Do you sometimes struggle with motivation? Let’s face it – lack of motivation strikes everybody at some point in their lives, whether that is work or study related, or even with daily life. Here are 27 tips to help you get motivated! I hope they are useful!
Get started and let the motivation catch up. If you want to work in a consistent way every day, sometimes you just have to get going despite not feeling motivated. Soon you will discover that after you work for awhile things feel easier and easier and the motivation catches up.
Start small if big leads to procrastinating.
If a project or task feels too big and daunting don’t let that lead you into
procrastination. Instead, break it down into small steps and begin moving
forward with the first step.
Start tiny if a small step doesn’t work.
If breaking it down and taking a smaller step leads you to procrastination
then go even smaller. Take just a tiny 1-2 minute step forward.
Reduce daily distractions.
Shut the door to your office. Put your smart phone in a silent mode at the other end of your workspace or home. And use an extension for your browser like Stay Focused to keep yourself on track.
Get accountability from people in your life.
Tell your friends what you will do. Ask one or more to regularly check up on you and your progress. By doing this you will be a lot less likely to try to
weasel out of things or give up at the first obstacle.
Get motivation from people in your life.
Spend less time with negative people. And spend more of your now freed up time with enthusiastic or motivated people and let the energy flow over to you.
Get motivation from people you don’t know. Look for motivating books, podcasts, blogs, and success stories.
Play music that gives you energy. One of the simplest things I do when I feel low in energy or motivation is to play music that is upbeat and/or inspires me.
Find the optimism. The positive and constructive way to look at things can energise and recharge your motivation. So when you’re in what looks like a negative situation ask yourself questions like: What is one thing that’s good about this? And what’s the one hidden opportunity here?
Be kind to yourself when you stumble. Don’t fall into the trap of beating yourself when you stumble or fail. You’ll just feel worse and less motivated. Instead, try this the next time: Be kind to yourself, nudge yourself back on the path you are on and take one small step forward.
Be constructive about the failures. When you stumble ask yourself: What’s the one thing I can learn from this setback? Then keep that lesson in mine and take action on it to improve what you do.
Compare yourself to yourself. See how far you’ve come — Instead of deflating yourself and your motivation by comparing yourself to others who are so far ahead of you.
Or compete in a friendly way. When you’re in university or at work make it a friendly competition with a friend to, for example, finish a boring routine task first. You can also add a small prize for extra motivation, like the winner gets a free ice cream from the other person.
Remind yourself why. When you’re feeling unmotivated, it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing something. So take two minutes and write down your top three reasons for doing this work, getting an education, working out, saving the extra money etc. Put the note where you’ll see it every day.
Remember what you’re moving away from. Motivate yourself to get going again by looking at the negative impact of staying on your current path. Ask yourself: What will the consequences be if I continue on this path for one more year? And if I do it for 54 years? This can provide a great kickstart.
Be grateful for what you have. To put your focus on what you still have and who you are ask yourself a question like: What are three things I sometimes take for granted but can be grateful for in my life?
Mix things up. Make up a competition out of a task with yourself or someone else. Instead of doing your usual routine, change it up – listen to music or podcasts that you wouldn’t normally, or walk a different way to work, or change your exercise plan.
Declutter your workspace. Take a couple of minutes to clean it up. I find that having an uncluttered and minimalistic workspace helps me to think more clearly and I feel more focused and ready to tackle the next task.
Reduce your To-Do list to just one item. An over-stuffed To-Do list can be a real motivation killer. So reduce your ToDo list to one item. The one that’s most important to you right now or the one that you’ve been procrastinating on. And have another list tucked away somewhere where you can’t see it with other tasks to do later on.
Don’t forget about the breaks. Try working for 45 minutes each hour and use the rest for a break where you can eat a snack or go out for some fresh air. You’ll get more done in a day and a week and do work of higher quality because your energy, focus and motivation will simply last longer.
Adjust your goal-size. If a big goal in your life feels overwhelming set a smaller goal. And if a smaller goal doesn’t seem inspiring try aiming higher and make it a bigger goal and see how that affects your motivation.
Exercise. Working out doesn’t just affect your body. I find that just 20 to 30 minutes of exercise releases tension of stress and makes me feel more focused once again.
Take 2 minutes to look back at successes. Close your eyes and let the memories of your biggest successes — no matter in what part of your life — Wash over you. Let those most positive memories boost your motivation.
Celebrate successes (no matter the size). If you’re looking forward to a nice reward that you’re giving yourself, after you’re done with a task, then your motivation tends to go out. If you celebrate your success for example, by taking a 1 minute break to appreciate what you did then that also recharges your motivation. So dangle those carrots and celebrate to keep up your motivation.
Do a bit of research before you get started. Learning from people who have gone where you want to go and done what you want to do can help to avoid pitfalls. This is also might help to give yourself a realistic timetable for success.
Take a 2 minute meditation break. In the afternoons, or when you need it, sit down with closed eyes and just focus on breathing for two minutes. This clears the mind and releases inner tension.
Go out in nature. Few things give me energy and motivation to take on life as this does. So I often go out for a walk in the park, or by the sea and just be there in the moment with nature and fresh air.
