無論你是誰，在職業(yè)生涯中都會碰到缺乏動力，斗志消沉的時候。然而，缺乏動力并不意味著是時候認輸了。實際上，只要在日常生活中做一些簡單而有效的改變，就能讓你重拾活力。

1、在工作上投入時間，但不要過分投入

在職業(yè)生涯的早期，我成立的一家公司很快就讓我不堪重負。我們每周工作7天，每天工作21小時。這很瘋狂，很讓人興奮，但6個月后，我到了產(chǎn)生幻覺的邊緣。

即便是最基本的行政事務(wù)看起來都是災(zāi)難性的。再這樣繼續(xù)下去，要么我們的公司會垮掉，要么我們的團隊會解散。于是我們停工5天，在此期間，除了最重要的溝通外，我們?nèi)∠似渌磺薪涣?。這讓整個團隊保持了一定距離，并獲得了不一樣的視角，最終取得了不可思議的效果。有時候你需要調(diào)整那些失衡的事情。只要你創(chuàng)造了這樣的空間，就能重新燃起你做一番事業(yè)的熱情。

你有可能找不到工作的狀態(tài)，陷入日?，嵤碌睦Ь持?。如果經(jīng)營一家公司變得像電影《土撥鼠日》（Groundhog Day）那樣每天重復(fù)的生活，那么你是時候后退一步，花點時間干些其他的事情了，這樣你才能延續(xù)你的創(chuàng)業(yè)激情。

花點時間改善公司的策略，精簡團隊，思考新想法，著眼于公司的未來，這可以幫助你重新獲得引領(lǐng)公司更上一層樓的動力。

2、把目標作為一切工作的中心

公司領(lǐng)袖需要真正理解他們創(chuàng)業(yè)的目標或理由。一旦你找到了公司存在的真正理由，一切事情就都應(yīng)當以它為核心。它應(yīng)該成為你確定優(yōu)先實現(xiàn)和日常決策的框架。

在Xero，我們的目標是幫助小企業(yè)發(fā)展。小企業(yè)貢獻了全球大部分GDP，也是就業(yè)崗位的最大來源。幫助小企業(yè)提高效率，茁壯成長，能讓整體經(jīng)濟受益。而如果我們能做好自己的工作，就能幫助全球小企業(yè)飛速成長。幫助我們的員工理解這一點，完全改變了我們確定優(yōu)先事項和執(zhí)行戰(zhàn)略的方式。

3、直面客戶——他們是激情的最佳來源

如果你缺乏激情，或是不清楚你的目標是什么，那么你首先要做的事就是接觸客戶。通過了解客戶對你的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的體驗，你可以學(xué)到很多東西。如果是我的話，我會出門與會計談一談，與小公司的老板聊聊，或是見見我們的新合作伙伴。

每個人對我們的小企業(yè)平臺都有不同的體驗，所以重要的是理解它怎樣讓生活更簡單，到底是什么讓他們快樂，并找出我們可以改進的地方。

4、把次要工作交給機器或者外包出去

扔掉一切負擔。削減那些不重要的瑣事，能給你留出寶貴的時間，做你喜歡做的事情。

對許多小公司的老板而言，把他們拖垮的往往是財務(wù)和管理方面的事務(wù)。列出優(yōu)秀的檔案管理員和會計師能提供的幫助，使用虛擬助手，你就可以從無聊的瑣事中解脫出來，去做那些你喜歡做的事情。

5、學(xué)會拒絕

每天練習(xí)說不。拒絕做一些事情，會帶來驚人的解脫效果。但這說起來容易做起來難。

曾經(jīng)有一個大客戶委任了一個新領(lǐng)導(dǎo)與我新成立不久的公司合作。這個領(lǐng)導(dǎo)不停地麻煩我們的員工，給非關(guān)鍵性的工作設(shè)立不切實際的目標。盡管他們給我們帶來了不錯的收入，但團隊士氣卻在下降。

