How to be productive: managing your motivation

You might think you’re a terrible procrastinator, but you’re probably not on the same level as French writer Victor Hugo. He was due to provide his publisher with the final draft of Hunchback of Notre Dame in April 1829. By the end of 1830, he still hadn’t put a single word to paper.

It was clear to both Hugo and his publisher that drastic steps were needed to boost his motivation. They introduced a fine per week of delay along with a hard deadline for the book’s completion. For his part, Hugo put himself under house arrest so he had nothing to do but write. As a result, he was able to complete in less than a year what he had been unable to even start more than a year after the original deadline.

Our approach to productivity and motivation may have moved on since the 19th century, but there are still lessons to learn from Victor Hugo’s experience. Namely that deadlines and negative consequences are powerful motivators, and that you need to prevent yourself from procrastinating by removing the possibility of distraction.

All jobs have tasks we hate, so managing your motivation is a critical skill.

Motivation hacking: a definition

All jobs have tasks that we hate. But they fester. Without a structured approach, your best work hours can be easily wasted on those little non-urgent tasks. And yet they still need to be done. With the right approach, you can turn your boring chores into satisfying accomplishments.

This is called motivation hacking, and it is a way of tricking your mind into caring about and enjoying even the tasks that usually put you to sleep. 

The tactical application of pressure through deadlines and negative consequences can get the adrenaline going and give you the momentum to see tasks through. At the same time, the dopamine release of a challenge overcome can turn a drain on your motivation into a mood-boosting success.

How to hack your motivation

Compete with yourself

Competition is one of the most powerful and universal motivators. There are no participation trophies in business, and your approach to work should reflect this. 

“Whether professional musicians or school children, studies have shown competition fuels creativity and even improves the quality of the work produced. More than that, the skills that make you a great competitor – such as a willingness to push boundaries, trust one's instincts, problem-solve – those are the same skills needed for innovation.”

Ashley Merryman, co-author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing

That doesn’t mean you need to constantly compare your business to others, but it does mean you work a lot harder when working hard can result in a win. And you can’t win if there is no possibility of losing. 

Creating ‘win’ and ‘lose’ conditions for your daily tasks gives yourself a strong reason to focus on even the mundane jobs with your full attention.

Fix your schedule

One way to compete against yourself is through your scheduling. Set the start and end times of each task in stone. 

According to Parkinson’s Law we tend to expand tasks to fill the time allocated to them, either by making the job more complex than it needs to be or simply by delaying work to the last minute.

By deciding how long a task should take and sticking to it, you are challenging yourself to get the work done without procrastination. The knowledge that you could ‘fail’ the task by getting distracted will keep you focused, and when you get it done you will have a greater sense of accomplishment.

Defragment daily chores

There is little satisfaction to be had from tackling easy, micro tasks throughout the day, and these boring tasks can sap your motivation for the more important work. This kind of multi-tasking can cut your productivity by 40%. So, kill two birds with one stone by defragmenting your daily tasks. Grouping these small chores together into larger chunks of time (such as Pomodoros) means you actually get a motivating win from these tasks instead of letting them impact the real work. 

Plan every day

Swap your to-do list for a calendar. Deciding when you will do something greatly increases the likelihood you will do it. Furthermore, having a self-imposed deadline for every task in your day increases the sense of competition against yourself. A calendar of all your tasks lets you know if you are falling behind on your expected timeline, and motivates you to avoid disrupting your schedule with a late deadline.

Gamify bad habits

Gamification involves introducing a scoring system to aspects of your work. This approach is a mixed bag, but it has its uses. 

On the plus side it creates a strong sense of self-competition, pushing yourself to beat your personal best by working harder and faster. The downside is that it only pushes you to focus on things your gamification app can quantify. As a result, actual work quality and focus on the bigger picture can suffer.

Be careful which aspects of your work you apply gamification to, and consider using gamification to modify your bad habits instead of directly influencing work. For example, the Forest app motivates you to stop wasting time on your phone. This app shows a growing tree when you start your work timer. Leave the app to do anything else on your phone before the timer ends, and your tree dies. It’s a simple but effective way to turn procrastination into a ‘lose’ condition.

Motivating with music

Music can have a big impact on our energy levels, mood and overall motivation. It is not as easy as just putting on your favourite tunes while you get to work though. Instead, match your playlist to the work you are doing. 

Upbeat, ‘happy’ music can keep you going during boring, repetitive work, while also boosting your creativity for more dynamic tasks. Not too fast though, as a tempo of 50-80 beats per minute helps your mind become calm, concentrated and alert. Avoid vocals-heavy music too. A constant stream of words in our ear is difficult for our brains to ignore, and you will find yourself paying more attention to the music than your work.

Competing with others

It doesn’t feel good when others see us fail. Making yourself more accountable to others gives you a compelling reason to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. In fact, introducing social accountability to the equation can increase your productivity as much as 45%. 

Try getting on a video call with your team for focused work sessions. You are a lot less likely to start fiddling with your phone when a colleague will know you’re not working. 

If this is not possible, virtual coworking sites like focusmate can pair you with like-minded professionals to provide that social incentive to stay focused.

Some of us get our best work done in private, so this doesn’t work for everyone. Instead, share your goals and tasks with someone. If you don’t get it done, you will have to admit to them that you failed. 

If that is not enough of a punishment, introduce a forfeit to force yourself to prioritize the task. For example, make a bet with someone that you will get something done on time. The bigger the forfeit, the more you will ensure you don’t have to pay it.

Conclusion

Hacking your motivation doesn’t just keep you on track and help you get more done, it also makes your work more enjoyable and meaningful. Experiment with these strategies to find the approach that keeps you engaged throughout the day. Book a free consultation today to learn more about how we can motivate your team and boost your productivity.