Lack motivation in the middle of a big project? Here’s why

Motivation is typically high at the beginning and end of a project but often drops off at the midpoint. 

It is a productivity slump that Dr Ayelet Fishbach, professor of behavioural science at University of Chicago Booth School of Business and author of Get It Done: Surprising lessons from the science of motivation, knows as “the middle problem”.

Motivation can be intrinsic — driven by the inherent satisfaction of carrying out an activity — or extrinsic, driven by external factors, such as rewards or recognition. 

“Most goals are abandoned because we want to be the person who has done it, not the person who is currently doing it. When we are excited about doing the work, we are intrinsically motivated,” explains Fishbach in a TEDx Talk now viewed by over 1.1 million people.

“Your enjoyment is what predicts whether you will stick with the goal.” 

The type of motivation can play a role in determining whether motivation can be maintained over a long period, says Marylène Gagné, interim director of the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University and an expert in the field of motivation. 

“People have more trouble sustaining energy throughout a project when they are doing it for a reward,” she says. 

A task driven by an external incentive, such as a large bonus, can nevertheless feel like hard work.  

“It almost feels like it takes more effort to do it when you only have extrinsic motivation,” Gagné says. “But when you have intrinsic motivation, it just rolls — it does not feel as effortful.”

While there is a sweet spot when it comes to remuneration, extrinsic rewards such as higher compensation can have unintended effects on motivation.

“There have been reports that it makes people feel more stressed, which can have negative repercussions for wellbeing,” Gagné says. 

How to maintain motivation on long projects

Goal setting can be an effective tool to help prevent a productivity slump. 

A long-term project should have an overarching aim that everyone is working towards — “the aspirational goal,” Gagné says. 

In the middle of a project, it is easy to lose sight of this end point. 

“In that middle phase, remind your team about why you are doing this and what you are trying to achieve to reignite the meaning behind the project,” she suggests. 

As well as feeling a sense of purpose, teams also need to feel they are making progress. Setting micro goals by breaking down a project into monthly, weekly and even daily tasks to check off, can help create a valuable sense of achievement. 

 

"Most goals are abandoned because we want to be the person who has done it, not the person who is currently doing it."

 

Leaders can also design work to make it more meaningful for their teams.  

“People do not like to do boring, repetitive tasks,” Gagné says. “You have got to give people variety in their work, as well as some decision-making power.”

Designing roles to encompass a range of activities, rotating mundane tasks and granting employees autonomy where possible can help sustain motivation.

For managers, providing regular feedback to team members throughout a project is another strategy to maintain momentum. Feedback sessions are a forum to celebrate wins and, in the case of setbacks, regroup to find a path forward. 

Managers can also use the feedback process to highlight the impact of the work being done.

“People want to feel that what they are doing is meaningful and important,” Gagné says. “They need to either see it for themselves, which can be done by having direct contact with the beneficiaries of their work (such as the client), or the manager can gather that information and communicate it back to the team.”

High-performance researcher Dr Adam Fraser describes the common belief that the most fulfilling part of a project is the end as “the completion myth”.

In his book Strive: Embracing the gift of struggle, Fraser argues that for most people, doing the work — what he calls “the strive” — is more rewarding than completing the task. His research shows that people report the most fulfilling moments as those when they feel challenged.

“What we discovered is humans crave courage and evolution like they crave love and connection,” Fraser says. 

“We often think the best part of the process is when we achieve the outcome, but it is not. It is when we come up against difficulty and see ourselves evolve in that moment to handle the challenge and exhibit courage.”

In long projects, leaders can tap into the sense of satisfaction created by striving to motivate employees. For example, one strategy is to make time every day to talk about progress, a practice Fraser says was common among top performing teams.

 

"What we discovered is humans crave courage and evolution like they crave love and connection. We often think the best part of the process is when we achieve the outcome, but it is not. It is when we come up against difficulty and see ourselves evolve in that moment to handle the challenge and exhibit courage."

 

“They would take time to examine how they had evolved or what they had achieved,” he says. 

This process of reflection considered not only the completed task, such as the milestone achieved or problem solved, but also how it aligned with team values.

“This asks us to think about our culture, our attitude, and how we treat one another and other people,” Fraser says. “It could be, ‘What I thought we did well today was that we collaborated with another team and shared resources.’” 

Enabling employees to feel a sense of growth has a protective effect against the unwelcome “middle problem”.

“Leaders who are overseeing long projects should engage in consistent reflection with their team,” Fraser says. “Ask: ‘Were we courageous? Did we evolve? What tasks did we achieve? Did we become better people? Did we work better as a team?’”

Rest and recovery as key drivers of performance

Recovery is an oft overlooked factor that can help sustain employee motivation for long periods.

In a recent project with Deakin Business School, Fraser measured the resilience of high-performing employees over an extended period. 

“We found their resilience levels were incredibly high, even among those who worked very stressful jobs. They did not need to become more resilient, learn how to handle more pressure or push themselves,” Fraser says.

“They did not have a resilience problem. What we discovered is that they had a recovery problem.”

These high performers were always switched on; they rarely pause to take time out to replenish their reserves, leading, in many cases, to burnout. 

“It might be a corny analogy, but they didn’t take time to fill up their cup,” Fraser says. 

“Our research is showing that taking breaks and allowing people downtime is probably the most important driver of performance.”

Key takeaways

To keep motivation high over long projects, leaders and managers can:

• remind their teams about the bigger meaning of the project
• set micro goals to break the project into monthly, weekly and even daily tasks to check off
• design work to make it more meaningful for team members
• provide regular feedback
• reflect on what has been achieved so far
• allow teams regular breaks and downtime.