A practical guide to staying motivated in the last week of work

It’s the last week of work. You’ve been working hard all year, and are struggling to find the motivation or energy to power through to the end. The countdown is on, the sun is out and the festive season is in full swing. How is anyone meant to be productive during this period?

It’s a new day and you jump out of bed ready to take on your tasks with gusto. But after just a few hours in the office, your energy starts to take a major dive bringing your motivation down with it. Sound familiar?

Burnout is increasing at a terrifying rate. Not only is it a detriment to your work performance, but also your health and life in general. But are you burnt out or just tired?

There’s a huge range of signs and symptoms of burnout, including loss of interest, decline in productivity, physical exhaustion, getting stressed out easily or your stress levels are getting worse, or you might even get to the point where you can’t get stressed out at all.

We’ve all been there. Sitting at our desks wondering how we’re going to get through all our work with the little-to-no motivation or energy that we have. How did doing our job become so hard? Well, it doesn’t have to be! You can increase your productivity in the office – it isn’t as difficult as it sounds.

The word ‘stress’ has such a negative connotation and we do everything we can to avoid it – meditate, exercise, sleep – but very few people realise that we actually need a certain amount of stress to perform in our day-to-day life. Essentially, it’s what drives and motivates us to do what we need to do. It’s not about ridding of stress, but about identifying the difference between ‘good’ stress and ‘bad’ stress.

Here’s how to tune into your body, and be productive at the best time for you.

Early bird or night owl? It’s the age-old question, with the common perception that early birds, or morning people, are more productive and therefore more successful. But contrary to popular belief, not all high performers wake with the sun.