These are 10 ways to 'keep the fire' when losing CEO motivation

Two pm. Because I had a full lunch with lots of favorite dishes so far, your mind started showing signs of liking "stability", not wanting to work, sluggish body, lack of energy and only want to lie down. You know there is still a lot of work to be done, but a voice in your head always urges you to "keep on slowly".

We all experience at least once this feeling, no matter what job you do, what job, where you are, an employee or a leader. However, the way people will react in those situations will make a difference.

Many people let the habit delay and overwhelm and eventually they end the day with a lot of unfinished work. Meanwhile, others find ways to motivate themselves to regain the spirit of work.

According to a series of scientific studies, the separation between these two groups of people is not in some unchangeable personality traits, but in habits: flexible habits.

To learn more about this mechanism, Michae Simmons - Empact's co-founder interviewed many successful entrepreneurs and leaders at corporations in many countries around the world. The list includes former CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, USA Network founder and Syfy channel, founder 1-800-GOT-JUNK and those who created companies worth millions of dollars. .

Here are 10 ways to motivate yourself that they often apply.

1. Optimize the leverage impact of the chameleon effect

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Brain Scudamore - founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK (a famous garbage collection company) shared that every time he lost his concentration, he often found an empty table in the office and sat next to a person The staff I don't know clearly is working hard. This method helps him regain working spirit by the following 3 reasons:

1. Imitating the focus of others: The chamelon effect has been carefully studied to show that we often imitate unconsciously postures, gestures, facial expressions and other behaviors of people around us.
2. Make me want to be a good example: We tend to please people who we don't know better than our loved ones. As a leader of an organization, I feel I have to concentrate more when sitting next to that "strange" employee.
3. Changing daily habits: According to Wendy Wood and James B.Duke - psychology and neuroscience professors, "many people repeat behaviors due to the influence of the familiar environment." So changing your seat will change your behavior.

Even if the company does not have many employees, you can still find someone suitable to sit next to the co-working spaces or cafes.

2. Find a companion

Unlike Brian, Aaron Steed - Meathead Movers CEO likes to interact directly with people.

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Steed has a great belief in the idea that raising one's image in the eyes of others is a core part of human nature. Therefore, he considered it a constant motivation and connected it to the important things that he wanted to do through finding companions with the same mindset.

For example, Steed found himself in the habit of nail biting every time he had a problem, so much so that he had to hide his hands under the table during the meeting.

One day, Steed suddenly discovered that his manicurist had a similar habit, and he came up with the idea: "What if we both don't bite our nails?" Then, Steed made the following agreement:

If I bite my fingernails, I will pay you twice to the nail lane.

If you bite your nails, I get free manicure.

If both win or lose, the price will be the same as always.

Both are committed to complying with these three rules and three months later, Steed proved to be a "never breaking the law" when he did not have to pay for manicure.

Try to find someone who has the same situation as you and motivate each other to overcome difficulties. Becoming a reliable and responsible partner is an interesting way to help you regain your motivation to work quickly.

3. Plan work that you know you will delay

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This is the method that Rohit Anabheri - the founder of Circa Ventures applied every time he did not want to work."I can list what I will postpone before this happens. We can all do it."

Feeling resistance whenever you think about future tasks is a very important indicator. At such times, instead of waiting, Rohit will immediately act and create a very detailed plan , which states:

Decide what to do?

Instead of writing "working XYX" , I often write "work XYZ for 1 hour" or "finish ABC". You need to determine when it will end.

When and where?

Instead of hoping that there will be enough time, Rohit often creates time by clearly defining the time of execution and ending each job. Then mark them on the calendar.

This type of planning is known as "if - then" in academic circles. After reevaluating 94 studies on it, researcher Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran found that the "if - then" plan could dramatically increase the success rate.

"I also often use StickK to manage my established plans." StickK was developed by economists Dean Karlan and Ayres from Yale University, indicating that the level of pursuit will be doubled if each person finds a trustworthy companion. depend on and determine a desired result.

4. Rediscover the original inspiration

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Doug Conant - former CEO of Campbell Soup (Fortune 500) and founder and CEO of Conant Leaership said, "When I feel resistance, I stop completely doing what I do in 5 minutes to connect. again with your purpose by visualizing things that inspire me the most ".

