How To Motivate Yourself When Returning To The Work World

Our world has been turned upside down throughout the beginning of this year; our personal lives and our work lives have both been greatly affected by the worldwide pandemic sweeping the nation. While some companies have been forced to go out of business, others have merely had to have employees adjust to working remotely.

Working remotely has been a challenge that thousands of employees around the nation have had to face. The internet has seen hundreds of articles written about how difficult working remotely has been for employees and helpful tips for how to stay productive during this trialing time.

However, one effect of working remotely that nobody seems to be talking about is returning to work. Now that the world is re-opening, office spaces and businesses are beginning to open back up with stipulations in place.

So what happens when all these employees, who have already faced the difficulties that arise with working remotely, have to adjust to returning to the work world after months away?

Let’s see how you can find the motivation to adjust to seeing co-workers and heading back into the office daily.

Start With Small Goals

It can be tempting to dive straight back in and start on that big work project again as soon as you step foot in the office. Returning to the office will have you feeling energized and excited for the future, which is great, but you don’t want to begin with biting off more then you can chew.

Set small, actionable goals to begin with and ease into the bigger jobs. If you have a big project due, break it down into a few small goals that you can complete daily. This will make the task less daunting and easier to work on.

Set A Quitting Time

When you first return to the office it’ll be easy to get caught up in work. Projects take a while, and it can be easy to get caught up in them and spend too much time working on one thing. However, to complete tasks and do high-quality work, you need to be well-rested.

It’s important that you set aside a quitting time for when you’ll leave the office and head home. This will help you maintain a schedule and encourage you to be more productive and, ultimately, be more motivated to head back into the office the next day and get to work on the next project.

Let Yourself Celebrate The Little Wins

If you’re spending your time waiting for a long term work project to pay off, you may be waiting a while. It can be challenging and discouraging if you’re constantly waiting for the long term accomplishments to pay off, instead of focusing on the little wins.

Celebrate the simple things, even if they don’t feel like much at the time. It can be rewarding and motivating to tell yourself that you did well, especially on the little achievements. Let yourself feel proud of the small things that you accomplish.

Surround Yourself With Positive and Motivated People

Negativity is similar to the flu; it’s easy to catch and miserable to have. If one person in the workspace is negative and has a discouraging mindset, chances are that you’ll have one too. This doesn’t just go for your work life, but your personal one as well.

Make a conscious decision to not only be positive but to surround yourself with people that have a similar mindset. Life is too short to let yourself be surrounded by people who only discourage you and leave you feeling unmotivated.

Make friends with people who are motivated, positive, and maintain and a happy attitude in the workspace. This can make a world of difference when it comes to your mood and how you feel about your job.