Let’s face it: We all lack motivation at times. To keep yourself on task — and focused on your goals — it can help to build in ways to hold yourself accountable. That way, you’re not depending on willpower alone. Here are some tactics that can help. First, enlist an accountability buddy. Tell them what your goal is, being specific about what you hope to accomplish, then ask them to check in with you periodically. Knowing that they’re keeping track of your progress will motivate you to up your game. You can also try finding a like-minded group of people who share a similar goal and commit to supporting each other. Research shows that working with others toward your goals significantly increases your interest, resilience, and likelihood of success. If you’re still struggling to make progress, consider changing your environment. This might mean working in a new location or altering your work set-up (leaving your phone in another room, for example). Don’t just lament your lack of progress. Change the circumstances instead.
Month: July 2024
A challenge for today’s managers is how to balance employees’ desire for flexibility while ensuring the team remains productive. The good news is that you don’t have to accept a tradeoff between the two if you think differently about when people work together, who works together, and how to share information. First, consider when employees need to work synchronously. For project-based workflows, chart out tasks and timelines, and block out specific days for overlapping work during key phases (for example, at the kickoff, mid-point, and closeout). Schedule important meetings during these times, and make it clear that you expect your team to be available. Next, rethink who exactly needs to work together. In other words, could you restructure your team into smaller groups that are empowered to coordinate with each other? Finally, design your team’s information-sharing systems to make important data more readily available. Long waits for status updates or for questions to be answered can kill productivity. So figure out how to improve information accessibility and reduce needless back-and-forth. These steps can help your team have the flexibility they want without sacrificing productivity.
Every success story involves some amount of luck. And contrary to popular belief, serendipity isn’t entirely out of our control. Here are two ways to build luck into your career. First, actively practice “serendipitous networking” — connecting with others for the sake of getting to know them, their perspectives, and their stories. Should you find yourself drawn to their story or experience, dig deeper. Ask them questions about how they discovered their passion, what they’ve learned, and what they like or dislike about their role or industry. Their insights might spur a new sense of motivation or a vision that could lead you to your next career move. Second, look at big changes in your life through a prism of possibility rather than fear. Yes, changes that feel out of our control can be scary but try to see them as opportunities. What can you learn? How can you capitalize on the disruption? It can pay off down the road to go with the flow and trust that new opportunities will arise with time.