How to motivate yourself: 10 ways

Greetings, friends!

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If you asked yourself the question: how to motivate yourself, then you are faced with difficult tasks that require solution, but you do not want to do them at all. Regardless of how difficult these tasks are, and how many of them – today we will find a way that will help you find motivation just for you. Of course, each of us is individual and needs our own, universal way of motivation. For this reason, today we will analyze as many as 10 effective ways to motivate, one or more of which is right for you. To maximize the effect, I propose to first figure out: what is motivation in general, how does it work, and what may be the reason for its absence? Go!

What is motivation?

Motivation is an internal impulse that makes a person start, continue and bring important things to completion . The term comes from the Latin word “movere” (movement) and implies some kind of force moving us in the direction of the goal. A person with strong motivation solves any problem, regardless of the degree of importance. And those who do not know how to motivate themselves can stagnate for a long time, endlessly postponing work on their goals.

If you often lack the desire to perform not only insignificant affairs, but also to solve important tasks, you urgently need to look for ways to motivate yourself. Of course, to do what you love, motivation may not be needed if such an activity is enjoyable. However, success, development and movement forward are only where there are difficulties, where you have to overcome yourself and overcome laziness and unwillingness to work. It is at such moments that the right motivation is needed.

With this sorted out, now let’s look at several reasons why a lack of motivation can occur.

3 reasons for lack of motivation

Whenever we are unable to start or complete an important task, we are hindered by one of the following reasons:

Lack of confidence . Realizing the importance of the task, we are afraid to fail. Self-confidence disappears, and we involuntarily begin to remember how something did not work out for us in a similar situation. It is not laziness that prevents you from completing the business, but the fear that the goal will not be achieved;
Lack of focus . By concentrating, a person demonstrates maximum efficiency – this is a well-known fact. But the fear of making mistakes prevents us from focusing on the task at hand. Trying to get rid of anxiety, we get distracted and switch to other tasks. And the more time is wasted in vain, the more difficult it is to motivate yourself to continue working;
Inability to plan . Solving any problem, it is necessary to draw up a plan that provides for all stages of achieving the goal. Without such a plan, there is a risk of wasting a significant part of the energy wasted, resulting in reduced confidence and loss of focus;

These reasons are rarely seen in isolation. As a rule, they act in a complex, driving a person into the trap of procrastination and not allowing them to live a full life.

10 effective ways to increase motivation

Well, friends, here we come to the most important point – directly, to the methods of motivation. In total, we have identified 10 most effective techniques, among which everyone can find for themselves something that will inspire and motivate him. Are you ready? Let’s go then!

1. Place the perfect order

Workplace order is the key to productive work. It is impossible to maintain clarity of thoughts if various objects are scattered on the desktop. Clutter is distracting and creates oppressive discomfort. But once you arrange a good cleaning, it becomes much more pleasant to work in such a workplace.

How does it help motivate yourself? Very simple: firstly, tidying up is a good “warm-up” before starting work with more difficult and voluminous tasks. Secondly, work in a room where harmony and order reigns as a whole is much more pleasant than in disorder, therefore, no matter how difficult the upcoming work is, it will be easier to start it.

2. Watch a motivational movie

There are many films that will cheer you up and energize the viewer. Sometimes even an ordinary film, the characters of which cope with difficulties, helps to find the answer to the question of how to motivate oneself. Characters from the screen often inspire people to act strong, even if the director did not initially envision such an effect. If you have to tune in to a serious work that requires a lot of labor, try, first, to recharge your energy from a motivational movie.

3. Believe in yourself

Lack of confidence in one’s own strength is the strongest demotivator, “breaking” millions of destinies. Negative thoughts, like corrosion, eat away at a person from the inside, weakening and demotivating him. Only self-confidence will help to overcome this obstacle. Just look at the problem from the outside and remind yourself that it is quite doable, and the faster you solve it, the better the result will be.

There is one great exercise that will help you to believe in yourself. Let’s execute it. Remember your greatest achievement, your most outstanding victory, your most unforgettable triumph. It can be a victory in sports competitions, a personal record, a brave act – everything where you were at your best. Now think about what would happen if then you dared not believe in your own strength, and would refuse even to try? This victory would not have happened in your life. Remember the feeling that then helped you to believe in yourself, feel that taste of victory, and believe in yourself in the same way now. Everything will work out!

4. Make a detailed plan

Sometimes we hesitate to start a large project for a long time, not understanding how to motivate ourselves to solve a problem of a frighteningly large volume. Making a plan helps you break down a complex task into a number of small and simple subtasks, each of which can be completed quickly and easily. By focusing on subtasks, you can work at maximum efficiency.

An interesting analogy was invented by Gleb Arkhangelsky. He compared working on a large project to eating an elephant. It seems completely impossible to eat it whole! But if you cut it into small portions, you get a lot of completely realizable tasks, each of which brings the achievement of a global goal closer.

Keep in mind that planning can only effectively motivate when you write your plan down on paper. Information in this form is convenient for perception, and the brain is unloaded from unnecessary information that distracts from work, if you try to keep the plan in mind.

5. Come up with a reward

This method is necessary in situations where it takes a long time to start an important business. A small bonus in the form of a cake, a chocolate bar or going to the bathhouse with friends can be a good motivation. The reward should be pleasant and tangible, and you should know for sure that you will receive it as soon as you complete the task, but not before!

