Remember when you first started your job? It was the first day, you were nervous, a little shaky, but you were excited. You were excited to meet new people, to get to work in a new environment. It was like going on a date with the perfect person. You couldn’t find any faults. You were smitten. You would get up early in the morning, excited for that Monday morning meeting. You didn’t understand why everyone else thought you were crazy. You didn’t understand because your beloved couldn’t do you wrong. Then work started slowly piling up. There were communication gaps. There were misunderstandings, finicky clients, late sittings, and an inflexible boss. Slowly and gradually, you grew detached. There was a lot of heartache and now, it’s go numb, get the work done, and go home. Meetings turned into boring sessions. Projects turned into tasks. “Where did it all the luster go?” you wonder. It’s not easy once you get into a monotonous routine. It’s not easy having to deal with workplace stress. Not only can it leave you bitter, it can leave you resenting working for your organization. So what to do? It’s time to go back to basics. To you simple and core idea of “WHY?”

Purpose must come before Passion

The question of WHY is a short one, but can come with a difficult and long answer. Simply because you know how to do something, doesn’t mean you know the true value of the actions you take. Why did you take the job initially and what caused you to be so excited in the first place? I do realize that things change as do people and the things they promised you. If you want to be excited about what you do, if you have to find that meaning and purpose once again. Ask yourself, what do I do?  But now go deeper – What do you REALLY do? Who does it impact?  As a result of what I do, (those tasks you feel are mundane) what happens? Who can do their job better or live a better life with the service you’ve provided. If you need to, go witness it for yourself. See the impact and purpose of what you all the way to end result. What you do matters.

Ask for Feedback

Sometimes we get stale in what we do. How can you bring new life to it?  Ask for feedback as it can help you identify areas you need to work on and improve your skill sets and will help you identify problems that you often overlook. Furthermore, you’ll get great input into how to fix mistakes you’re making. Sometimes we don’t realize things we do wrong until someone from the outside explains it to us.

Work on the Hardest Task First

When you come into work, you’re probably dreading having to work on the project for that irksome client. But do it anyway. In fact, do it first thing. This will save you from a massive headache because by the end of the day, you won’t have to deal with it. You’ll be left to deal with smaller, easier tasks because you’ve already taken care of the hard part!

Ask for What You Want

Your boss can’t read your mind. Stop expecting them to. Go talk to them if you feel tired, frustrated and stressed. If you feel like your workload is too much, have a meeting with them and let them know you can’t do more than a certain number of projects. This will save you from a massive headache and will help build a sense of trust and hopefull a better relationship with your boss as well. These are just some tips to keep in mind to boost productivity and fall in love with your job again. Running low on inspiration? Jon Petz is an inspiring keynote speaker who works with the corporate sector to help individuals and organizations meet their objectives. He is widely regarded as one of the leading professional motivational speakers. Call at 614-456-3072 to get registered for a motivational training session!