Motivation Hacks for Small Business Owners
By Andrew Patricio
March 15, 2017
Productivity
Share Facebook Tweet on Twitter Share with Email Share with LinkedIn Share with Pinterest
Working by yourself? Or running a small team? Then you have likely had periods where you’ve struggled to keep yourself motivated. It’s not to say you’re not dedicated, but the every-day pressures, setbacks and sometimes plain drudgery gets to even the best of us sometimes. So let’s look at a few hacks that you can use when you find yourself less than motivated at work.
Procrastinating?
Sometimes you find yourself wanting for motivation because you're procrastinating tackling a certain task. Stop looking for distractions and get a pen and paper and answer the three following questions:
Put this Q&A in a prominent place, like the telephone. And while it may not create an immediate desire to act, it will force you to face the consequences of your actions; good or bad. And that is often enough to spur action.
Lethargic?
It’s so easy for small business owners to get worn out. Assuming you’re not suffering from adrenal fatigue, this motivation hack will do the trick. Music. Whether Mozart is your jam, or you like rocking out to electronic dance music, music has proven time and again to stimulate the brain and energize people. Why else would every aerobics class in the world blast out high-energy music?
Lost in the Details?
If you’re coding for 12 hours a day, or so focused on getting your business off the ground that you feel lost, this hack is for you. Research has proven time and again that people who understand how their work has a positive impact on the lives of others are more intrinsically motivated and, bonus, happier. So if you’re feeling disconnected from your work, look at some of your customer testimonials and reviews. Go meet with a past client to “follow up”. And help connect the dots for others on your team so you all understand how you’re ultimately helping people.
We all get unmotivated from time to time, but with a few hacks like these, you can get back on track and back to doing the work you love.
Procrastinating?
Sometimes you find yourself wanting for motivation because you're procrastinating tackling a certain task. Stop looking for distractions and get a pen and paper and answer the three following questions:
- Why have you been putting it off? Look at how you feel and be honest. You don’t want to start cold calling because you don’t want to be rejected? That’s normal. Write it down.
- What is the best case scenario if you start right now? New deals in your pipeline? Overcoming your fear of rejection? Write it down.
- What will happen if you don’t do it? What are the financial ramifications or the emotional cost if you don’t tackle this task?
Put this Q&A in a prominent place, like the telephone. And while it may not create an immediate desire to act, it will force you to face the consequences of your actions; good or bad. And that is often enough to spur action.
Lethargic?
It’s so easy for small business owners to get worn out. Assuming you’re not suffering from adrenal fatigue, this motivation hack will do the trick. Music. Whether Mozart is your jam, or you like rocking out to electronic dance music, music has proven time and again to stimulate the brain and energize people. Why else would every aerobics class in the world blast out high-energy music?
Lost in the Details?
If you’re coding for 12 hours a day, or so focused on getting your business off the ground that you feel lost, this hack is for you. Research has proven time and again that people who understand how their work has a positive impact on the lives of others are more intrinsically motivated and, bonus, happier. So if you’re feeling disconnected from your work, look at some of your customer testimonials and reviews. Go meet with a past client to “follow up”. And help connect the dots for others on your team so you all understand how you’re ultimately helping people.
We all get unmotivated from time to time, but with a few hacks like these, you can get back on track and back to doing the work you love.