Best Ways To Motivate Yourself
To-do lists, project goals, and long-term plans seem too overwhelming? Do you have a ton of things to do but can’t find a way to stop procrastinating? Perhaps you should find some ways to motivate yourself. Here are ten proven methods top performers swear by when it comes to kickstarting your productivity mood.
1. Just Get Started
Motivation will unlikely hit you while you’re sitting around in your jammies watching the latest show on Netflix. If you want to achieve things, start working on them. Create a daily routine and stick to it even when you don’t want to.
If your goal is to lose ten pounds, go jogging or hit the gym every single day. If you want to get that promotion, focus on working on your project even when you’d feel like uncapping a beer.
By working consistently every day and getting closer and closer to your objectives, you’ll see motivation catching up with you in the process.
2. Start Small
Big plans overwhelm, and an overwhelmed mind tends to procrastinate. Breaking down a daunting project into smaller tasks can do the trick and boost your motivation though. The secret is to avoid overthinking about the final goal.
Continuing on with the previous example, instead of planning to lose ten pounds in two months, focus on losing one pound in the first week and two in the second. Reaching smaller objectives in a short time is often more comfortable and more motivating than waiting for months to accomplish a significant result.
3. Get Peer Pressure
Studies conducted on kids have shown that peer pressure helps them find motivation. Since you’re a big kid anyway, use the same method to get some motivation for yourself. Connect with people who pursue similar goals, make friends with them, and dive in a competition of who’s going to reach the goal first.
Joining a mastermind group could be a wise idea if you don’t know enough people you can get peer pressure from.
4. Learn The 5-Second Rule
If you’ve never heard of Mel Robbins, know that she invented the 5-second rule, one that can change your motivation game for good.
The rule is simple. Each time you have a brilliant idea or the impulse of doing something, count to five and then do it. Whether it’s buying a drink to that hottie across the bar or starting to build your own business, put your idea into practice as soon as you’ve got it.
5. Plan For Failure
No matter how brilliant your thoughts are and how good you are in making them come true, failure is natural. The thing is that if you don’t plan for it though, failure can easily deconstruct your motivation and drag you into procrastination.
What makes the difference between an average guy and top performers is that the latter seek failure knowing that success is waiting on the other side. When things go awry, learn your lesson and start again.
6. Get A Calendar
While the newest generations love planning their tasks on fancy apps with dozens of notifications, the truth is that the good old calendar could be more effective in motivating you. On the one hand, apps are distractive.
On the other hand, you can nail your calendar on a wall in front of you and actively watch how you make progress and reach your goals.
7. Reduce Distractions
Distractions can deconstruct motivation in less than five seconds. That notification on your phone, an unmissable Black Friday offer from your favorite retailer or simply your coworkers chit-chatting next to your office can quickly get you off track.
If you truly want to boost motivation and get your stuff sorted out, put your phone on silent mode and in a drawer, close your office door, or find a quiet and distraction-free working environment if you work from home.
8. Go Back To Why
When you’re in the middle of a project, and everything seems to be falling apart or too overwhelming, take a deep breath and go back to why. Remind yourself why you started the project in the first place and visualize the goal.
This is an almost unfailing method to boost your motivation, as you’ll be able to quantify your results and actually see how your efforts brought you closer to your final objective.
9. Deconstruct Your Fears
One of the things that can drag down your mood and motivation is anxiety and fear. Maybe your whole career depends on the outcome of a project, and the fear of failure could set you off. Perhaps not succeeding in a personal task could have a devastating impact on your private life.
Overthinking and losing motivation won’t bring anything good though. That’s why you should split a big project into small steps and work your way up to motivation and success by accomplishing them one at a time.
10. Reward Yourself
A simple way to motivate yourself is by rewarding yourself for accomplishments. Anything can work as a reward, and you even get to set your own finish lines. For instance, you could start by paying yourself with a relaxing night for being productive for a whole day.
Even taking a minute to fully appreciate yourself after reaching success or by bragging about your accomplishments counts as a reward. And at the end of the day, you can do anything you like as long as it helps in keeping you motivated and focused on your goals.
