Do you like gardening?  I don’t mean the end product.  (Who doesn’t get a kick out of eating a yummy pepper you grew yourself?)  I mean the actual work of gardening. The planting, the weeding, the pruning….

Personally, I hate it.  I know some folks find “Zen” rhythmically pulling weeds and patting soil.  Those people are not my tribe.  Gardening makes my knees ache and my shoulders burn and my skin itch.

And I’m planting another garden this month.

Why?  Because planting and working in a garden is meaningful to me.  And that makes it (almost) enjoyable, despite the bug bites and sunscreen sweat. 

Recently I figured out why I’m willing to “garden with a smile” every year, and it’s given me insight into the things that make all kinds of work motivating.  The good news is that you can easily incorporate most of these into your (or your employees’) work days to make even the most mundane tasks bearable. 

So here’s the list of things that keep me playing in the dirt.

1-It’s not repetitive

Even though I grow mostly tomatoes, there’s still variety.  The leaves are unique on each plant and the fruit comes in many shapes, colors and sizes.  Rather than focusing on how routine the work is, I make it a point to notice how things are different.  When I look at each plant as a different task, the work gets more interesting.

There’s a couple of reasons why this works.  First, we’re motivated to achieve challenging (but reasonable) goals.  So mentally breaking the work into smaller “chunks” helps us in two ways: we celebrate progress AND we build momentum to move forward.  If you’re in the middle of a race with no end in sight, it’s easy to slow down and get distracted.  But see the finish line and you RUN!  So try to create natural breaks in the work that differentiate the tasks from one another.  Then line them all up and celebrate knocking down each one.

Second, when you focus on how things are different from one another, the world is more interesting.  There’s a region in our mid-brain (the substantia nigra/ventral segmental area, to be precise) that reacts when we see something new or different.  The resulting dopamine connections motivate us to pay attention to the novelty and learn about it.  The more we pay attention to new discoveries in our work, the more motivated we are to do it.

2-I can get better at it

People like mastery.  We do a lot of things – playing piano, writing blogs, or even juggling – with the sole purpose of improving our performance.  When we feel ourselves getting faster, stronger, and more agile, we’re motivated to keep going.

I can get better at gardening.  I can even become expert, if I put my mind to it.  I can figure out what kind of soil makes tomatoes redder, and what peppers to plant on the garden’s perimeter to keep bunnies from eating my lettuce.  (Jalapenos work best, FYI.)  I can experiment. And there’s a reason that word is so similar to “expertise.”

When we give people permission to ask questions and suggest new procedures, we encourage discovery.  How can you learn something new about your industry?  What training class might make an employee see her job in a new way? What experiments can you try in your work procedures? 

One caveat here: If you want people to be comfortable trying new things, then it has to be OK for them to make mistakes.  Be sure you’re not punishing someone when their new idea doesn’t pan out.

3-I get tangible feedback and rewards

At the end of my gardening day, there’s a reward.  I see the connection between my work and that juicy tomato very clearly.  If I don’t prune or weed the garden well, my tomato is smaller.  If I don’t water, the tomato is brown (and kind of gross).  My reward is directly tied to the quality of the work I do.

But what if the only thing you get as a reward is a paycheck?  And what if that paycheck amount never changes, no matter how hard you work?  Simple answer: You lose motivation to work hard. 

So think about ways to reward small milestones.  Letting someone leave work 10 minutes early when they successfully finish a project is a small thing with a big impact.  If you need inspiration, check out this list of 52 ways to reward employees: https://www.insperity.com/blog/52-epic-ways-to-reward-your-employees/.

4-I can incorporate other things I like

Gardening can be an excuse to listen to some great 80’s music.  Or belt a Broadway sound track in my back yard (with sincere apologies to the neighbors).  Or even just hang out with my husband for a few minutes of fun conversation.  It’s the same kind of motivation the exercise folks tell you to use at the gym: put only your favorite songs on your gym playlist, and only listen on the treadmill.

If you have a policy against headphones or videos at work (and it isn’t due to a specific safety standard), think about relaxing it when employees’ work is routine.  Let people work together on unpleasant tasks so they’re done faster.  It’s the Mary Poppins approach to cleaning: If you find the fun, then “snap” – the job’s a game.

5-It’s important to someone

The main reason I garden is my husband, Peter.  He loves tomatoes.  I mean, the man really LOVES tomatoes.  And I love making him happy. 

We see our work as more meaningful when we know the impact it has on others.  Have you seen those restaurants where you can see the chefs working in the kitchen area?  I bet you thought that was for your entertainment…but it has a bigger impact on job satisfaction of the cooks.  When the end product is just a plate of food and some sad parsley carried out the door, chef’s don’t see their work as particularly important.  But when they see someone savoring that meal, they feel more motivation.

How can you help employees see why their work matters?  Think about introducing them to customers who benefit from their products or services.  Ask customers for testimonials so your workers know what they do is appreciated.  Any links you can make between work and the person that work benefits will help motivation.

So think about this while I’m heading outside to plant some peppers.  What do you do that keeps you motivated at work?  What gets you out of bed in the morning?  And what has your employer done that makes you believe your work is important? 

Let’s share some best practices so we can all grow together.