Feeling flat, tired or a bit burnt out? Here are three things you can do to boost your motivation.

If you live in Australia, the middle of the year can feel a bit meh. The weather is colder and the excitement of the festive season is a long way away.

Unless you have a holiday on the horizon, work can feel like a never ending slog. Here are three things you can do today to boost your motivation and get yourself out of a slump.

Set some goals - this is the perfect time to think about your long term goals. I recommend thinking about what you would like to achieve before the end of the year. 

Maybe you want to build your professional network, perhaps you want to strengthen your digital skillset or perhaps you want to build your confidence when it comes to presenting. 

Whatever it is, set the goal now and plan out what you’ll do each month to work towards it. Imagine how amazing you’ll feel at the end of the year when you know you’ve ticked this off! 

Pro tip - get a colleague in your team to do the same so you can hold each other accountable along the way. 

Ask for feedback - having an honest conversation with your manager about where you are up to can be a great way to get motivated about work. This might sound scary, but it can be an incredibly positive experience. 

At your next catch up, ask them for feedback on what is going well and where you could focus your energy on improving. Once you have this information, focus on responding to the feedback and putting your energy into improving areas that they have noted for attention. 

It’s a great idea to make it an item on the agenda for your regular catch up with your manager. It will show them that you want to progress, value their feedback and are committed to improving. 

Mix up your routine - this one might sound a bit eye rolly and simple, but stay with me. Making a few small tweaks to how you approach your work on a day to day basis can really help your headspace.

Perhaps you could commit to more face to face meetings. You might feel more energised seeing a colleague in person. Better yet, make it a walking meeting so you can both get some steps in. 

Have you considered trying a new technique for being more productive? I really like the pomodoro technique where you commit to focussing for 20 minutes then reward yourself with a 5 minute break. 

You could also try to collaborate with colleagues differently. Maybe you could suggest some brainstorming sessions for your team ahead of upcoming projects or a discussion around how you can all introduce new ideas and approaches on a regular basis.