--- title: "Feeling Motivated in Your Work" id: "4789" type: "post" slug: "feeling-motivated-in-your-work" published_at: "2015-09-12T13:47:22+00:00" modified_at: "2022-03-10T00:52:18+00:00" url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/feeling-motivated-in-your-work/" markdown_url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/feeling-motivated-in-your-work.md" excerpt: "This section from from page 24 of So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport is spot on: SDT (Self-Determination Theory) tells us that motivation, in the workplace or elsewhere, requires that you fulfill three basic psychological needs–factors described......" taxonomy_category: - "Productivity" --- [Skip to the content](#site-content) [John Poelstra](https://johnpoelstra.com) ### Bringing order to chaos and clarity to confusion - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) Toggle search field - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) # [Feeling Motivated in Your Work](https://johnpoelstra.com/feeling-motivated-in-your-work/) [https://johnpoelstra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/red-barn.jpeg](https://johnpoelstra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/red-barn.jpeg) This section from from page 24[of So Good They Can’t Ignore You](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZW_coFi_h1QC&lpg=PT26&dq=autonomy%20so%20good%20they%20can't%20ignore%20you&pg=PT26#v=onepage&q=autonomy%20so%20good%20they%20can't%20ignore%20you&f=false) by Cal Newport is spot on: > SDT (Self-Determination Theory) tells us that motivation, in the workplace or elsewhere, requires that you fulfill three basic psychological needs–factors described as the “nutriments” required to feel intrinsically motivated for your work: - Autonomy: the feeling that you have control over your day, and that your actions are important > - Competences: the feeling that you are good at what you do > - Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people Not surprisingly I was in a role during my time at Red Hat where two of these three were clearly not being met and barely on a third one. After making a change to a new position where all three of them were met on a daily basis–wow, what a profound difference. So maybe you’re in a similar spot and you’d like to do something more fulfilling, but you aren’t sure how. This short video by Brendon Buchard was the catalyst for me and I think you’ll benefit from it too. You have to decide and then you have to set a deadline for making it happen. I swear it works. #### John Poelstra John Poelstra coaches directors in finance and software. Trained through the Co-Active Training Institute, he has coached for more than 10 years, with over 520 clients and 3,150 sessions, including people at well-known Fortune 100 companies. In over 30 years of professional experience, he spent 25 in technology and finance: software testing, project management and team leadership at Red Hat and Dell/EMC, and finance as a bank auditor at Wells Fargo and a CPA at Grant Thornton. He hosts The John Poelstra Show podcast and is based in Portland, Oregon. [Author archive](https://johnpoelstra.com/author/john-poelstra/) [Author website](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-poelstra-show/id1130635146) September 12, 2015 [Productivity](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/productivity/) [Previous post](https://johnpoelstra.com/volunteering-and-getting-involved-in-portland/) [Next post](https://johnpoelstra.com/introducting-john-poelstra-show-001/) ### Leave a Reply [Cancel reply](/feeling-motivated-in-your-work/#respond) ### John Poelstra [https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756](https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756) ### Work With Me I coach directors in finance and software who want to prioritize, delegate, and lead with clarity. Start with One Conversation, a complimentary 60-minute coaching conversation. 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