7 Exude good vibes.

Sometimes you have to fake it until you make it, particularly when you’re trying to up your team’s enthusiasm. By adopting a let’s-make-this-happen attitude and not just brusquely urging folks to work faster, you can energize the people around you—and p...

4 Set deadlines, even if they’re arbitrary.

Beyond the tried-and-true axiom that work expands to fill the time allotted for it, this one is especially helpful when you’re part of a team and need one person’s work to finish before a colleague can incorporate it into their n...

3 Break overwhelming tasks up into smaller pieces.

An author trying to write a book by sitting down and thinking “okay, today is the day I mash out my entire opus” may not remain an author—or a sane person—...

5 Step outside your comfort zone.

Sometimes a lack of motivation stems from feeling underutilized. Finding ways to try new things could be the trick to breaking out of your funk—and the same goes for colleagues who might appreciate a new challenge.

“I think that’s ho...

8 Reward yourself—and your colleagues.

Give yourself something to look forward to . Depending on what you’re trying to get motivated to do, the rewards can range from smaller treats, like a trip to the bre...

2 Consider your work in context.

Even dream jobs come with their share of frustrations, as well as the occasional assignment that, while less than glamorous, can’t be ignored. In such moments, it can be helpful to remember that it took some effort to get where you are—plus...

6 Be open to criticism.

Whatever you’re working on, you want to deliver it on time and without much hassle—but more than that, when you feel driven or want to help drive others, you’re interested in how the process could run better next time.

Sometimes that perspecti...