How to Keep Working When You’re Just Not Feeling It

Goals should have intrinsic motivation, something that stokes our fire from within.

If people choose goals that are pleasant, the work gets done. On the other hand, if the external reward is big enough, people do unpleasant tasks as well, but not with enthusiasm. Example: Working only for the monthly wage (the extrinsic motivation) turns many people into ‘wage slaves’ who put in the minimum effort necessary to earn their income.

If you are trying to lose weight and reward yourself with a pizza every time you complete a milestone, the hard work is likely to be undone soon. Achievement of goals is not an incentive for indulgence.

Research shows that uncertain rewards are a better external motivator than those which are certain. People are willing to invest more time, money and effort into something that feels thrilling.

Example: A chance to win anything between $50 to $150 creates a greater motivation than an assured win of $100 on completion of the task.

A backwards technique of motivation is exploiting the preference to avoid losses over acquiring gains. Making people aware that they will lose something if the activity isn’t completed is a fear-based but effective method of external motivation.

Example: Making people pay a fine if they don’t walk a certain amount of steps in a day makes them complete their target.

• Most people working towards a goal witness periods of motivation(like in the beginning) and a slump(somewhere around the middle).
• One way to overcome this slump is to have smaller goals or subgoals that give no time for a slump to happen.
• Another way is to chart out the progress in such a way that it is fully visible and the end of the goal is in sight, creating an illusion to work just a bit more and get further towards the goal.

Example: The coffee stamps that indicate a person is just two coffee purchases away from earning a reward triggers more coffee consumption.

As humans are social creatures, we consciously and unconsciously imitate the mannerisms, actions and habits of those around us.

Watching the ambitious, efficient and highly successful coworkers can sometimes backfire, as it can feel demotivating. One has to look at the thing which is being sought after, the achievement that one is moving towards, and talk to the successful person to find their motivation.

For people struggling to find motivation, taking advice sometimes is less effective than actually giving it. By giving advice to others, they internally solidify their learnings and turn towards following it themselves, increasing their own drive and achievements.

Example: Teaching a subject to others makes us learn the subject more, than simply reading about it.