February 28, 2023, by Leah Sharpe

Spark up your motivation with magpie!

By Hannah Woolley, Careers and Employability Consultant

Has your get up and go got up and gone? Perhaps you’re job hunting, you’ve had a few setbacks and progress has slowed? Or, maybe you’re doing a placement or internship, things have been pretty full on, and your energy has taken a dip? Whatever your situation, if you’re feeling a bit flat, don’t panic.

Securing a job or being at work often requires a huge amount of energy and sometimes it can be hard to maintain your momentum. Perhaps it’s time to pause, reflect, and recuperate. And then, once you’re ready, maybe try out some of these helpful motivation boosting hacks. 

This playlist explores what motivation is all about and offers some practical strategies to get you back on your A game. We found these resources using magpie! If you want to explore more personal and professional development resources on all sorts of career related topics, you can log in too.

1. Want to get things done? Stop thinking, start doing (The Guardian; Article; 3 minute read). 

This article encourages us to avoid running up an ‘idea debt’, or, put another way, spending too much time mulling something over rather than doing anything to make stuff happen. Whether it’s baby steps or big action, this article suggests we simply get on.

2. The psychology of motivation and procrastination (BBC; Podcast; 28 minute listen)

This podcast unpacks motivation and debunks the myth that procrastination is just about poor time management, before delving deeper to explore how emotions and mood play a part and what we can do to manage them.

3. How to Motivate Yourself When You Don’t Have a Deadline (Harvard Business Review; Article; 4 minute read)

If you suffer from ‘last minute-ism’, this article identifies simple alternative strategies that will help you to make progress even when you’re not up against the clock.

4. Tools to help you with self-reflection (Agile Lean Life; Article; 20 minute read)

Take a moment to reflect with one of the 12 exercises this resource suggests. They will help you to take stock, work out what might be hindering your motivation, and think about what you’d like to do next to get back on track.

5. Six ways to exercise self-compassion (Stanford Social Innovation Review; Video; 1 minute watch)

When motivation dips, don’t beat yourself up. Be kind to yourself instead. In under a minute this video offers six reminders to help you reset and feel more positive.

6. Low on Motivation? Seven Psychological Hacks to Get Going (Medium; Article; 5 minute read)

Try one of these simple yet effective techniques to help you make progress when you seem to have hit a roadblock. Advice on how to take practical do-it-now actions, use thinking exercises, and tap into support from others. 

Find out more about this platform and how it can help you to access curated content to suit your needs. 

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