I’ve had a few jobs where there were some really low points and I really just wasn’t sure if the things I did were counting for anything valuable. It’s tough to put in a lot of hard, dedicated time to a project or a task for a company and not really feeling like it makes a difference.
“And this is just from this morning! This job is crazy!”
This cuts down on motivation, confidence and self-esteem, and it’s not a place that anyone wants to be. If we can fix this up, pay attention to these four common characteristics of ineffectiveness, we can do something about turning them around and being an effective producer.
So let’s just go and focus on our good efforts and talk about these four common characteristics:
1) You Just Don’t Care About Learning
If you get to a point where you’re just robot-like through the entire day and not caring about any of the opportunities to learn about the stuff that’s going on, I think you found one of your hints.
When you reach that point of apathy in something as mind entertaining as learning new things, you’re definitely just going through the motions. Keeping your mind active and up to speed on the daily happenings at your work is tantamount to success and getting anywhere. If you’re not doing that then you won’t go anywhere. Look for it, stop it and then learn some more.
2) Not Willing To Try New Things
If there are new projects being posted on your company bulletin board or emails being sent out saying there are great new projects to work on and you just don’t care, well, you found another one.
If you’re not willing to try new things to build your experience, to put another bullet on your resume or to just get something new done, then you need to work on that driving side.
Notice when your willingness to try new things goes down and you’ll know to stop it and to at least try one or two new things every once in a while.
3) Depending On Other People For Basics
If you get to the point where you don’t even want to do the most basic stuff anymore, and slough it off on anyone who comes by your desk, you found another one.
If all you’re interested in is filling the day from 8:00-4:00 (or 5:00, depending how long your lunch is), and not really caring about anything else that goes in between, then there’s a problem. I’m not the kind of person who will immediately blame it on any type of work-related depression, but it is a sign that you’re being less effective than you know you can be.
Take some of that responsibility back and give other people the confidence to know that you can do your job and do it well.
4) No Drive Or Ambition To Change
If your work contract is ending and a new set of projects and programs are coming up, you’re going to need to change. Sure, there’s going to be some resistance related to it because change is a terribly tough thing to go through.
However, if you don’t even have an inkling of motivation or ambition to see some of this change and be incorporated into your life, you’ve got a problem. You need to notice when you have that feeling. Destroy it and replace it with the at least one little step towards accepting the change that’s coming. Or maybe you just need to find another job.
Motivation is a lot easier to do, let me tell you.
Be Aware and Be More Effective
It’s time to stop being ineffective. When you become more aware of the characteristics of this less effective way to work, you can stop them and replace them with effective strategies. If you’ll notice when you just don’t seem to care about learning anymore, when you’re not willing to try new things, when you’re dependent on other people for basics and you have no drive for change, you’ll be able to change them for the better.
Take responsibility for these feelings and characteristics and change the success you get out of your career.