We all know the struggle when you find your motivation is lacking. If you’re a healthcare worker, you will have faced your fair share of challenges over the past two years, from COVID-19 to natural disasters like floods and fires, on top of a hectic everyday schedule. It’s unsurprising if your motivation may have hit a slump, and perhaps you’re even feeling the effects of burnout. We've explored five tips below if you need a little kickstart to find your motivation.

1. Stop caring about things that don’t matter or that aren’t your responsibility

Healthcare workers are typically empathic people who have a passion for helping others. While compassion and consideration are positive things, particularly in a healthcare role, it’s also important to ensure you’re not taking on additional responsibility or stress that’s unnecessary and not recognised.

In reality, there is a limit to what you can do and what you can achieve, so it’s essential to be mindful of your responsibilities while also drawing boundaries and putting yourself first when you need to.

If you’re struggling with an aspect of work, make sure you discuss this with a senior team member for additional support before you languish and become demotivated and uninspired by work in general.

2. Celebrate the wins – even the little ones!

We’re often hardwired to focus on challenges or issues that we might be facing, but it’s also important to celebrate and acknowledge wins – both yours and your teammates, wherever possible.

Acknowledging the good things, regardless of how big or small they are, will help to encourage you to find your motivation and create a sense of positivity, meaning you are much more likely to enjoy your work.

Additionally, if you’re able to support and highlight your colleague's wins, you are helping to create and contribute to an overall positive work culture that can have numerous positive impacts across the board.

3. Take a break

When things feel overwhelming, and you’re struggling to find your motivation, it might be time to consider taking a break.

In some instances, a break might be something as simple as taking a day or two off. At other times, you may need to consider taking more sufficient time off, like a few weeks or even months.

Depending on what state of mind you’re in, a change of scenery might be ideal. However, it’s worth considering whether a holiday adventure is what you really need. Too often, someone will feel tired and like they need a refresh, so they explore an exotic location which is nearly always an incredible experience. But it’s often a rush, and there is a genuine risk of feeling more tired afterwards than before you left. A successful adventure needs to be carefully planned, and ideally, there would be some time to rest on your return before returning to the daily grind of a health worker's schedule.

Alternatively, sometimes it’s nice to take some time off to rest and relax at home without the pressure of travelling. This might allow you to catch up on general life admin, spend time with friends and family or even just binge Netflix or read a book at your own pace. Take the kind of break that will help you find your motivation again.

4. Fuel your body and mind

Think about your body and mind as a car. If you don’t have enough fuel in the tank, you won’t be able to get to your next destination. To perform your best at work, you need to have sufficient ‘fuel’ to keep your body on the go.

When we’re feeling a little flat and lacking motivation, we’re more likely to reach for unhealthy treats that provide an instant hit, like chocolate or hot chips, and while these treats aren’t in the ‘no go’ zone, they should be considered an occasional food. They don’t provide long-term sustenance and can assist in causing a ‘crash’ that can further impact your motivation.

Prepping a healthy meal or snacks can help you get the right kind of fuel into your body, ensuring you stay on track and keep motivated. If you are struggling or lacking motivation to food prep, there are other options like frozen meals, which surprisingly can include a lot of nutrition. These include prepacked foods like YouFoodz or Soulara and even salads from the supermarket. While these options may be more nutritious than a fried snack like hot chips, it’s worth considering the product packaging and the long-term impacts on the environment if this is something you plan on regularly doing.

There are also plenty of healthy snacks which take little to no preparation and have minimal packaging. For example, a piece of fruit.

5. Speak up and break the boredom!

Feeling a bit stuck in the mundane at work? It’s time to break the boredom and find motivation by speaking with your direct report.

Sometimes, a new challenge, technique, or skillset can completely invigorate our feeling towards work, so explain how you’re feeling and address what other additional roles or opportunities you might like to explore. Often, a leader will welcome these conversations as, ideally, they likely want to see their team members perform well and enjoy their work, and if that includes stepping up, that’s a bonus!

More than a lack of motivation?

While it’s not uncommon to feel unmotivated at times, that doesn’t mean it’s something you want to experience long term. Experiencing a lack of motivation can be closely linked to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, so it’s important to consider if what you’re feeling is likely to linger and cause long term challenges. If you’re at all concerned that what you might be feeling might be something a bit more sinister, it’s worth speaking with a professional like Beyond Blue. They can provide information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.

If you’ve struggled to find your motivation, we hope that some of these tips have made a difference and potentially found your work ‘mojo’ again. While routine can be beneficial, it doesn’t mean that it’s not a good idea to change things up from time to time. Sometimes stepping away for a break, speaking with another person or even just making minor changes to the way you do something can have a significant impact on helping you to feel motivated again.