Keeping Motivated During a Big Project: 8 Ways To Stay Motivated Until You Cross the Finish Line
I was the lead project manager on an assignment known as Project Lethal Scorpion.
It sounds intriguing, right, maybe even a little dangerous?
Actually, it was deadly boring, but to add a little intrigue and fun, and to make it easier for everyone to remember, we always dubbed our projects with cool or ridiculous-sounding names (I still have fond memories of Project Platypus Pants).
Beyond dubbing your projects something fun (which you can turn into a fun contest for the best name or use a random project name generator available online), here are eight ideas to inspire and motivate the troops to cross the finish line on a bigger project.
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Leverage the “IKEA Effect,” which suggests that when people invest time creating something from the very beginning, they are more invested in the final outcome. So involve everyone right at the start in a meaningful way.
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Take the time to officially launch the project in a fun way, integrating the launch with a fun team building activity. Building trust and creating a psychologically safe environment for open and honest communication is critical and a well-planned team event can make a big difference.
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Decide on some fun awards that people can earn as the project proceeds, such as a Houdini Award for whichever team member magically made a big problem disappear or a Swiss Army Knife Award for the best multi-tasker.
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Create a visible scorecard where everyone can easily see and track the progress and celebrate the small milestones along the way.
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If the project takes at least several months, then use the Wheel of Change framework to check in with everyone, once per month or once a quarter, with the four questions. What’s one thing we need to learn to live with? What’s one thing we need to start doing? What’s one thing we need to keep doing? What’s one thing we need to stop doing?
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Hold a halftime show. Okay, you don’t have to invite J-Lo, but you should plan a fun celebration as close to midway through the project as possible to recognize how far you’ve come and to create some momentum to help propel you to the finish line.
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Hold a “We are SO close we can smell it re-energizer” at about the 80 or 90% mark, recognizing this is often when momentum starts to flag.
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Finish with a bang! You absolutely have to plan how you are going to celebrate when you cross the finish line and recognize everyone for their hard work. There’s no excuse not to celebrate the end of a big project in a fun, meaningful way. A Toronto ad agency created Guybrush Days in honor of the employee who suggested that after a major project is completed, employees should be allowed one day off to celebrate the end of the project.
Michael Kerr is a Canadian Hall of Fame speaker who speak on workplace culture, leadership, and humor n the workplace. He is the author of 9 books including, “The Jerk-Free Workplace,” “The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank,” and “Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Fuel Extraordinary Results.”
