Motivation for yourself and employees - get better every day

Explore how research explains personal and workplace motivation, how to maintain long-term drive, and how managers create meaningful rewards aligned with employee needs to boost performance.

Examine the distraction effect, where attractive rewards steal attention and hinder performance on hard tasks, while simpler tasks stay efficient; long-term motivation hinges on the right rewards.

Explore how the distraction effect and rewards shape motivation, and learn to set goals with positive language that describes what you truly want, becoming better every day.

Recognize the sunk cost fallacy and how a single failure can derail long-term goals. Choose option B and get back on track to stay motivated.

Mental contrasting is a self-regulation strategy that visualizes a positive future while honestly assessing current obstacles. Plan small steps, anticipate failure, and use visualization to boost goal commitment and progress.

Apply Herzberg’s motivation hygiene theory to differentiate satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work, and implement factors like trust, paid learning and development, recognition, and a supportive culture to boost employee motivation.

Explore Maslow's pyramid of needs and how basic security, belonging, and self actualization drive employee motivation, from safe work conditions to creativity and positive feedback.

Compare Herzberg's two-factor theory with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, outlining how hygiene and motivation factors affect satisfaction and motivation, and noting the role of personality.

Explore the Big Five personality model, uncover the five personality types and their workplace characteristics, and take a short test to discover your own style.

Define personality as a dynamic, evolving system that shapes how you react and interact with others, influencing motivation and work life, with five personality types affecting behavior and team composition.

Explore the big five personality traits—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—and learn how diverse personality types enhance teamwork, with tests, reactions to problems, and strengths and weaknesses.

Explore how openness, consciousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and emotional stability shape creativity, routine work, teamwork, and job performance across occupations.

Explore how different personality types motivate themselves and others, and learn to assign champions to boost team motivation and build a balanced, high-performing workforce.

Explore intrinsic motivation through Ecclesia, a social enterprise that plants trees with advertising revenue. A real-time tree count gamifies searches, providing a micro dose of purpose.

Explore intrinsic motivation, where engagement comes from internal rewards and natural satisfaction, driving personal growth and meaningful progress without relying on external prizes or acclaim.

Explore intrinsic motivation theory by contrasting external rewards with internal rewards, and identify biological and psychological needs, namely competence, autonomy and relatedness, that drive engaging, challenging activities.

Explore how reward timing fuels intrinsic motivation, with immediate bonuses boosting interest, motivation, and persistence, and learn key motivators like curiosity, challenge, control, recognition, cooperation, competition, and fantasy.

Empower employees with autonomy and decision-making authority to boost responsiveness, productivity, and commitment by expanding responsibilities through job enlargement and enrichment, supported by training, information access, and mutual trust.

Explore how extrinsic motivation drives behavior through external rewards such as money, praise, and recognition, contrasted with intrinsic motivation from within.

Develop intrinsic motivation in the workplace by creating challenging goals, meaningful rewards, clear purpose, and freedom to explore, as seen in Google's 20 percent project.

Set smart goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, result-oriented, and time-bound, linking them to business objectives to boost employee engagement and performance through real-time, collaborative updates.

Set clear, actionable goals with the smart framework, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound, and learn to answer the five W questions, measure progress, and set deadlines.

Define KPIs that withstand time by incorporating cross-functional feedback, align with growth goals, assign owners, set SMART, time-bound targets, and clearly communicate them.

Apply the carrot and stick approach to motivation by pairing rewards with consequences, guiding employees toward goals like signing five new contracts per month to boost extrinsic motivation.

Explore the carrot and stick motivation theory, detailing how promised rewards and occasional punishments influence employee behavior, and how to balance rewards like gym memberships with wellness goals.

Examine the carrot and stick approach to motivation, including punishment, rewards, and fear in management practices. Balance incentives and boundaries to prevent illegality, humiliation, and demotivation while guiding daily performance.

Explore the plank theory by comparing motivation to a houseplant's needs—sunlight, warmth, water, and food—then tailor a balanced mix of motivators, from carrot and stick to recognition, for each employee.

Explore what makes habits good or bad and how to break bad habits through reinforcement theory, linking sight, feelings, and thoughts, with a long-term commitment.

Reinforcement theory shapes behavior by linking operant behavior to consequences, as part of operant conditioning, using positive and negative reinforcement to increase desired actions and using punishment only when needed.

Apply reinforcement theory to see how seeing a cake triggers happiness and forms a habit cycle, driving cravings for cake, ice cream, or alcohol when sad.

Explore reinforcement theory by showing how triggers, behavior, and rewards shape motivation at work, including good and bad habit cycles and the reward of watching TV.

Apply reinforcement theory to break bad habits by creating a negative reward cycle and observing triggers mindfully. Train mind toward better behavior by noting urges like tv and scrolling.

Break unhelpful cycles through honest self-reflection, replacing urges like cake or tv with constructive actions such as talking with friends or asking for help to build lasting good habits.

Learn practical stress management to regain control at work and home, build resilience, and achieve a balanced life through personalized tips and experimentation.

Explore how stress arises from mind, emotions, and physical conditions, triggered by external demands. Learn three core stress management practices—exercise, healthy eating, and sufficient sleep—that boost confidence, focus, and resilience.

Identify the two types of work that cause stress: workload with time pressure and work intensity. Take control of situations by coordinating people and making right decisions in project planning.

Recognize right brain thinking and stress triggers; build confidence and foster open minded teamwork. Take breaks after 45 minutes, block distractions, and stay focused.

Outline how routine tasks drain energy less, enabling time estimates and clear deadlines; plan, batch related steps, stay in flow, and use a practical left-right brain analogy to organize workload.

Learn to use a notebook-based to-do list as a powerful, inexpensive life-management tool you can customize for homework, work, and family tasks, organizing duties with assigned responsibilities and visual layouts.

View self-improvement and goal commitment as daily practices rather than tied to new year or birthdays. Discover hands-on motivation life hacks you can start using immediately.

Plan your day the night before, break tasks into smaller pieces, and estimate completion times with buffers; prioritize high-energy tasks and balance routine and trivial work to reduce stress.

Apply the two minute rule to make starting habits effortless, establish gateway habits that lead to productive tasks, and standardize routines to unlock deep focus and consistent progress.

Break difficult tasks into small parts, schedule by energy, start with easy tasks and the two-minute rule, and seek help or online advice to stay motivated.