How to Stay Motivated and Keep Up with Your Career Goals

Being motivated and goal-oriented is a valuable personal quality necessary for producing impactful results in the workplace. Unfortunately, motivating yourself can be challenging. Trying to sustain your drive through a career project can be an uphill task. Human beings tend to have a natural aversion to persistence that no amount of inspiration quoted from coffee can fix.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost, and you can take practical steps to enable you to keep pushing forth. This piece delves into tips and tricks to fuel your self-motivation quickly.

Don’t Think of Your Job as Hard Work

Once you have a task in front of you, one way to motivate yourself is to not think of it as hard work. Instead, consider it a part of progressing into what you want to become.

Don’t think of how frustrating of impossible the task might be, but consider how proud you’ll feel to accomplish the task. Thinking along those lines will make the most complex tasks look easy, manageable, and enjoyable.

Visualize Your Goals

Positive imagery is a powerful tool to keep you motivated and inspired to advance. Think of your career goals every day and how they intertwine with your life goals. Imagine the life ahead of you once you reach your professional goals. These images should be good enough to drive your motivation.

Using the Hemingway Technique

The concept is the creation of the famous author Ernest Hemingway. He would leave the last paragraph or chapter unfinished at the end of the day, especially when he knew how it’d end. When he sat down at his desk the following day, he would know where to start and immediately start writing and creating momentum for the rest of the day. He never had to wonder where to start or what to do for the day.

The Hemingway technique could come in handy for you too. For example, instead of working late and trying to squeeze all your day’s tasks into some limited time, pick a stopping place strategically. When you get to work the following day, you have a specific place to start from. It will help you build enough momentum for the day.

Break Down Huge Tasks into Manageable Chunks

Seeing your big audacious goals through can seem impossible. Breaking them down into bite-sized consumable goals is an effective way to make you feel like you’re making tangible progress. You’ll also feel a sense of accomplishment when you’re done and dusted with the smaller goals. A feeling of progress and achievement is good enough to keep you going.

Develop a Routine

Creating a routine and sticking to it is a powerful tool to keep you positive and motivated. The more you become accustomed to doing certain things in a specific way, the easier it becomes to do it repeatedly. Your routine should be something you can relate to, which compels you to keep going. More importantly, apply some discipline to stay on target.

Celebrate Both Big and Small Wins

If you’re struggling with staying motivated at work, rewarding yourself for the achievements you’ve made so far could be the trick you need. In an article titled “Motivational Strategies in Business,” George Root explains how rewards play a role in motivating employees to do better. You can use the same technique personally to advance your career goals.

Don’t wait until you achieve the big goals. Every small win counts, and planning a reward gives you something to anticipate.

Final Thoughts

There will be times when you don’t feel like doing anything productive in your career. While this is normal, you don’t have to harbor that feeling for long. For your career to progress, you must employ self-motivation.

The above tips can be an excellent starting point to motivate yourself and improve your outlook on the bigger picture. For more insights on how to thrive in the workplace, check out our blog.