As with any role in our working career, there will be days which will be productive and easy to combat and other days will be difficult, where your energy levels will be running low or on empty. However, the secret to achieving success and turning up to work every day is determined by our levels of ‘Motivation’.
There is no denying it, motivation is a valuable and limited resource. As humans we must ultimately understand and determine our own drive for success, and our will to succeed. In the long-term, strong motivation will help an employee succeed with their personal growth, shape our characteristics, and position us for success in the future.
KEY TIPS FOR SUSTAINED MOTIVATION
Focus on the Present Moment
Never overwhelm yourself by thinking ahead to the future and how much work is ahead of you. Always focus your attention on the present moment, on what is going on right now. By putting all your energy into the present, and completing one task at a time you will not feel overwhelmed and stressed in the fast-paced and multi-tasked expectations of the hospitality industry. Ultimately, this will allow you to stay motivated, and complete more tasks during your shift. Some of the following tips will help you combat stress, and boost your motivation:
⦁ Break up your day – give yourself a variety of tasks during the day.
⦁ Focus on priority tasks – serve one customer at a time, and dedicate the required time to each customer.
⦁ Seek management help – if other team members are not busy, ask for assistance. It is better to ask for help early, than to pretend you know what to do.
⦁ Take mandatory meal breaks – a change of setting psychologically improves your ability over time and avoids burnout from stress, and you will come back to your role with a fresh mind.
Work on Self-Development
Always have a continual thirst for building knowledge and skills in different areas of your life. As the old saying goes “the more you learn, the more you earn”. The more you contribute to self-learning, the more you can grow both personally, and professionally. Having a good lifestyle balance will keep you motivated when different circumstances arise in your professional and personal lives, and these skills will enrich both areas of the self. There is also a positive correlation shown between people who are enrolled in self-development processes, and their success in achieving a sustained life and career growth. Some tips for self-development:
⦁ Complete all your mandatory qualifications – Diplomas or Tertiary studies.
⦁ Attend Networking Events – Food & Beverage expos and conventions.
⦁ Study and observe key characteristics of your supervisors at work – identify their strengths and weaknesses.
⦁ Engage in Self-Reflection – look at the way you work, how others operate, and seek out styles and ways of working to improve your own methods.
Developing Mentorship
Having an appetite for hard work and dedication goes a long way when measuring success, but you shouldn’t do it all alone. You can speed up your progression to success by having a strong relationship with a mentor. Being surrounded with a network of positive and like-minded mentors will have a significant benefit towards your motivational levels and greatly assist you as you strive for success.
Working in the hospitality industry will provide you with many opportunities to meet and learn from people all around the world. Never be afraid to speak to your fellow team members and seek guidance or advice as to how they progressed through their careers. Some key tips to sustaining a mentorship:
⦁ Seek advice and direction from your mentor during quieter periods at work.
⦁ Have a trustworthy personality and take pride in your work. This will show your mentor that you are serious about your work, ambitions, and career progression.
⦁ Establish a communication channel with your mentor – use your time wisely with them during social outings, networking or team events, and training.
Developing Relationships – Networking
Be open to meeting new people and taking the opportunities to develop long-lasting relationships at work. Networks or relationships will benefit you later in life in many ways, such as gaining career advice, keeping you motivated, new employment opportunities, or just staying positive when you are having a tough day at work. Some key tips to developing relationships or networks:
⦁ Work on your communicational skills – if English is not your first language, do not be afraid to practice with other people, and ask them to correct your English when you are incorrect.
⦁ Be polite and friendly to others – smile and greet your colleagues, take the time to really learn about the people you work with, and create a good working friendship.
⦁ Have a positive outlook on life – no one likes negative people, aim to be a positive and welcoming presence in other people’s lives.
Emotional Intelligence
You must not allow people to put you down at work and distract you from achieving your highest productivity output and ultimately, decrease your motivational levels. If a customer is being rude or disrespectful, do not allow their negative energy to affect your performance at work that day. If another colleague is acting in an inappropriate matter, please notify your Manager, and seek further guidance from them.
If an employee is able to manage their emotional intelligence, nobody will be able to distract you from working at your highest levels and giving your best. Some key tips for emotional control:
⦁ Never react to a situation based on your emotions – take a step back from the situation, gain a different perspective, and clear your head before doing anything.
⦁ Always remember team leaders or managers have bad days as well – if their tone is inappropriate towards you, please have a conversation with them in private regarding the situation.
⦁ Exercise or play a sport which will allow you to be patient and claimer. Other natural therapies include mediating, Yoga, or Pilates – these all help you to master your emotions and your response to tense situations.
Sleep and Nutrition – Silent Assassins
Always ascertain your sleeping habits and see what works for yourself personally. Every body and mind is different, and we all need different amounts of sleep to fully recover. Lack of sleep has been proven in medical studies to cause a lack of motivation in our daily lives, and has been linked to severe depression.
Our nutrition (along with water) intake is also very important, healthy meals rich in protein and slow release carbs help us to have daily energy and allows our body’s muscle fibres to repair and recover for the following day. Some key tips for a healthy sleep and good nutrition intake are:
⦁ Manage and determine your sleeping schedule – 6-8 hours is the recommended amount.
⦁ Whenever possible, try to have a power nap between daily double shifts.
⦁ Drink a lot of water – especially on hot days.
⦁ Take a daily multi-vitamin (i.e. please see a doctor if already on prescription drugs).
⦁ Eat fruits/veggies with high anti-oxidants and vitamin C – this includes most berries, and related fruits., and non-starchy carbohydrates.
Hobbies / Activities outside of work
Always have interests or hobbies outside of work. This will allow you to have a better work-life balance and allow your mind to switch off when you are not at work. Find a passion or hobby outside of work, such as going to the gym, riding a bike, rowing, motorbike riding, or just spending time with your loved ones. Making the time for activities external to work will help stimulate your mind with positive endorphins, and make you feel good.
Activities such as the ones mentioned above, and many others will keep you stimulated and allow you stay in a positive and motivated routine as you will have something to look forward to, which will not be work related. Finally, activities outside of work are a great way to help you manage stress and re-energise your body and mind for the working week ahead.
