Business owner Stacy Chan left a decade-long finance career in New York and London to build her leather handbag and accessories brand in 2013 which has been featured in The Telegraph, The Evening Standard, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and others, carried by members of the British Royal Family and won design awards. Moving from a structured environment to one where she sets her own rules, over the years, Stacy has learned to address the ebbs and flows of motivation and move past them to grow both professionally and personally. Here, she shares some of her ideas for finding focus and motivation on a daily basis.
Whether working from home is now the new normal or a return to the office is in the near future, finding and maintaining motivation every day can be difficult. Lack of motivation is something everyone experiences at some point and can be the result of various things – lack of energy, trouble focusing or being overwhelmed by the size of a task. These are issues that can not only be addressed, but tackling them can also make be empowering. Here are some techniques for sustaining motivation on a daily basis.
Effective goal setting
Many people set ambitious goals and, after a few days, their energy wanes before deeming the project unobtainable or the effort required unsustainable. This is where effective goal setting comes in, by breaking down larger objectives into achievable tasks to feel accomplishment in the near term.
- Write down a long/medium term goal and include your “why”
- e.g. I will achieve £x in sales this quarter in order to reinvesting my next project to grow my business.
- Break this goal down into parts – what needs to be completed to achieve this larger goal? Can these parts be broken down even further into smaller projects?
- e.g. To achieve £x in quarterly sales, I will sell £a online and £b to stores.
- Online: To achieve these sales, I will improve my social media presence.
- Stores: To achieve these sales, I will find new stores.
- Split each project into specific tasks to be done on a daily or weekly basis
- e.g. Post to Instagram and engage with 5 audience accounts every day.
- Research and contact 2 new stores each week.
Build a routine
A daily routine is crucial to maintaining initial momentum. Take your daily and weekly goals and track your progress in a daily planner, bullet journal or a simple notebook. This helps you stay organised and hold yourself accountable. Avoid monotony by scheduling different tasks for each day, and if your resolve begins to wane, remember the “why” of your larger objectives.
Reduce digital distractions
With so many text messages, emails, zoom requests, app notifications, and video clips of cute animals, it’s a wonder anyone accomplishes anything these days. How is it possible to reduce digital distractions and improve productivity?
Turn. Off. Notifications. Mute the Whatsapp group that posts too many messages. Turn off social media pings tempting you to check posts that are actually completely irrelevant. If all else fails, all phones have an off button and they fit in a drawer.
Frequent rewards
Celebrating smaller milestones is key to staying motivated to tackle subsequent projects. Rewards for a productive day or week can be as simple as allowing time for some funny animal videos or ordering takeaway for dinner.
This works for smaller tasks as well – writing an email you’ve been putting off, filing your taxes, or those days when just getting out of bed is a big ask.
- If I finally send this email, I’ll have a tea break with a few biscuits.
- If I just get up for my morning routine, I can have the coffee that I love.
Collectively, the small tasks can add up to a productive day.
Embrace off days
There are days when nothing seems to work. The goal-setting and routine have gone out the window and motivation has left the building, the town, the country, the planet. This is okay!
Spending time angry or frustrated by your lack of motivation not only accomplishes nothing, but also wastes time. Instead, practice self-acceptance and understanding, and a “wasted” day can become a day of relaxation and a re-energising way to start fresh tomorrow, newly motivated and ready for another opportunity to achieve your goals.
