise. These are telltale signs that you’re stuck in a rut.
Falling into a rut is easy if you’re too immersed doing the same thing day in and day out — especially when “work” is confined within the same four walls as “home” during the coronavirus pandemic. Stagnation takes a toll on you when you’re trapped in a monotonous routine. The good news is, it happens to us all at some point in time, but it’s not-the-end-of-the-world scenario.
Try these quick and easy tips to get your motivation and productivity back on track.
1. Push yourself out of your comfort zone
The number one thing that you need to do is get out of your comfort zone. If you keep on doing things the same way you’ve been doing in the past, you are likely to feel even more stuck.
Comfortable as a comfort zone is, living in one will relegate you to a ‘motivational rut’, impeding you from taking on new challenges and the ability to grow. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with staying in a place that provides you with a sense of safety and predictability, leaving the sanctuary is important to prevent yourself from falling into a professional slump.
So don’t sit around waiting for something to happen, take charge and make it happen.
2. Set a goal and create a game plan
To break the monotony, it is important to choose a goal and create a game plan to achieve it. Goals give you a direction to focus on and help you stay motivated. Once you have set a goal, identify what needs to be done in order for you to accomplish it. Divide your main goal into smaller objectives, so the final goal seems less overwhelming. Also, set a deadline for your main goal, but also establish a timeframe for completing each task in the process.
Don’t forget to hold yourself accountable throughout the process. Or if you’re struggling in this area, you may also find an accountability buddy to keep you on track.
3. Don’t go it alone
Although – in the end – it is upon you on how you try to break out of the slump, you cannot do it all on your own. Every person you meet could potentially help you pull out of your rut.Speak with an executive coach, talk things with a mentor or your peers and colleagues, attend networking events, etc. When you find yourself in a rut, it’s best to talk through your situation with someone who can resonate with your challenges and has been in your shoes.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you will gain back inspiration and motivation just by discussing it with people who might feel the same way.
Learn how you can take your leadership teams through a growth model which will help them mature on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and subscribing to the Keijzer Community.
Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.