8 CAREER EXERCISES TO CREATE AND BOOST MOTIVATION

they’re simple, short (<60min), science-backed and immediately actionable:
level up your career and create work, that works for you

  • SHORT AND SIMPLE

    Maximum duration per exercise is 60 min., simple execution with paper & pen, and special attention for indecision anxiety.

  • SCIENCE-BACKED

    Sources are scientific papers and popular personal development reads. General basis lies in evolutionary science and motivation.

  • IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE

    Clear next actions after each exercise: co-create work with your manager, discuss insights with a coach, friend, mentor...

THE 8 CAREER EXERCISES

  • Clarify work motivation and career direction. Ask the right questions during key conversations: performance reviews, feedback moments, job interviews...

    Visit 8 P's of Work for more information.

    Sources

    8 P’s of Work: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396. ; Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory: Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The Motivation to Work. Wiley. ; McClelland's Theory of Needs: McClelland, D. C. (1961). The Achieving Society. Free Press. ; Deci & Ryan's Self-Determination Theory: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Plenum Press. ; Reiss's 16 Basic Desires Theory: Reiss, S. (2004). Multifaceted Nature of Intrinsic Motivation: The Theory of 16 Basic Desires. Review of General Psychology, 8(3), 179–193. ; Pink's Work on Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose: Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books. ; Appelo's Moving Motivators (CHAMPFROG): Appelo, J. (2010). Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders. Addison-Wesley Professional.

  • Dive deeper into the root reason for your top three P's of Work, giving clarity on non-negotiables.

    Uncover limiting beliefs to boost performance and motivation.

    Sources

    5WHY: from the Toyota Production System (TPS), found thanks to Tim Ferris’ newsletter: ‘5-bullet Friday’ and inspired by the work of Viktor Frankl in ‘Man’s search for Meaning’ (idea).

    Limiting beliefs: designed by Otcho based on client experience (2021-2023).

  • (Re-)create definitions of success and identify patterns in energy givers/takers for current and future job crafting.

    Sources

    Success definitions: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of Jay Shetty in ‘Think like a Monk’ (structure), Mark Manson in ‘The subtle Art of not giving a F*ck’ (idea), Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles in ‘Ikigai’ (idea), Morgan Housel in ‘The Psychology of Money’ (idea) and Eric Jorgenson in ‘The Almanack of Naval Ravikant’ (idea)

    Energy tracking: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of James Clear in ‘Atomic Habits’ (scientific basis), Charles Duhigg in ‘The Power of Habit’ (scientific basis), Matthew Walker in ‘Why We Sleep’ (scientific basis), and Jay Shetty in ‘Think like a Monk’ (idea).

  • Collect data about strengths, weaknesses and link them to career goals.

    Sources

    Personality testing: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of 16personalities.com (access to ‘MBTI: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator’), Eben Harrell in his Harvard Business Review article ‘A Brief History of Personality Tests’ (scientific basis), James Clear in ‘Atomic Habits’ (scientific basis), Daniel Kahneman in ‘Noise’ (scientific basis), and Eric Jorgenson in ‘The Almanack of Naval Ravikant’ (compounding).

    Other personality tests that may be of interest: Insights Discovery, DISC, Clifton strengthsfinder, Big Five.

  • (Re-)vive interests by strolling around a bookstore. Identify new or recall old interests . Conclude with reviewing workplace application possibilities.

    Sources

    Bookstore: often recommended exercise in personal development sphere, found thanks to Cal Newport’s ‘Study Hack Blog’ (idea).

  • Analyze and review answers to exercises 1-5. What are you willing to suffer for? Invoke the opposite question of the ‘dream’ job.

    Dare to define actions in times of indecision.

    Sources

    Sync & Suffer: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of Mark Manson in ‘The subtle Art of not giving a F*ck’ (idea), and ‘thematic analysis’ as a form of qualitative data analysis (technique).

  • Define personal values and understand which direction to choose in times of unclarity. Applicable for both personal and professional contexts.

    Sources

    Personal values: designed by Otcho, inspired by the work of James Clear in his blog ‘Core Values List’ (examples of values), Mikayla Balk in her blog ‘30 personal values examples & how to live by yours’ (examples of values), Lyn Christian in her blog ‘Defining Your List of Values and Beliefs (With 102 Examples)’ (examples of values), Scott Jeffrey in his blog ‘The Ultimate List of Core Values (Over 230)’ (examples of values), and Mark Manson in ‘The subtle Art of not giving a F*ck’ (value criteria).

  • Use the technique of visualization to summarize and recall answers to exercises 1-7. Counter the effect of the 'Ebbinghaus forgetting curve' which states that we forget up to 70% of what we learn within the first 24 hours.

    Sources

    Visual reminder board: often recommended exercise in personal development sphere, additional design by Otcho inspired by the work of Krista J. Munroe-Chandler & Michelle D. Guerrero in ‘Psychological Imagery in Sport and Performance’ (scientific basis), Vinoth K. Ranganathan & Vlodek Siemionow & Jing Z. Liu & Vinod Sahgal & Guang H. Yue in ‘From mental power to muscle power—gaining strength by using the mind’ (scientific basis), Ebbinghaus with his ‘Ebbinghaus forgetting curve’ (scientific basis), Super Bowl Bet in the movie ‘Focus’ (technique), Steve Wexler & Jeffrey Shaffer & Andy Cotgreave in ‘The Big Book of Dashboards’ (technique), Lidija Globokar in her Forbes article ‘The Power Of Visualization And How To Use It’ (technique), and Marcus Buckingham in his Harvard Business Review article ‘Designing Work That People Love’ (idea implementation).

  • Bonus exercise to find 'Ikigai'.

    Sources

    Published by Jade Bonacolta, inspired by the work of Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles in ‘Ikigai’.

Hi, I’m Aurélie,

I researched the literature to answer the questions ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ and ‘What is your purpose?’.

In a world increasingly disrupted by more options and new technology, demanding our resilience at an excruciating pace, I learned that we have an urgent need for clarity and communication.

After a bore-out, I made it my mission to find those exercises that were simple, science-backed and immediately actionable. Using these exercises in a joint effort with my managers and my job coach, we crafted my work together and I found my energy again.

The exercises have been given as a corporate course and are now accessible online. It is my hope that they will further co-create healthy and meaningful work.

  • It was a pleasant surprise how practical and fun these exercises turned out to be.

    Margot V.

  • This helped me figure out what to prioritize in the endless list of things I could be doing.

    Jef V.

  • I learned about my needs, while also understanding that what I was feeling was okay.

    Shannon B.