We’re smack bang in the middle of Q4! I know. I’m also wondering how we got here.
But we’re here none-the-less. And we often know we’re in Q4 because we’re feeling less than stellar. Too often we enter into this last quarter tired, stressed out, and demotivated. Wondering how we’re going to make it to the end of the year. Let alone “finish strong”, hitting all our end-of-year goals.
And if you’re here, reading this post, you’re probably feeling a little (or a lot!) of that “end-of-year” slump. We get it.
But slumps get you nowhere…expect perhaps in more of a slump. Which is not where any of us want to be!
So how do we motivate ourselves to keep going for the final stretch? But more importantly, how can we feel rejuvenated and energized so that we actually enjoy said final stretch?
Is that even possible?
Yes! It certainly is! And we’re going to show you how!
Because today we’re sharing the 12 ways we keep motivated so that we’re able to finish the year strong and hit our Q4 goals!
Related read: Top Podcasts To Keep You Motivated
1. Assess Where You’re At
As with any problem or difficulty you’re facing, before you can “fix it” you have to be honest about the fact that there is a problem in the first place.
So, the first step for getting you and your team out of the year-end slump is first recognizing that you’re in a slump! You can’t expect to change something without first owning up to the fact that you’re experiencing something counter to what you should be or are expected to or even want to feel.
And that’s okay! Assess where you and your team are at. Be honest about how you’re feeling. Because then you’ll be able to put strategies into motion to help you and your team finish the final quarter strong.
2. Identify The Hindrances
Step 1: Recognize that you and your team need a little assistance. Step 2? Identify the factors contributing to your lack of motivation. Once you’ve recognized that you’re lacking in motivation and are in a bit of a slump, your next move is to try and identify you and your team’s biggest hurdles you’re currently facing, either individually or collectively.
It may be a time issue. You feel like you have so much to do and so little time to do it in. You may be burnt out. Or it may be that you feel like, as a team, you’ve lost your focus. Whatever the cause of your slump and lack of motivation, once you identify the culprits, it’s much easier to find a workable plan to conquer them.
3. Think of the End Game
Sometimes, all you need to help you keep going is to remember what’s waiting for you at the end.
Keeping the end goal in mind can be a great motivator to help you and team keep your head back in the game and finish the year off strong!
We find it really beneficial to have a mini team-building activity where we share what we’re looking forward to most come the end of the year.
Stick these up on a vision board, and remind your teammates of the ‘prize’ they’re working toward. It’s a fun, easy way to keep motivation sky high! And it can also create a sense of camaraderie for that end of year push.
4. Re-look at Your End-of-Year Goals
Goal setting? Surely that’s not an activity for November! But it is! Particularly if the type of goals you’re setting are end-of-year goals! If you still have things you want to achieve before the end of the year, then you need to have a plan!
Take some time with your team to write down all you still hope to accomplish before you sign off for the year. Look back at your year planning. What did you aim to achieve before the Holiday Season begins? Then help each other put steps into place to ensure that these get done, and get done well.
You can also look at the long term goals you’ve set as a team. Evaluate how these are going. What can you still do this year to help you achieve them?
Focus on what you can achieve, migrate what is simply not possible for this year, then give those goals you can still tick off your full attention. You’ll help give a sense of security and support to your team as you are all on the same page as to what still needs to be done this year.
5. Reflect On Your Achievements
Want to know a secret to keeping your team motivated? Reflect on and celebrate your achievements throughout the year!
As a team, spend some time reliving the year’s wins. You had so many! Well done! (Doesn’t that feel great to hear?!) Just remembering all the highlights of the year can do wonders for your serotonin levels!
Let your team know you’re proud of their accomplishments and that you value and appreciate their input and hard work over the year. And just watch the atmosphere change! They’ll be encouraged and it will give them that extra motivation you need to keep working together to achieve the goals for the rest of the year.
6. Spring Clean Your Workspace
The Northern Hemisphere may be heading for Winter, but a little Spring Cleaning can still work wonders! If you’re feeling like you and your team have little to no motivation to see your tasks through, and if you feel like everything in this last quarter has lost its sparkle, try giving your workspace a clean out and a little refresh.
Reduce the clutter, change up the space a bit, or buy a new plant or two. There’s nothing like an inviting, clean, happy workspace to help you feel motivated to keep doing all that needs to be done.
7. Change Your Routine
Another way you can help boost your team’s motivation levels and help improve their productivity is by changing up routines.
They say change is as good as a rest. So capitalize on that by changing up your routine and getting it feeling fresh and new.
Simply changing things up can be a great energy boost to help see the year out strong. This, by no means, has to be too drastic a change. You’re not looking to form a new habit or completely overhaul your team’s routine. You’re just looking for some small changes you can make to energize you and to help you keep moving forward.
