0:01
Erin, welcome to unlearning work, where we empower you to redesign your job by rethinking work habits, behaviors and strategies. I'm your host. Erin Merideth, a work behavior enthusiast and leadership strategist, join me as I explore various work related topics and provide practical insights and real life examples. We'll examine the nature of work from the ground up and deliver bite size episodes with actionable advice twice a month.
0:29
Welcome back to the unlearning work podcast, where we dig into the outdated habits and hidden systems that shape our work and figure out how to unlearn them so we can grow lead and live with more clarity and less chaos. Today's episode is one of my favorite topics, because it turns conventional advice upside down. We've all heard it, whether from a boss, a coach or our inner critic. You just need to stay motivated, or even worse, if you really wanted it, you'd be doing it by now. Let's be honest, how often has that advice actually helped? So today I want to reframe that entire conversation. Here's the truth. Motivation is a myth, not because it doesn't exist, but because it's deeply unreliable as a foundation for behavior change. It's fleeting. It fluctuates with your energy, sleep, stress, hormones, workload, even the weather. We're going to explore why that is what the science says, and most importantly, how to stop relying on willpower and start building systems that support real change, especially when work gets messy.
1:42
Let's start by unlearning a major workplace myth. Low motivation does not equal low commitment. If you've ever struggled to stick to a new goal, habit or leadership behavior, it's not because you don't care enough, it's because you're human. BJ, Fogg, Stanford, researcher and founder of the behavior design lab, reminds us, we change best by feeling good, not by feeling motivated. Here's the key idea. Idea, motivation is a mood, and moods shift constantly, so you might feel fired up Sunday night to finally tackle your inbox or implement a new team routine, and then Monday morning hits and that motivation vanishes into thin air. Workplace systems are full of these moments, like you plan to give someone feedback, but you lose your nerve. You commit to building a new habit, but your calendar is a disaster. You block time for a proposal, but urgent issues derail your plan. And then what do we do? We blame ourselves. We label it as procrastination, laziness, even imposter syndrome. But what if it's not about you? What if the problem isn't your lack of motivation, but the fact that your system isn't designed for real life conditions? So
2:55
what does the science say about this? Well, if we look at BJ Fogg behavioral model, it shows the equation behavior equals motivation plus ability plus prompt. And I'll say that one more time, behavior equals motivation plus ability plus prompt. And so if any of those three elements are missing, the behavior won't happen. So let's break it down. Motivation is your desire to do the behavior. Ability has how easy it is to do, and prompt is the cue or trigger to act. Well, here's the twist, most people try to change a motivation variable first, but that's the least stable part of this equation. Fogg says, Don't chase motivation design for ability. In other words, make it easier.
3:43
James clear also echoes this in atomic habits when he says, You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. Systems are the hidden support structure that keep behavior going even when motivation disappears. This is why high performing professionals often fail to build better habits. They're smart, they're committed, but their systems are missing or built on an ideal version of their week, not the real one.
4:12
What are systems and why do they work first? Let's define them, because I don't mean overly complex processes or productivity hacks. A system is simply a repeatable pattern or structure that reduces the friction of doing the right thing. And here are a few examples of systems in action, blocking your calendar for focused work before meetings take it over using a consistent meeting agenda template so you don't reinvent the wheel,
4:41
creating a start the day ritual, like checking your top three goals before diving into email, turning a feedback conversation into a repeatable model, what's working, what's stuck, what's next. These structures help because they don't rely on how you feel, and they work when you're tired, when you're overwhelmed.
5:00
Calmed when the unexpected happens. Here's the truth. Systems protect your energy. They reduce decision fatigue, minimize resistance, and create the consistency motivation can't deliver.
5:14
Let's use a real example. I was working with a leader that was smart, dedicated and deeply respected by their team, but every Monday, they found themselves overwhelmed. Fires were everywhere, safety staffing, customer changes. By the time they looked up, it was 2pm and their strategic goals were untouched. They kept saying, I just need to get more motivated on Mondays. But when when we looked closer, it wasn't a motivation issue, it was a systems gap, so we designed a low friction Monday system that looks like this. First there was a 15 minute planning block, first thing with a checklist of top priorities and team issues. Then a pre filled dashboard that auto pulled KPIs so they didn't waste any time chasing data. And then finally, a Slack reminder that was sent on Friday to write down anything urgent for Monday. Monday. That's it, nothing fancy. And the result was they started Mondays with clarity. Instead of reacting all day, they got ahead of their tasks. The team noticed the stress dropped. That's what a system does. It stabilizes performance even when your motivation is on empty.
6:26
Now let's bring it back to you. Here are three small but powerful systems you can start building this week. First, you can shrink the behavior. Make it ridiculously easy. If you wanted to write more, start with one sentence a day if you want to prep for a meeting. Review, just one bullet point. Why? Because action breeds clarity, not the other way around. And small actions are easier to repeat. BJ, Fogg calls these tiny habits the kind that can grow over time, but are friction free to start two. Tie it to a trigger. Don't leave it to chance. Link your behavior to something you already do for myself after I make coffee, I check my calendar after I close a meeting, I take 30 Seconds to log a takeaway, and after I eat lunch, I send a follow up email. These triggers act like behavior on switches, they remove the need for memory or motivation.
7:25
Three design for real life. So look at your environment. What supports your system does leaving a document open on your desktop to put those extra thoughts into at work, or keeping the water bottle on your desk, maybe creating a three question slack check in with your team every Friday. Design with intention, not willpower. The goal isn't to be perfect, it's to reduce the number of decisions you have to make and increase the chance of doing the right thing consistently.
7:56
Here's your reflection for this week, something you can jot down in your notes app or this action pack worksheet. Think of one area where you keep saying, I need to be more motivated. Now, ask yourself, what would a system look like instead? What's the smallest version of the behavior I can start today? What's one trigger or anchor habit I can attach it to and ask this powerful question, what if it's not about pushing harder but designing smarter?
8:25
Thanks for joining me today on unlearning work. This episode wasn't about blaming motivation but freeing you from the guilt of not having it because you're not broken the system is and now you have the tools to start designing one that works. You can download the action pack that pairs with this episode inside the unlearning work app, it includes a worksheet to help you shrink your behaviors, set your triggers and build your system. If this episode helped you rethink how you approach change, share it with a colleague, a friend or your team. Let's stop pretending motivation is the magic fix and start building work lives that work with our brains, not against them, until next time, keep on Learning the old rules and start designing better ones you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
