How to Remain Motivated to Be Productive After Work

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When you get home from work or turn your computer off for the day, what’s the first thing you do? For many of us, it might be collapsing on the couch, watching TV, or scrolling mindlessly on social media. 

While there’s nothing wrong with relaxing, it might get in the way of doing activities that will nourish your mind and body. 

Do you have a hobby you love but haven’t touched in a while? Or maybe some clutter in your house that you put off cleaning? If you want to make the most of your evenings, here’s how to remain motivated to be productive after work. 

The Health Benefits of Productivity

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Sometimes, your body and brain need to rest. However, you can reap surprising health benefits by remaining productive after work and creating the life of your dreams.

1. Replace Unhealthy Behaviors

Your post-work productivity might take the form of intensive therapeutic healing if you’ve endured trauma and want to guide your mind and nervous system back to a healthier way of thinking and responding. It could entail attending support group meetings or counseling sessions, or spending some heavy-duty time in healing meditation.

For others, the practice of replacing a bad habit with a positive one gives them the motivation they need. For example, you might take up hiking if you’re trying to quit smoking – the risk of forest fires makes it far too risky to light up on the trail. However, you’ll be too busy testing your lung capacity by scrambling up steep slopes to pay attention to your cravings.

2. Ease Anxiety and Depression

Do you have anxiety about running out of time to achieve your dreams? Try this to ease your anxiety: Do one thing toward a life goal each day. Set SMART goals – which are actionable, manageable, specific, prioritized and empirical – that you can work on every night. 

For example, if you want to read more, set a specific, numerical goal. It could be reading for 20 minutes or hitting 15 pages a day. The specificity will help you track your progress. 

It doesn’t matter how small your efforts are – 15 minutes of positive work toward a goal is more than you accomplished yesterday. Celebrate your efforts with a mental pat on the back. You’ll enjoy a mild endorphin rush, which should be enough to inspire you to continue your actions tomorrow.

3. Develop Agency

What is agency? It’s the deeply held belief that your actions can make a positive difference in your world. Without it, you feel like a helpless victim of circumstance adrift on life’s currents instead of swimming toward shore.

When you’re stuck in a set work schedule every day, it can be hard to feel in control of your life. However, your actions outside of work can help you regain agency. Indulging in your passions can help you create a lucrative side hustle and mastering a new skill can restore your faith in your abilities.

4. Improve Your Physical Health

Even if getting in shape isn’t your post-work productivity goal, you could reap impressive health benefits through your activities.

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking.” While the health risks aren’t equivalent, sitting or laying down too long increases your chances of chronic disease and mental health issues. Even quiet hobbies like crocheting occupy your hands and keep you from mindless snacking in front of the TV.

6 Ways to Remain Motivated to Be Productive After Work

How can you remain motivated to be productive after work? Try these tips.

1. Treat It as Self-Care

Mindset is key to remaining motivated to stay productive after work. Remember, you’re doing what you must to enrich your life. Therefore, you should look forward to what you do.

Adjust your mindset by reminding yourself you’re choosing to put yourself first. Even if you decide to build a business, you aren’t doing it to enrich somebody else. You’re doing it to create the life of your dreams. You should look forward to the opportunity to indulge your passions. If you don’t, mindfully explore whether you need healthy rest before hitting it hard again tomorrow.

2. Pencil It In

Do you make weekly and daily to-do lists for work? Why stop at the office? Your passions deserve as much space in your agenda as your client meetings and appointments.

When you sit down to create your weekly schedule on Sunday evening, pencil in the things you want to do for your self-enrichment. Your Tough Mudder race training or new meditation practice should get cherry spots.

3. Take It Slow

Many people’s workday frustrations stem from having too much to do in too short a time. Your passion projects aren’t about a mad race to the finish line. They’re about mindfully exploring each step of your self-development journey.

Therefore, go slow, work at your own pace, and allow breaks when needed. However, don’t let your rest devolve into excuses. It’s one thing to take a night off for an indulgent bubble bath, a bit of reading, and an early bedtime when you’re exhausted – it’s quite another to settle into your couch with a bag of chips night after night.

4. Find an Accountability Partner

Humans are social creatures who do nearly everything better when giving an “attaboy” now and then. Plus, evidence suggests that people who work out with a partner stick to their program, and the same rule applies to any endeavor.

Your accountability partner can be your spouse, a friend with whom you hit the gym, or a business partner. Schedule periodic check-ins if you don’t see each other daily to discuss your progress toward your goals.

5. Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Some people also thrive on competition, including competing against themselves. It’s also motivating to envision the goal you hope to achieve on dark days.

If you’re trying to build a business, why not hang a picture of a dream vacation you hope to take once you start turning a profit? Do you want to shed a few pounds? Some people suggest writing motivational messages to yourself on sticky notes and placing them on your refrigerator door or pantry.

6. Do It for Love

If everyone understood this secret, the world would quickly become a much better place. Threats are lousy motivators. Yes, you can force compliance by threatening dire alternatives – “make more money or go homeless,” or “lose those excess pounds or risk health issues” – but it makes the necessary work feel like drudgery.

You aren’t doing something because you want to anymore, but because you have to, which makes post-work productivity feel like more of an endless grind.

The best motivational force is love. When you do something because it stirs your passions or makes you feel good, you engage in what it is to be truly human. You feel fully alive and like you were born for a purpose.

That’s why the ultimate secret to remaining motivated to be more productive after work is choosing activities that are meaningful to you. When you love what you do and believe in your vision, the effort it takes becomes secondary.

How to Remain Motivated to Be Productive After Work

Collapsing on the couch after work every day can leave you feeling hollow and downright unhealthy. However, it can be tough to get productive when you feel exhausted after long, draining hours at the office.

Try the tips above to remain motivated to be productive after work. With a little passion and innovation, you can create the rich and meaningful life you deserve.