Have you ever met someone who seems to have it all together? They are always “on” and always motivated to accomplish anything that crosses their path? What’s their secret? Are they born that way?
While there may be a few people who have an instinctive ability to wake up and crush every goal in sight, most people struggle with motivation from time to time. If you are one of the many people who needs a little kick in the pants once in while, check out these tips to help keep you on top of your game.
- Just do it and the motivation will follow. If you wait around for the inspiration and motivation to kick in before you get up off your butt, you may very well be waiting around forever. More often than not, if you force yourself to get up and get started, the progress that you do make will jumpstart your inspiration and the motivation will follow. Then, you will be more and more motivated to keep going. All you have to do is push yourself to take that first step.
- Get yourself pumped up. If you’re having trouble getting yourself going, get yourself amped up with some music or an inspirational video. Youtube is full of short, inspirational videos that may be just what it takes to get your butt into gear. You can also follow pages on Facebook or Twitter that post inspirational videos and save them for desperate times. Goalcast, TED talks and Tony Robbins are all great pages to follow for inspirational videos. You can also listen to some of your favorite music to get yourself pumped up and ready for action!
- Exercise. Getting your blood flowing is a great way to get yourself motivated to take on whatever project lies in front of you. The problem is, how do you get yourself motivated to exercise when you’re already slacking? Step one: Put on your favorite jams. Step two: Just get up and start moving; even if you just walk around the house. Step three: Gradually progress to exercise. Getting your body moving and getting the blood flowing to your brain is a fool proof way to increase your mood, your motivation and your brain function!
- Work in small time frames. If thinking of everything you have to do is too overwhelming, work in small power bursts. Tell yourself that you’ll just do 10-15 minutes of work then take a break. The odds are that once the first time frame is up, you’ll realize it wasn’t so bad and you’ll power through the next few bursts.
- Get a clear perspective. When you feel overwhelmed by all of the work ahead of you, it can be tough to get motivated. Before you get started, get a clear perspective on what you’re doing and why. Keep your eye on the prize and the motivation will follow.
- Make a plan. Once you’ve sorted out your perspective, straighten out your game plan. When you have no plan, there’s too much chaos floating around in your head and how can you possibly get motivated when you’re so overwhelmed?! Make a plan and write it down step by step. When you have a clear cut path from start to finish, you can prioritize and get started!
- Imagine the outcome. Sometimes, imagining the outcome is a great way to get yourself into motion. Picturing how relieved you’ll feel and the success of the finished project can be a huge help to kickstart your motivation.
- Imagine the next small step. If thinking too far ahead is too overwhelming, just imagine the next small step. It can be as simple as getting out your computer, getting a book from the other room, or getting the phone and looking up a phone number. Setting yourself up for the next big step can make it much easier and usually the next steps will fall into place once you just get yourself started.
- Nap if you need to. Sometimes, our lack of motivation is the result of being too burnt out. If you’re too tired to concentrate, take a power nap. You’re not doing yourself any favors by forcing yourself to work through extreme fatigue. Take a quick nap, come back to it and you’ll produce work of a much better quality.
- Reward yourself. Giving yourself small rewards at different stages of your projects can help keep you motivated. Giving yourself small breaks, a lunch date, a coffee break at your favorite coffee shop are all little rewards that you can look forward to during long projects.
Not all of us are blessed with the innate quality of being naturally driven to accomplish anything and everything. That doesn’t mean you can’t seamlessly keep yourself motivated to take on the world! All you have to do is keep a few tricks up your sleeve.
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