3 habits to help entrepreneurs overcome the lack of motivation

Adhering to a pre-established working rhythm is a successful habit that entrepreneurs need to handle work effectively, in moody days.

Aytekin Tank - Founder and CEO of JotForm, the company that provides a platform to help users easily create online forms. JotForm has appeared in the Entrepreneur 360 ™ list in 2016, the annual ranking for companies of US entrepreneurs.

In the article shared on Entreprenuer, Tank recognizes work motivation that influences our needs, aspirations and actions. In less urgent situations, procrastination often occurs and reduces motivation.

According to Tank, to be successful, entrepreneurs don't need to have great motivation or any great will. You don't need to wake up before dawn to drink a good cup of coffee, meditate, write a diary or practice yoga's standing posture to turn great ideas into reality.

In fact, repeated, regular and repeated habits have been the factors that helped Tank succeed in the last 12 years. Tank used to get lost when he forgot these habits. Therefore, when returning to the previous working rhythm, Tank continued to consolidate that steady pace. This helped Tank and the JotForm development team reach 4.2 million global users.

Creating periodic working systems and regular work habits can erase fluctuations, delay within each of us. When these habits are strengthened, you will gradually no longer be affected by the feeling of procrastination, afraid to deal with everyday tasks. You only need to follow the pre-configured activities. This strategy will help entrepreneurs continue to work effectively in days of moody mood.

Two forms of motivation

In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (a guide - The surprising fact about what motivates us), Daniel Pink once explained two different motivational groups: outside and inside in.

External motivation depends on the rewards achieved along a life journey such as finance, praise, title, or winning a sports competition. Pure inner motivation for the needs from deep within each person. If you run a distance of 5km because you like the feeling when your body moves or you want to experience the feeling of accomplishing a goal, then even if you finish your goal, you will feel satisfied.

In his own book, Pink has acknowledged the inefficiency of being motivated by "carrots or sticks". Pink argues that people can achieve greater efficiency and maintain longer satisfaction by influencing "the profound need to lead our lives, to learn, to create, and to work better for yourself and the world ".

But even inner motivation fades away if you are too dependent on this. Starting a business needs courage and determination, and you'll still find it difficult to keep going. Maybe because you are afraid of the challenge ahead or the current workload is too big. When these emotions appear, you will need a regular rhythm, the routine of handling daily chores for successful emotional surfing.

Three ways to create successful work habits

1. Focus only on important priorities

Concentration and motivation are strongly linked. Imagine you have three business goals this year, including: developing staff, developing marketing strategies through social networks and successfully building an important product feature.

These goals should be prioritized to appear in everything you do during the year. If a new project or opportunity appears but does not involve one of these three goals, refuse to do so. The distraction will fade away and you will continue to have more resources to pursue your goals.

Tank said he reminded himself of important priorities by spending the first 30 to 90 minutes of the day working at the office writing down things to be solved during the day, and gradually turning them into a plan. Plan, email or presentation clearly. This rhythm helps activate creative thinking and strategy for Tank every day.

"If one day I go to work in a state of lethargy, I allow myself to do something else to increase my concentration. I can meet a member of the team or read about the owners. work related issues of the day My distracted mind will gradually focus again, and the flow of new ideas inspires me to continue deploying them Before I realize it, 90 minutes first went along with the previous lethargic state, "Tank said.

2. Understand that motivation is just an extra factor

Motivation and excitement do not always appear while you work. People often think that "being motivated" means creating inspiration and excitement for themselves before starting to do something. But emotions are not necessarily compatible with action. Sometimes, you can still move forward in a state of lack of motivation.

Journalist Oliver Burkeman also mentioned the motivational theme in The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking This book, Burkeman wrote: "The problem is not because you don't feel motivated, but that you are thinking that you need to be motivated."

Routine activities can help reinforce emotions because they are not affected by the level of excitement in your work. If you follow a certain rhythm, you will be connected to the work you are doing. At that time, fluctuations in emotions are not so important. The results will shape when you constantly repeat this rhythm.

Aytekin Tank - Founder, CEO of JotForm

3. Learn to empower

One day, Tank had an idea flashed while exercising in the morning. Tank even asked his coach if he could pause for a bit to rewrite the idea.

"When I drove to the office, I realized that the idea had nothing to do with my three most important priorities of the year. Although I had a strong desire to pursue my idea, I decided to hand it over. The idea is for JotForm's COO, "Tank recalls.

As a founder, your job is an effective business, instead of sinking into business. According to author Ray Silverstein: "There is a bridge that every entrepreneur must step through to be able to grow business to a new level, where they must move from" executing "to" leadership ". It means that they need to step back from their daily operations and step into the position of a visionary. "

Entrepreneurs are not always eligible to choose to give back ideas, the right to work for colleagues, especially during the start-up period or the company has financial difficulties. But empower it when possible, even if it means seeking advice from a consultant or someone else. Because empowerment can help you come back to focus on handling the things you can best accomplish.

Empowerment is also a reasonable choice in case someone can handle the job better than you. If you recruit marketer, designer, developer, manager, or research specialist to handle their professional work, the key is to create space for them to develop that ability. Most companies and business products become more complex as the company grows. So, you need to give back the work to the good people who handle them every day, so that you have time to focus on the top priorities of the leader.

Remember to enjoy the fun at work

Habits that can fill the need to maintain daily work motivation. However, how can you maintain this habit for a long time? The real answer is that everyone needs fun and feels that they are living meaningfully.

In 2010, Buddhist lecturer Susan Piver once wrote an article about how she fights against personal motivation. After struggling to maintain the goals to be achieved during the day, as well as blaming herself for "lack of discipline", she decided to try a new approach. She stopped taking motivation to focus and instead, focused on the joy of work.

“After I remembered that my motivation was made up of curiosity and the work was fully compatible with my present and future people, the office became a playground. "Piver wrote.

She said that she had gotten out of her personal schedule of overly serious things, and prioritized jobs that interest her. Not long after, Piver realized that her day was still the same, but the experience of handling each job was not as heavy as before.

Frankly acknowledging, we cannot get rid of our lives of boring jobs. Every morning there are people who have to change the cat's sanitary sand or every month a series of bills still need to be paid on time.

"But I suggest that instead of concentrating on discipline with the mind to force yourself to get the job done, try to discipline with things that make you happy every day," Piver wrote.

Conclusion

Prioritizing the work that brings us joy is a very interesting way to change the perspective. Maybe, there are times when we don't easily find joy around us. Focus on the important things, create habits that will keep you going steadily every day, and the motivation will gradually walk with you throughout the gloomy days.

P.V (DNSG)