Motivation: Have Sunday nights become a worry?

Introduction

We've all had days or weeks where we have felt more energised or driven to take action at work or at home. On those days where we are really motivated we feel a burst of energy and never question taking action or focusing on a task. When we are not motivated, we can make the easiest job take what feels like a lifetime.

Depending on how long you have been in a role and your years of experience in the working world, the chances are you may have become less motivated or lost the initial energy you had over time.

At the start of my working life I was motivated more by external drivers such as pay, as I had a young family and mortgage to cover. There were also ego goals such as promotions, because they aligned with my drive for more pay and it was also recognition for my hard work. But as I became more experienced and my pay was better, other things started to become more important. Such as wanting to have more control over my future, feeling like an expert as my experience grew and looking for the fulfilment of helping other people develop and grow.

The main thing I realised is internal drivers will always outlast external drivers, once your basic needs are covered (e.g. The mortgage payments). No matter how much someone pushes you to do something, if you don't really want it, you will at some point quit.

Motivation is not a straight line

Motivation is not a constant. Just as fitness goes up and down, so does the feeling of motivation. The good news is motivation can be trained and influenced just as fitness can. You just need to work out what you really enjoy and what motivates you.

Assessing your current motivation

Before we can start to improve or maintain motivation, we need to assess where we currently are. There are a couple of approaches you can take. One method is to regularly make a note of your levels of motivation on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being low and 10 being high. Overtime, you will start to see a pattern develop. The important thing is to regularly check where you are and if you journal to make a note on anything that you feel has influenced that score.

I have used this, I have also used a traffic lights system.

The Richie Traffic Light System

A big indication of how I'm feeling about work is how I feel on Sunday nights. Any delivery person will tell you a RAG scale (Red, Amber, Green) is useful :)

Green - Looking forward to an exciting week, I am confident I can make progress, add value and work with some interesting clients, team members or projects. Work is fun, I feel motivated, I have energy.

Amber - A bit unsure what the week ahead will hold, not really excited about a particular thing, but something interesting will come up. Not great, but as a positive person the glass is half full and there are 5 days to get back to green. Some energy, but less bounce.

Red - I describe a Red level as that feeling of dread you used to get at 7 pm on a Sunday night when you heard the Antiques Roadshow tune on TV and haven't started your homework. Despite having P.E. on Tuesdays and Thursdays to look forward to I really didn't want to go to School on Monday.

Now we all know not every week can be Green, but the cumulative effects of lot Greens will build up a goodwill reserve, they make an Amber work easier. Just as a high number of Amber's will eventually lead us to Red. Personally when I have been in a red zone for more than a few Sundays it's time to take stock, step back and ask myself 'What can I do to change this situation?'.

Finally find some people that you trust and ask them if they have noticed anything about you or your motivation. Sometimes others notice changes in behaviour or character that you may not. They may also know what switches you on and what demotivates you.

The most important part of these assessments is you are honest with yourself about your levels of motivation.

What can influence motivation

There are both mental and physical influences on motivation levels. Physically too little sleep, too much/little exercise, not enough natural light or a poor diet can all make us feel less motivated and lacking in energy. Overworking can also mentally drain us as we don't allow enough time to recharge at weekends or during the evenings. Lack of self care is an important factor in loss of motivation.

Mentally a misalignment of goals or unclear personal goals can mean we simply don't have the interest or internal motivation to stay engaged. This is where action can be taken to check whether your role goals and personal goals are aligned.

The art of goal setting

I'd like you to take a few moments to ask yourself three questions. Pick up a notepad, find a quiet space and think about the three questions below. Don't rush it.

The next 5-15 minutes may play a key part in helping you identify why your Sunday nights have become less enjoyable lately.

The questions

1. How does your role make you feel at the moment?
2. Is your job delivering what you want at your time of life?
3. Is your job supporting your future plans for work and outside?

N.B. When you have done this, set the notepad down. You may wish to come back to the notes in 24-72 hours when your unconscious mind has had time to think. Then look again and add more notes if you need to. We'll come back to this.

Motivation and goals are interdependent

The reality is that having clear goals of various lengths/stages is a major factor in being motivated. When you know what your long term goal is you with stepped goals to get to your North Star you have a reason to be motivated. As Simon Sinek says, 'Start with why' and when you know why, you can work through the process of setting shorter term goals.

I'd suggest working backwards from the North Star and setting Long term (1-3 years), Medium Term (6-12 months), Short Term (1-6 months) and Immediate/Micro goals (days and weeks).

If you have carried out the exercise listed above and you don't have clarity that you are heading towards a clear set of goals it's time to invest time in setting out that future.

A useful analogy is setting out on a long road trip. The destination may stay the same, but the route there may adapt depending on the state of the traffic. By taking the time to plan out your goals you are not prevented from changing them over time to reach the destination. If the destination needs to change over time it can but at least you will be taking action and likely be enjoying the journey on the way.

Conclusion

This may seem like a lot of work, you may think you can't achieve this alone. As you'd expect I would suggest that a Coach could help you through the process of thinking through your 'Why' and identifying your North Star. They can also help you define incremental steps towards your North Star.

The most important thing for me is, life isn't a rehearsal and you shouldn't dread going to work. There are steps you can take to improve and train motivation if you get that Sunday night feeling too many times.

Why not take the first step to achieving your potential and improving your motivation and goal setting? Book a FREE meeting using the link in my profile, or drop me a note at [email protected] to discuss your goals. 30 mins now, may be opening the door to years of higher performance, role satisfaction and fulfilment.