我們做出了艱難的決定，拒絕與這家客戶繼續(xù)合作。這冒了巨大的商業(yè)風(fēng)險，我們接下來花了6個月的時間來彌補收入的落差。拒絕那些與你的目標相悖的事情——在以上案例中，我們的目標是打造茁壯成長的團隊——會很困難，但最后會證明這是對團隊最好的投資。

嚴格控制你的工作時間，堅持你的原則，專注你的目標，你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)拒絕那些不太適合的機會要容易許多，你的公司也會從中受益。

本文作者Andy Lark是Xero公司首席營銷官。

譯者：嚴匡正

審校：任文科

No matter who you are, there are points in your career when it can be difficult to stay motivated and inspired. However, a shortage of motivation doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to throw in the towel. Rather, making a few simple—but powerful—changes to your day to day could be just what you need to get your mojo back.

Spend time “on” the business instead of “in” the business

Early on in my career, one of the businesses I founded quickly became very overwhelming. We were working 21-hour days seven days a week. It was crazy and exciting, but six months in, it was borderline hallucinogenic.

Even the most rudimentary admin issues felt catastrophic. Continuing would have either broken the business or broken us as a team. We stopped working for five days, banning all but the most critical of communications. It allowed the team to get some distance and perspective, and the effect was incredible. Sometimes you’ve got to unbalance to rebalance. As soon as you create that space, you can renew your passion for the purpose of the business.

Chances are you didn’t get into your line of work to get caught in the perils of the daily grind. If running a business is starting to feel like Groundhog Day, it’s time to take a step back and spend some time out of the operation so you can work on the business.

Taking the time to refine your business’s strategy, streamlining teams, coming up with new ideas, and working on your company’s future can help restore your drive to lead the company to the next level.

Put purpose at the center of everything

Business leaders need to really understand their purpose or reason for being in business. Once you’ve got a grasp on your business’s true reason for existence, it needs to be at the center of everything you do. It should become the framework that guides your priorities and daily decisions.

At Xero, our purpose is to help small businesses thrive. Around the world, small businesses combine to account for the majority of GDP contributions and are the largest source of employment. By helping small businesses operate more efficiently and grow, entire economies benefit. And if we do our job properly, we help small businesses all around the world. Helping our employees understand that completely changes what we prioritize and how we execute our strategy.

Get in front of customers—they are the greatest source of inspiration

If you’re ever short on inspiration or unclear of what your purpose is, the first thing you should do is get in touch with your customers. You can learn so much from their experiences with your product or service. For me, it’s getting out and talking to accountants, chatting to small business owners, and meeting with our add-on partners.

Each has a different experience with our small-business platform, so it’s important to understand how it makes their lives easier, figure out what delights them, and uncover the areas that we can improve on.

Automate or outsource all tasks that don’t inspire

Trim all that taxes. Axing mundane tasks that don’t inspire gives you back precious time, helping to make room for the things that you enjoy doing.

For many small business owners, it’s the financial and administration sides of the business that weighs them down. By enlisting the help of a great bookkeeper or accountant and using a virtual assistant service, you can free yourself from the boring stuff and get back to doing the parts that you love.

Learn how to say no

Practice saying no every single day. Saying no to some tasks is an incredibly liberating feeling. It may sound simple, but it can be a tough strategy to execute on.

I once had a major customer who appointed a new leader to work with my young agency. This individual took great sport in harassing employees and setting unrealistic goals for non-critical work. And while billings were great, morale was tanking.

We made the tough decision to say no to working with this client. It was a massive business risk and we spent the next six months working on filling the revenue gap. Saying no when things aren’t aligning with your purpose—in this case, ours was building teams that thrived—will be hard, but it could end up being the best investment for your team.

By being strict with your time, sticking to your principles, and focusing on your purpose, you’ll find saying no to opportunities that don’t align much easier, and your business will benefit from it.