His goal is to build the world's leading organizations in spite of all criticism and turbulence in the marketplace. Thanks to that, "I have a development towards my personal and very unique, partly because I always answer the following questions:

1. Why do you want to be a leader?
2. Who inspires you the most?
3. What qualities do you admire most?
4. Why is your dedication to work more valuable than all other qualities?
5. Why is it worthwhile to face the challenges that come with the commitment to overcome? "

Many studies show that having a goal will help you feel happier in your work, leading to work more effectively. If you do something you like, you will always be energized even when facing difficulties. This is often a sign of a great leader among other mediocre people.

5. Be like Steve Jobs. Spend time thinking in a place that inspires creativity

Ryan Simonetti - Convene co-founder said "every week, I usually spend 90 minutes privately to think about business plans, live and look at things that I don't really want to do."

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In particular, holding individual meetings with each member of the team is a great way to train leadership. For example, the weekly firm, Simonetti, often talks privately with the top leaders in his company of 150 employees. This habit is very necessary and very meaningful.

In the same way that Steve Jobs held many meetings while walking to help employees inspire creativity, Simonetti also chose a familiar place outside the company to stimulate concentration and spark ideas. new, such as the bar counter of Smyth Hotel in New York City."This space is very impressive and really helps my mind to be quiet."

Each time, he often asked himself two questions:

To achieve personal goals (or companies), what is the most important thing I have to do this week?

Why is it important?

Once he found a convincing answer to the two questions, he always felt excited and ready for the new work week.

6. Walk 15 minutes a day to clear your mind

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Sevetri Wilson - CEO of Solid Ground Innovations usually spends 15 minutes a day walking to clear his mind. According to her, this habit is very beneficial because:

1. Find out more deeply the "why" question?
2. Think about goals with a larger perspective.
3. Focus on important but not urgent issues.

Contrary to what many people still believe, mental fatigue is not necessarily due to the stagnation of a part of the brain that focuses on thinking, but actually because the part of the brain is "paralyzed" by the triggers. noise. Research shows that walking, especially in places close to nature, will help the brain become flexible, eliminate distractions, thereby contributing to the mind's relaxation.

7. Exercise before making difficult decisions

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Kay Koplovitz, the founder of USA Network and Syfy, said that when faced with a difficult choice, she often spent 30 minutes going to the gym to increase her heart rate and regain energy. This habit is especially effective when you face problems that require absolute alertness.

A 2006 study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology affirmed that the appropriate exercise regime has a very positive positive impact on willpower.

8. Create your own core values

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Cameron Herold - author of Double Double, coach for world-famous CEOs and speakers, believes that the most important key to improving productivity is to build your own core values ​​by Imagine yourself as the person you want to be.

Once you have identified part of your identity and shared it with others, you will be motivated to take actions that are linked and reinforce your "I".

To solidify your own identity like the person you desire to be, according to Herold, there are two ways to do it:

1. Promote your core values ​​in front of people: By informing others of the importance of pursuing to the end, you will have to try your best to complete it.
2. Complete all the commitments you have made: Stanford University researcher BJ Fogg shows that every action you take contributes to your identity. He also pointed out that even small actions can create huge impacts.

Success comes from the start of your commitments. However, you cannot act if you do not make commitments for yourself and others.

9. Think about the worst situation

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Benji Rabhan, the founder and CEO of AppointmentCore, says that every time he has to do something that is uninteresting or energy-intensive, he usually spends 2 to 5 minutes answering the following questions:

1. How will this task fit into the larger goal?
2. How does it affect people, related jobs and customers?
3. How does this mission serve my bold plans?
4. In the worst case scenario, if nothing is done (for "special" special tasks), what happens? For example, making companies lose money, offices lose key members or lose customers .

Specifically, this process will create strong benefits in two directions:

I act: The benefit of completing the job and the disadvantage of not completing it will mean much more than any form of coercion that forces me to do it.

I can entrust work more easily: I can explain convincingly why that job is so important in helping my team avoid the factors that drive away work motivation.

10. Prioritize solving complex tasks first

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Jason Duff - COMSTOR Outdoor's founder and CEO, says he often spends the first hour of the day dealing with the most time-consuming tasks. This approach is in stark contrast to popular time management approaches. However, the Duff, he does this every morning because this is the time when willpower will be highest in the day.

"For each mission, I force myself to choose, either leave it, finish it or hand it over to others," Jason said. After completing energy-intensive tasks, he moved on to more important tasks.

In fact, Duff's secret is the Zeiganrnik effect. Specifically, when our minds receive too much information, it is also the ability of the brain to be less flexible. By choosing to solve the most complex tasks, Jason thinks he will have time to accomplish more important goals during the day.