Finding motivation during your work day can sometimes be a struggle. You can work and work and work on a project all morning, and then feel like you don’t need to finish any other assignments, or simply have run out of energy to do anything else by the afternoon. Or, you can come into work completely exhausted from staying up late the night before, and not even the strongest cup of dark roast coffee can awaken your sense of motivation to do anything that day; a quick desk nap sounds like a great idea, right?
Unfortunately, in the fast-paced, money making society that we live in, there’s no time to be lazy or to put off important assignments.
And rightfully so. There are countless instances of famous entrepreneurs, world leaders, and influential celebrities who got where they are today by putting in the required work and effort.
If you find yourself dozing off at work (especially after a full lunch belly) then we’ve got a few tips today that can possibly help you get out of that unproductive slump!
Play Some Upbeat Tunes
If you’re like me, then working in a noisy and distracting office really tests your patience. Whether it’s a coworker who likes to talk for hours, office construction, people popping into your office for random things, or any number of other distractions, it’s hard to block it all out and focus on the task at hand. That’s why I bring headphones to work and crank up some uplifting tunes to help me stay motivated and keep out all the unwanted diversions. This is even more important during your after-lunch workflow, as this is typically the time when people feel tired, due to getting full from a large lunch or just running out of energy around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Make yourself a work playlist full of your favorite pump-up tunes and see if this helps stir your creative juices!
Drink Coffee, If That’s Your Thing
Look, coffee isn’t for everyone. I get that. But it’s definitely good for one thing: energy. A good, strong cup of coffee usually has enough caffeine to push me through prime naptime (a.k.a. around 2 in the afternoon). If you can’t stand the taste of coffee, then there are tons of other options out there to give you a great boost, including teas, energy drinks, sodas, and vitamins, like B12! Experiment with a lot of different options, and see which one works best for you.
Get Up Every Hour For A Quick Stretch
Sitting down all day really doesn’t help your energy levels. It keeps your body sedentary and makes it that much harder to find any motivation to do your work in the afternoon. One of my coworkers has a really interesting solution to this problem. He sets a timer on his computer to alter him every 45 minutes to stand up, walk around, and stretch for about 10-15 minutes. I’ve been trying this as well, and it seems to help me stay awake after lunch (not to mention, it’s great for digesting that big lunch meal). Even a little bit of moment to break up the hours of sitting down that your body endures every day is a great practice to keep.
Invest In Standing Desks
Another solution the breaking up the long periods of sitting that you might do each day is to invest in a standing desk. A standing desk is just what the name says; a desk that you stand and work at, instead of sitting in an office chair. Studies have shown that sitting down all day is detrimental to the health of an employee and has even been called Sitting Disease. Gina Trapan of Lifehacker lists two main reasons that she switched to a standing desk instead of a sitting desk: better posture and higher calorie burn. For more on the benefits of standing desks, check out Gina’s Lifehacker article.
Have Something To Look Forward To After Work
What do you like to do in your free time? Exercise? Cook? Play with your children? Go on walks with your dog? Watch TV? Play video games? No matter what that thing is, it’s important, and healthy, to look forward to doing something you love after you get off work. If you have nothing to look forward to after work, you run the risk of becoming even more unmotivated, de-energized, and even depressed in your day-to-day workflow. Use what you’re looking forward to doing after work as a motivator for you to get busy with your tasks! When you have a solid work motivation, even if that motivation is looking forward to NOT working, you’ll find it easier to get through the afternoon.
Give Yourself Rewards
Have you ever gotten a reward for accomplishing a goal? This could be a raise at work, a bonus, or just a friendly handshake or pat-on-the-back from your manager or supervisor. But what about giving yourself rewards? Sounds kinda weird, right? It’s totally not! Think of it like this: if you set a goal for yourself to finish a certain task during the day, and you achieve that goal, wouldn’t it be nice to treat yourself to a delicious, decadent cup of coffee, or a sweet scoop of ice cream? Maybe these aren’t the healthiest reward options, but you can always substitute these unhealthy treats for healthier ones! It’s great to give yourself rewards for accomplishing goals because you’re not always going to get that recognition from somebody else. Use your rewards to motivate your work ethic!
Getting motivated isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but with these easy to do and fun tips, you’ll find yourself crushing your tasks, and getting more accomplished than you ever have before!
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