Education & Work How to refocus at work

This can be used by anyone at various points in life...stressed at work, family etc...

What are some good approaches/tips to get focus and hunger , that drive back, especially at work?

Serious responses please, no kama sutra type responses

 

Over the years we have lost focus/drive a number of times, once quite seriously and we needed to go back over our dreams and goals to remind ourselves why we are doing what we are going. We took short breaks to clear our heads and visualise our dreams and do a little bit of it on smaller scales to remind us viscerally of how it will feel to achieve our plans. That always seemed to energise us again. Also hormones can play a huge part in how we feel on any given day as well as stress. We realise now that at those times we were under extreme amounts of stress and pressure which can play tricks on the mind. For us it all came back to our dreams and we never gave up hope that just keep pushing on week after week and we'll get there.

After we went though this loop a few times we realised that it really does work, how we handled it so when we felt the same way again we actually knew it would be fine if we just did x, y and z again to refocus and get back on track.

 

@JDP1 do you mean what do you do if work feels like its draining your life away? How do you get through another day by pretending it has meaning and taking you away from your family for a good reason?
I'd also like to know..for research purposes, right?

 

As in day job type work?
I remind myself it brings in the resources (read:money) I need to do what I want to do.
Getting a holiday helps to break the thought patterns.
If I'm stressed about particular thing at work, I asked my self "why exactly is this important?" And "will it matter 5 years from now"

The motivation part, well, tell me when you have good tips

 

You really need to find out why you have lot focus in the first place. One author posits that there is no such thing as a miserable job, but job misery is universal. What the author means by this is that because someone is miserable in their job doesn't mean it is a bad job.

Lencioni identifies the three signs of job misery as anonymity, irrelevance and "immeasurement."

• Anonymity: Employees feel anonymous when their manager has little interest in them as people with unique lives, aspirations and interests.
  
• Irrelevance: This condition occurs when workers cannot see how their job makes a difference. "Every employee needs to know that the work they do impacts someone's life -- a customer, a coworker, even a supervisor -- in one way or another," Lencioni says.
  
• Immeasurement: This term describes the inability of employees to assess for themselves their contributions or success. As a result, they often rely on the opinions of others -- usually the manager -- to measure their success.

Do you feel frustrated and demoralized at work? Here are three indications of a miserable job -- and three remedies to improve your job satisfaction.

I think that what people really want from a job is:

purpose:- to feel that they are making a contribution to the organisation

autonomy:- to have some level of control over how they organise and do their work

recognition:- to feel appreciated for what they have done

People who don't have any purpose will wonder why they are there.

People who are constantly micro-managed and have no control over their work will feel harassed.

People who are not recognised in any way for their contributions will feel like they are not valued. Recognition doesn't have to be a grand gesture either. Mostly a simple thank you is sufficient although more formal recognition is sometimes appropriate.

http://www.harvestperformance.ca/motivation-3-0-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-by-chris-taylor/

The question is, why have you lost focus? What aspects of the above aren't working in your current situation?

 

What works for me when I get stuck in a little rut or similar is simply to deliberately adjust my attitude, usually the night before the next day, and continue with deliberate positive affirmations the next morning.
It's difficult to keep a positive and energized attitude 100% of the time, so when it strays a little, deliberate focus on recapturing the confident and positive attitude works every time.
Stay away from negative people, they are poison.

 

+1.

Mix with that crew and it's game over.

 

I don't know...I have everything above. And the salary too probably because I'm on a really tough grinding project with plenty if messiness and very tough personalities yo work with. Makes it much more difficult than it needs to be. really takes all energy and requires strong commitment day in day out...

Probably just need a vacation...

 

This is not possible all the time. I work with some that are not team players and are very prickly and sometimes hostile. I try and avoid these guys but cannot as they play an important role in the project.

 

Consider getting some professional workplace coaching - as part of your professional development.

 

Yeah possibly. Dunno if will make much difference but maybe worth a shot.
This maybe more professional mentoring I would think.

 

Hear, hear! I remember years ago setting up s new project. I got to do all the business process engineering, templating and staff training. It was great! I was really productive, energised and motivated. 4 years later on the same project and I was bored, stale and burned out. But I stuck it out until the project was over then got moved onto something new. It was pretty hard going for a long time though.

 

Look at securing alternative work?
I've got:
* Work I love - I get good satisfaction from doing it
* Great coworkers
* Great boss - easy to talk to and gives guidance as necessary
* Easy commute
* Decent pay
* Good hours
* Great work environment

This all makes a huge difference. I like going to work.

 

I think its just the project i am on currently. I guess i should be happy that they picked me for one of the most important projects in the department- one thats failed in the past and people have quit...Im realising why that was the case

 

I struggle with this a lot too. I'm finding myself increasingly jaded with it all as I get older, in the long term I suspect I'm going to shift to straight up contracting. I know I could make more money playing the game, but a "FU, pay me" mercenary attitude to rock up, do a job with a finite time span, ignore all the corporate kool-aid BS and go do a different project somewhere else in 12-24 months is just too appealing right now.

The main things I do is try to brainstorm what I'm actually here for... As in what am I getting paid to deliver, then I try to come up with 2-3 tasks each morning to move the needle on that overall goal.

I've accepted I'm not a super hard worker who can grind out 12 hour days 7 days a week, but by making a daily concerted effort to move the needle just a little bit, I've still been in the top few percent of performers at pretty much every job I've ever had that provides autonomy. Its astounding how small the work output of so many white collar workers is... Especially in Government.

 

are you trying to refocus on your actual job? or your life?

 

I think training (exercise) is always good as well as a good holiday to recharge the mind and body.

I'm in the tail end of finishing off my latest degree and planning to leave my current role on a high. I've delivered everything that was asked of me, survived a couple of restructures, learned new knowledge and skills in an area which I've had little knowledge in previously, reached my glass ceiling and etc. Might as well move on to refresh myself with a new challenge and a higher salary.

 

How did you go? Did anything improve?

 

Much better now...had to do some spring cleaning. Introduce some structure and clarity and with help from others we are better placed. There is clarity and focus that the project didn't have before.