Work-based motivation can be developed and improved in a variety of ways. What methods work best for one person might not work for someone else.

A good place to start is to understand what motivates you, what motivates you to work?, what motivated you to apply for the job you currently have?, what would motivate you more in your current role? and what factors demotivates you at work?. Considering the answers to these questions can help you formulate an idea of where you are now and where you want to be in the future.

From our extensive research as well as our work with a multitude of company's of all different sizes and from all different industries, we have compiled a list of ten areas to learn, understand, work on, reflect and keep using when it comes to improving motivation in general and when it comes to improving your motivation at work. These areas are:

1. Understand your abilities - having a clear understanding of what you are good at and what you aren't good at can help you to focus on either developing more skills, or on polishing those skills which you already have and excel at. The knowledge of understanding your abilities can help you in your career, by helping you focus on trying to achieve something that you genuinely want to achieve and are capable of achieving. Whether its choosing further study or learning by experience, there are many areas that can assist in maintaining the variety of work-related interest that helps maintain your motivation for the long term.

2. Set goals for yourself - goals should be created that are achievable and are progressive in driving you closer to where you want to be. Consider what you own ideas of 'the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow' are when it comes to the workplace, what does it look like to you? When you set small, regular goals for yourself throughout the year, it can help you move you closer towards your objectives. Perhaps taking some advanced educational courses or gaining some more experience in a certain area of work can help you progress further. Motivation is maintained when you can see that what you are doing is starting to pay off or form part of a bigger picture.

3. Celebrate your wins - when you achieve your set goals, make sure to give yourself the acknowledgement that you are well on the way to where you want to be and to be proud of your place on the journey. If you can achieve something, even if it is little by little, then it shows that you are capable of achieving a lot over time. This helps keep your motivation moving on the right track.

4. Maintain clarity - when the mind is clear and rested via good wellbeing programmes, then your mind can utilise its full creativity, its full working capacity and its full potential. When the mind is fatigued or agitated it is much more prone to making mistakes, not producing the outcome that you desire or failing to meet deadlines, thus resulting in a dramatic drop in motivation. Pressure and stress don't help the process either, so ensuring that your mind is rested, clear and concise can help tremendously when working on your master plan !

5. Maintain logical thinking - it can be hard to stay focused, driven or motivated if your goals are so high that they are almost unattainable, or if you don't have the resources to fulfil those inner desires to succeed at this point in time, so maintaining a calm thought process, where you can understand logically what can be achieved, is essential in gaining quick wins, wins that will help maintain your motivation into the future.

6. Work-life balance - overwork can be just as ineffective as underwork when it comes to motivation. Zapping your energy and draining your pool of creative thought can occur when you are overworked. Taking time for breaks, to get outside and get some exercise, to relax and maintain your wellbeing can all help to ensure that your inner drive, determination and motivation is matched with satisfaction and happiness at work and at home.

7. Look for inspiration - motivation can increase dramatically when we have someone to look to who has trodden the path before us and has become successful at it. Looking at what they did, how the did it, what steps they took initially, and what they learned along the way can have a great impact on your drive and on your understanding of the whole process of where you want to be. The inspiration of others can also help as a guidance principle for your planning. There might be someone at work that can inspire you enough to boost your motivation.

8. Communicate to your leaders - everyone has come across that annoying person in the company who seems to be everywhere and seems to make lots of noise and become noticed. That is not always a good thing if the person doesn't have any creative input or talent to back it up. Constructing your ideas, opinions and desires into a coherent plan or material that you can share with your line mangers, such as a research paper on why they should look at your ideas to cut expenditure for example, can be very useful to them and could therefore, in turn, help boost your career.

9. Reduce your stress - one of the biggest motivation killers is stress. Stress due to over work, or work going unnoticed. If you do have a lot on your plate and completing your work leaves you still feeling like it hasn't impacted your stress levels can be a de-motivator. The ay to reverse this is by engaging in great stress-reducing methods such as regular daily meditation - following a process where your mind releases its incessant thoughts and reduces its activity. Meditation, a little a day, can give the mind a real break from its heightened 'alert' state that occurs when one is under pressure, and can give it a well needed rejuvenation, leaving you ready to continue your good work.

10. Request feedback - by working towards producing the kind of output that is useful to the organisation, output that is of quality and valued by your leaders, it will help you to maintain your motivation as your progress. Requesting feedback can put you on the right track and can give you the insight that you need to help you continue your good work. If working for yourself, look to work on your outputs, specifically outputs and wins that work for you, producing content that engages clientele can creates opportunities for growth. Motivation will then increase with it.

Stress and strain are major factors in demotivation and absenteeism can result. Stress can lead to high levels of work-based disengagement that costs organisations millions each year. Wellbeing services can dramatically reduce stress and help to improve employee engagement. Wellbeing activities during the working day ensure that employees give their minds a break from work by gaining immersion into a state of calmness and peace.

Physical activity is also a great boost to motivation and energy levels when correctly incorporated into the working day. Too much sitting in one place or carrying out the same activities over and over can cause a stagnation in the mind's abilities to think clearly, concisely and creatively.

Many employees find talking to someone about any issues that they might have is just as important as other methods of wellbeing, and confidential discussions can help an individual gain a different perspective on important matters and, a well needed boost to their confidence and motivation.

Regular, daily wellbeing activities have been proven to work well in improving motivation and drive. Monthly wellbeing meetings or occasional staff workshops don't have anywhere near as much impact as regular daily wellbeing sessions.

Giving employees the ability to reduce their stress and strain gives them more confidence, energy, clarity and happiness at work, which in turn, increases productivity, performance and organisational engagement and ultimately, motivation.