HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED: ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Have you ever had one of those days when NOTHING went right? You're scheduled for a signing at 11am, but you don't get the documents until 10:45am. Your gas light pops on your way to an important meeting and you think you can make it, but you remember that the light has been on since yesterday and you were suppose to fill up the next morning? What about starting a meeting with the wrong client information? (the correct folder is setting on your coffee table) When it's "one of those days" how do you react? Do you tackle the situation head-on or continue to allow yourself to struggle with it?

Trust me I get it! You're feeling defeated, anxious, depressed or other feelings you'd rather not feel. Though we all know how difficult powering through a challenging day at work can be, motivating yourself to stay positive when things aren't going as planned is a superpower that can help you rise above the rest of the pack. Read on to learn how you turn lemons into lemonade for yourself. Here are some steps to help you stay motivated when you're having "one of those days".

1. Be Resilient (Don’t Take it Personally)

Bad days at work can be caused by a number of things, but if your bad day was set off by someone else’s negativity? Don’t take it personally. If someone else was frustrated, angry, or just plain mean, it’s very important that you do not internalize their actions or behavior as your own. Don’t bottle up how a bad day made you feel. Discussing how your day went with someone else can help you work through how you’re feeling, and it may also help to get feedback from a different perspective.

Some days simply require thicker skin. You might get turned away, turned down, told no—maybe even repeatedly. Refusing to quit isn’t easy, but doing it can make a huge difference in reaching your goals. In fact, taking strides to become more resilient can help you overcome the toughest moments in your career.

2. Surround Yourself With Positivity

Positive work cultures are more productive. Challenge yourself to find good things around you—and if they don’t exist, create them yourself. To start, do your best to provide support to your teammates and treat them with respect, gratitude, trust, and integrity, no matter the circumstances. 

What's another option that might work for you? Surrounding yourself with things that are uplifting such as motivational signs or quotes in your office, self-help books, music, or a picture of your happy place. Anything that motivates you to drive your business and keep the future on your horizon. When you feel frustrated, remember what you are working toward.

3. Avoid Drama

Co-worker drama and office politics also affect your productivity. When drama takes its toll, it may be time to step back and address your concerns and how it's affecting your ability to do your job. To be straightforward, do your best to stay clear of drama because you're grown and no longer in high school. If anyone tries to drag you into their drama, don't let them. If you feel tempted, keep these tips in mind:

• Don't vent while on the job.
• When you feel frustrated, wait to reply. Don't get passive=aggressive.
• Stop gossip in its tracks. Avoid people who are constantly engaged in drama and negativity. 
• Keeping out of co-worker and client/customer drama also lets you focus on doing your job, which makes you look good. Co-exist and move forward.

4. Take Care of Personal Issues

Work-life balance is all about being able to keep your professional and personal lives separate, right? Not exactly. Unexpected news easily upsets the balance, and it’s hard to stay focused when it feels like everything’s been turned upside down. Ask yourself if you can go on with your duties or if you need a day off to mentally and physically reset. It happens to the best of us! When you've had a bad day at the office, it's easy to bring those stresses home with us. 

To shake off a bad day, leave work at work! Try to establish an end of the workday routine that helps signal the official end of the day. That way when things aren't so going so great, your mind still gets to process that work is over and it's time to go home, relax and do something that you enjoy. That might be doing a yoga routine or grabbing your favorite book and a glass of red wine and treat yourself to a quiet evening in. If you're extroverted, you can enjoy dinner and good conversation with friends. 

Moving Forward.....

Hopefully one or more of these strategies can help you bounce back after a bad day at work. Before moving forward, take a second to reflect on the not-so-good moments of that day and evaluate what went wrong. This can help you better understand how to avoid the same issue in the future. You will be proactive rather than reactive and you may be able to prevent a bad day from derailing your week before it even happens.