No motivation and fear at work

Phoenix_Rising

Hi there,

More stuff i need advice on!

I started a new job in April and i seem to have fallen into the same old rut of not working or letting work pile up. I honestly dont know why i do this. I arse around on the internet instead of doing my job and then i get completely paniced and stressed cos im behind at work. I think about it outside of work and it gives me a sick feeling in my stomach. I am terrified that i will lose my job but i just want seem to motivate myself.

In the past i thought that this was because of drink but i havent drank in over a year and im still the same. I have a lovely boss and interesting work but i just seem to be paralysed by fear or lack of motivation or something.

Any advice, apart from "get off your arse and do some work" ive tried that and it doesnt seem to work!

Karen_*

Well no one can stop you arseing around on the internet but I know when you get into a rut like that its hard to get out of it. Why not try alternating. Doss about for half an hour in the morning and then work for an hour and then take a little break. Kind of break the day up for yourself and start with little steps.

Or write down and the end of every day exactly what you need to do the following and tick them off a list. If you were getting better job satisfaction then it would get easier. Unfortunately you are the only one who can help you here but setting goals and giving yourself breaks and checking off completed jobs might help.

Illkillya

Write out your todo list, what you need to get done for this week, and what you need to get done for today.

Long time since I used Windows, but the next part goes something like this:

Edit c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts (if you're in Windows) and add a line like this for every site that you tend to visit too much out of habit:

127.0.0.1 boards.ie

Then in command prompt type 'ipconfig -flushdns'.

At the end of the day, or at lunch time, you can comment out those lines and catch up for 15 - 20mins.

It will make you feel better as you tick items off your to do list, knowing that you are not wasting time.

lemon_of_old

Hiya, I do that a lot too. I know I have loads to do, and when I get stuck in it's grand, but it's the thought of starting that's the problem. What I do is make a list of things I have to get done every day, and tick tick tick! Sometimes it works. To be honest the only way I get loads of work done is if I shut off the internet, turn off my phone, and just make myself do it. Having a deadline helps a lot. So I'd suggest just getting off the internet except for maybe at a certain time of the day, e.g. 10 minutes before or after lunch or something, make a list of tasks you need to get done, keep in touch with your superviser, cos if they know exactly what you're working on, chances are they'll keep asking if you have it finished yet:rolleyes:, and set certain times for "hard work time". Like if I get stuck into it at 8 in the morning as soon as I come in, chances are I'll get through a load in 2 hours. If I start messing about on the net, nothing gets done. Good luck!

Actually, this may sound really silly, but I've found that drinking lots of water helps. It's weird, but it makes me think better or something.

Dizzyblonde

As others have said, it's just a matter of being organised. Do x amount of work, then have a break and mess around on the net. It'll just take self-discipline at first but you'll soon get into a routine. A lot of what we do is habit, and you need to develop new habits.
Don't waste time feeling guilty, get to it

LegacyUser

Hi there! You ARE stuck in a rut aren't you! But don't worry, you won't be the first or last person to be in this situation.

Sounds like you may be in the wrong job/career and have no interest in what you are doing...not enough stimulation for you. I believe that if you enjoy your work, you will have an interest and pride in what you do. I was in a similar job rut, i wasn't at all happy but I decided to put my head down, get a good reference and follow what i had an interest in. I saw that job as a means to an end. It didn't define who i was and it provided me with money to have a fun social life - going to cinema, travel...whatever!

Your first step should be to start with your personal life today, have belief in yourself and get some confidence. Say to yourself "I am a fantastic person and i count in this world" Sit up straight and hold your head high!

Do something different. Spruce up? Look up a new hobbie/sport?? Exercise is fantastic. A healthy body really does endsure a healthy mind. And you will find that this will impact on your working life. You won't feel so apathetic or tired. Take vitamins. Eat healthy (very important)

If you are single, get motivated and try internet dating or ask someone out. Make your life fun cos it's short and it can be as fantastic as you want it to be!

Stay positive. Get up tomorrow morning with a positive attitude and a smile and start to burrow your way through that work load and you feel so much better. Ask for help from your collegues if need be and rise above your current gloom.

Once you are happy in your own person you can perhaps seek out what you want for your future and it will be a great one!

I hope this helps and doesn't sound too preachy but it might help! Good luck and take care!

von Neumann

I'm the same . This may make me sound crazy but ever morning I write a little list of stuff to do that day.... and it nearly always gets done.....don't ask me why this works....maybe try it for a week and see?

Eoin

Is it just at work where you get into this habit, or are you the same with other aspects of life as well? If it's the latter, then it's just a case of learning how to organise your day, so follow the good advice that's been mentioned above.

If it's just at work where this happens and you're generally quite well organised, then maybe you're not really in the right line of work as Oniontops suggested?

MsFifers

I find a really good thing to do is to set yourself impossible-to-break deadlines. ie Set up a meeting with someone so you have to have the work ready for it, or commit to giving a presentation, or tell your manager - I'll have that by 2.30 Wednesday.

Once you have publicly commited to something its harder to slack off.

The to-do lists are a good idea too. Sometimes when you are just thinking about all you have to do it gets overwhelming and then you have to run away from it. A list breaks it down to manageable chunks.

The only thing is to bribe yourself. OK I'll work on this for 15 mins then I'll go on Boards. Sometimes once you get started your'll find you can stick wiht it.

Good luck!

littlefriend

Hi, I think you posted recently about wanting to change your diet. Have you given that a go? The reason I ask is that when you are eating right and exercising the knock on effects are amazing..you start to lose weight, people start complimenting you on looking better which encourages you to keep going, then you start noticing a major increase in energy and once that happens you tend to fly through things and basically a lot of stuff that you were to weary to do before is finished before you know it.
Go over to the fitness forum and ask for some advice there on how to start. It IS hard to start and the first week or two will be a pain in the ass probably but then everything kind of clicks and you'll be flying. Come on girl, you've done so well you might as well enjoy every minute of your new life.