You could simply just re-shuffle some of your daily activities to better suit the season. Or you could even consider a hybrid work set-up where you balance office days with some work-from-home days.
These changes can breathe new life into you and your team and can help give your energy levels that much-needed boost.
8. Prioritize Rest
Whenever we’re trying to “catch up” one of the first things to take a hit are our sleeping hours. We burn the midnight oil, put things off to ‘do later’ and consequently, we start losing out on that much needed rest.
If your team is in this phase, one way to counteract the lack of motivation is to prioritize rest.
The power of good sleep each night should not be underestimated!
Respect each other’s nighttime routine by implementing a “no work messages” policy after a certain time each evening. This can help cultivate a culture that puts value on rest. You could even make a collective decision to all get a certain number of hours of sleep each night. And hold each other accountable to that!
Soon, you’ll have a well-rested team, who come to work invigorated for the tasks ahead.
9. Take Your Breaks
Fun fact! A short break is a top way to reset your motivation. Yes, it sounds counter-productive, but actually taking little breaks in between all that you need to do can be a really effective way to keep you going strong.
Especially at the end of the year, when we’re all pushing to reach targets and hit our goals, breaks are often one of the first things to go. The culture becomes one of “no one takes breaks this time of year” and everyone tends to follow suit, not wanting to look like the one that’s going to let the side down!
But taking breaks is not only a good idea! They are actually a great way to help keep your team motivated, energized, and focused! So cultivate a culture of “we take our breaks” within your team, and you’ll have on your hands a happy team who are able to consistently stay at the top of their game.
Related read: The Importance of Taking Breaks
10. Beat the Burnout
When you’re pushing to finish all your tasks and projects, and all those little things that creep up at the end of the year, it’s easy to hit burnout. Burnout happens when we’re working so hard and for so long, under stressful conditions, that we lose sight of why we wanted to complete the task in the first place.
We lose the joy we usually feel for our jobs. And you’ll feel this in your team. The motivation and enthusiasm dries up. There’s tension in the air, and your once fun-filled work environment becomes hostile and unmotivated.
You can beat the burnout by preventing it in the first place. Be aware of the signs in you and your team. And then use the rest of the strategies on this list to help you beat the burnout.
11. Prioritize Exercise
I’ve quoted the great Elle Woods before, and I’ll do it again (and probably again)…when I share that, “Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy.” And happy people have much higher levels of motivation than those whose endorphins are in short supply.
Like our sleep, we sometimes put exercising on the back burner when we’re in the thick of it, trying to hit deadlines, especially as the end of the year looms on the horizon. Whether consciously or unconsciously, “I don’t have the time to exercise,” becomes our refrain.
But in reality, the 30 minutes you take out of your day to get your blood pumping and your sweat glands secreting (that sounded better in my head, but you get where I’m coming from) will be time well spent when you and your team are cruising to the finish line, rather than scrambling to get everything done.
Our advice? Build a 30 minute yoga session, dance class, or HIIT workout, into the daily schedule and you’ll all experience a big boost in your mood and your motivation!
12. Encourage Self-Care
Before you roll your eyes at the mere mention of “self-care”, hear us out! Yes, it’s become a buzzword of late, and yes, there are those who use it as a way to slack off or pass the buck. But in reality, all “self-care” really is, is just making the time to take stock of our mental health, and implementing the techniques that help us keep focused, motivated, and happy.
Nothing to roll the eyes at there!
And more than that, self-care is actually really beneficial for helping us feel motivated, as motivation levels are often one of the first things to suffer when we neglect our mental health.
So make time for self-care, and you are likely to find that your team will feel like they have more time to do all they need to do.
Even during the mad rush that Q4 tends to be, schedule in activities that help you and your team recharge, debrief, or just slow down a bit. This doesn’t have to be overly long or overly complicated. Dedicated 10 minute time slots to meditate, or to just sit quietly and reflect on how you’re all feeling internally can go a long way to cultivating a climate of energy, motivation, and general happiness and well-being within your team.
Closing Thoughts
An end-of-year slump is no fun. We’ve all had another crazy year. And it’s totally normal and totally okay to feel unmotivated, discouraged, and maybe even a little depressed as Q4 rolls around.
But this doesn’t have to be your norm! You and your team can finish the year strong and hit all those Q4 goals! And hit them out of the park! It’s just a matter of boosting those motivation levels and helping you and your team to feel energized and rejuvenated. Yes, even in November!
So give our 12 strategies a try, and let’s finish the year off strong!
Are you looking to help keep your team motivated? Which strategies are you going to try?
