15 Ways To Keep Motivated For Anyone Working Alone

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Working alone can either be the best or worst thing for some people. Not having the chatter of the office or the expectations that come with working for others can be the biggest factors for working alone.

No matter the reason behind working alone, staying motivated can sometimes be a difficult task. Without your boss or supervisor looking over your shoulder and checking to make sure you are getting your work done can often lead to straying away from the work.

To help you stay motivated while working alone, we have come up with 15 tips to keep motivated, as well as what lack of motivation looks like for most people.

Key Takeaways:

• Having a set work area and a set schedule is a great way to help shift your mind into work mode and keep you motivated.

• Creating daily to-do lists and giving yourself deadlines can help you stay focused on what needs to be done first.

• Avoid multi-tasking and stick to one task at a time to keep your mind from wondering work.

Identify What Drains Your Motivation

Often times finding what drains your motivation can help you stay on task. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to figure out what exactly is draining your motivation:

• Do you have trouble focusing?

• Do you get distracted easily?

• Are you feeling disconnected from others?

• Are you tired and exhausted?

• Are you just procrastinating a certain task or all your work?

• What is your confidence level with being able to complete the task?

• Are you focused on too many things at once?

• What are the steps that are stopping me from completing this task?

What Lack Of Motivation Looks Like

Lack of motivation is going to happen at any job from time to time, and it’s okay as long as it’s occasional. When being unmotivated to do your work becomes a habit because there is no one looking over your shoulder, you can miss out on being your best self at work. Here are some examples of what lack of motivation looks like:

• You find yourself looking at the clock and counting down the minutes until you are done work.

• Deadlines are approaching and you have not started the work.

• Scrolling on social media with your computer next to you

• Looking at projects and thinking about how you should get them done, but then you decide to do it another time.

• Spending the day watching TV or video games instead of working.

• Not knowing what you want out of your job.

Ways To Stay Motivated When Working Alone

1. Create a set schedule. Whether you are working from home or working alone in the office while everyone is gone, making a set schedule can help create a routine. Without a structured workday with a routine, time can get away from you. From taking extra time in the morning to finish your cup of coffee to deciding to sleep in, it can start to affect the rest of your day.

   With a clear and set schedule everyday, your body and mind start to get into a routine and makes staying motivated in those work hours a lot easier.

2. Have a separate workspace. Having a dedicated workspace in your house can help your mind shift into a work mode. Constantly changing where you work can be disorganizing and you can often lose things, making it harder to concentrate. Also on the other hand, working on your couch or in your bed makes it difficult to separate your work and personal time, interfering with your work-life balance.

3. Have a third place to work. Sometimes getting out of the office and out of your house can make you more motived with the change of scenery. Find a location that you like such as a public library or a local coffee shop that you are comfortable working from. This also gets you out of the house if you are a remote worker. Isolation isn’t healthy and having social interactions is good for motivation and inspiration.

4. Get dressed. Working in sweatpants and a sweatshirt is a great idea until you end up on the couch watching tv, because that’s what you associate your comfy clothes with. Getting dressed and ready like you are going to the office can help you stay motivated just as if you were actually there.

5. Set deadlines and create to-do lists. Making a list of the things that need to get done for the day and giving yourself deadlines for when they need to get done will help you stay motivated. Knowing that you only have a limited time to finish the project or task will help keep you off your phone scrolling on social media.

   Even if you are unable to finish the task by the set deadline, that’s okay. Knowing that you got majority of the work done will help you finish it in a timely manner.

6. Listen to music. This may not work for everyone, but creating a playlist of fast and upbeat songs and listening to it loudly can help you stay motivated. People often associate certain songs and music to specific tasks so listening to the same things when working will help you shift into a working mode and stay motived while it plays.

7. Have rewards in place. Give yourself little rewards through out your day to help you stay motivated. It could be getting a snack once you finish your task or taking 15 minute video break. Rewards help us stay motivated and stay on task.

8. Tell others what you are going to do. Having someone else know what your tasks are for the day are a great way to stay motivated to do them. Most people are able to muster up motivated and stay on task than tell the person that the task did not get done and that you failed.

9. Avoid multi-tasking. Multi-tasking seems like a good idea to get things done fast but often times it clutters your mind and keeps you distracted. Focus on one task at a time to help keep your mind clear and avoid any mistakes.

10. Get up and moving. Before you start your day or even after finishing your tasks, get up and moving around. This can be in your office or in your house. Getting your blood flowing can help you get more energized and ready for the rest of your tasks.

    If you are in your office, take a lap around the building and talk to others. If you are working from home or in your third location, try doing some jumping jacks or run in place. Any bit of movement will restore your energy.

11. Attend industry events. Attend any industry or networking events that your company offers. This helps you stay up-to-date on any industry related news and it helps you meet some of the people in the industry. Talking about what you do with other people that do the same things helps you pick up any new tips and tricks to keep you motivated on the work.

12. Hold yourself accountable. Holding yourself accountable can be one of the hardest things when you are working alone. When you hold yourself accountable, you are able to complete tasks more effectively and predict outcomes with more accuracy.

13. Remove distractions. Getting rid of any distractions are a great way to stay motivated. Turn the TV off in the background and turn your phone off. This will eliminate the amount of times that you drift your attention away from work.

    If you are a remote worker who has their family home during your work hours, make sure they know not to interrupt you during that time. Give your children tasks to do and let them know the time that you will check on them.

14. Practice the 10 minute rule. Doing the difficult or boring tasks can be hard. Doing the 10 minute rule where after 10 minute of work you can take a break if needed, will often lead to you realizing you don’t need a break. Keep giving yourself 10 minutes to do your work before a break and before you know it, the task is complete.

15. Love what you do. It may be hard to love everything about what you do, but doing something that you enjoy and love is the best motivator. If you don’t enjoy what you do, you are less likely to stay motivated and stay at that job.

Author

Paul Slezak

With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.