To make this method even more effective, you can alternate completing a task with receiving a reward. For example, recently I needed to finish one of the articles for the site, but I was already tired after a working day and could not start the task in any way. On Youtube, I met an hour-long interview with an interesting person to me, which I really wanted to watch. I decided to split the work on the article into 4 parts, and after completing each of these parts, watch 15 minutes of this interview. As a result, it became much more fun to work, and the task was completed in full that evening. Try it!

6. Start small

Sometimes it’s enough to take the first step to get out of procrastination and begin a task. Even small successes can effectively motivate people to complete work. Many are familiar with this state from the student’s bench. Writing a term paper usually becomes the first serious test for a student, and for a long time he hesitates to start, not knowing how to motivate himself. But as soon as you print the first sheet, arrange a table of contents, think over the structure of the coursework – and a productive (and even exciting) creative process begins. Take the first step, however small.

7. Take breaks

If you work for several hours, focusing as much as possible on the process, fatigue inevitably builds up. Productivity declines markedly and motivation diminishes as work seems daunting and routine. To avoid this, be sure to take short breaks. Ideally, rest after every hour of intense work. It is enough to move away from the workplace for 5 minutes, make tea or be distracted by another activity.

If it is not possible to have 5 minute breaks every hour, you should schedule 3-4 breaks throughout the day. Knowing that you have to rest at 2:00 pm can be a good way to motivate you to finish work sooner. And don’t waste your breaks checking your mail and other headache. Only a complete distraction of all activities will allow you to fully relax and continue working with maximum efficiency.

8. Surround yourself with motivational items.

It can be all kinds of cards with quotes, calendar marks, notes on the refrigerator, colorful images of desired purchases, photographs from countries that you want to visit. Such items should be on your desk and in the kitchen, at home and in the office, in your car and in your wallet to keep you motivated with a continuous flow throughout the day.

It is desirable that such motivating elements are appropriate to the context of your current actions. If you want to lose weight, place motivators next to the scale; working on an important project – stick a sticker on your monitor to remind you of the importance of your work. If you come across a good photo on the Internet that motivates you to lose weight, print it on sheet A3 or A2 and hang it on the refrigerator. Dreaming of a car – let it be on your computer desktop and on your phone screensaver. It works amazing!

9. Track your progress

Monitoring your progress is a powerful way to motivate yourself to achieve your long-term goals. For example, let’s say you set yourself the task of reading 1,200 pages a month. Trying to read strictly 40 pages a day will make it harder for yourself. Better to monitor, noting your progress on a special scale and allowing yourself to read 20 pages on some days and 60 pages on others. Using this approach, you can clearly control how fast you are moving towards the goal. The moment you look back and realize that part of the task has already been completed, you will feel a surge of motivation for further work.

10. Visualize

It is enough to spend a few minutes visualizing your goal to significantly increase your level of motivation. Just imagine that the goal has already been achieved. How do you feel about this? What will you do now? How will you spend the next day? Perhaps celebrating or taking a little vacation?

Present all the details as accurately and in detail as possible. Such reflections can provide a powerful charge of energy and motivate you to solve the problem as soon as possible. You can increase the efficiency of visualization by composing and hanging in a conspicuous place a collage of pictures associated with the achievement of a given goal.

Friends, one of the most important conditions for effective motivation is the ability to set goals correctly and move in the right direction. If you want to become more efficient in work and life, learn to set goals and accomplish more in less time, I recommend you the course “Goal Setting” from Wikium.

This course will help:

Not only dream, but also realize
Get inspired for new goals
Be more positive on the way to the goal

What the training is worth:

6 lessons
Practical exercises and guidelines
Videos
Graphic diagrams and tasks

You can:

Achieve your goals
Don’t waste energy
Fulfill your plans
Set new standards in development
Make your dreams come true

So that you can be convinced of the effectiveness of the course, you can take the first lesson for free.

What prevents us from motivating ourselves?

There are several most common reasons that interfere with the creation of high-quality and correct motivation. These reasons need to be recognized and dealt with constantly. There are 3 main reasons:

Laziness

A banal unwillingness to work from time to time arises in each of us, especially if the work seems routine and meaningless. If you are in good health and are in the mood for work, but you don’t want to do a specific job, you can motivate yourself by giving the task additional meaning. In the case of routine work, additional meaning may lie in such processes as:

training of mindfulness and concentration;
benefit and satisfaction for others;
development of creative abilities by searching for non-standard solutions.

You can think of many other additional meanings for routine activities, and this is a really effective approach to combat laziness.

You may be wondering: how to get rid of laziness

Self-digging

People tend to reflect, engage in introspection, completely killing their own motivation. Self-digging takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. Many people spend their entire lives endlessly rethinking unpleasant situations and trying to figure out what to do to avoid mistakes. If you have such thoughts, immediately get rid of them. Reflection can “immobilize” you for a long time, and it is almost impossible to benefit from it.

Chronic fatigue

Lack of motivation can be a consequence of chronic fatigue. In such a situation, it is advisable to consult a doctor, however, you can solve the problem on your own. First you need to get enough sleep and start waking up at 6-7 in the morning (switching to the “lark” mode is one of the best remedies for chronic fatigue).

Start your morning with a cold shower, exercise, and ditch the TV. Watch your diet, eat more fresh fruits and diversify their assortment as much as possible. The listed steps in 70% of cases will allow you to independently get rid of chronic fatigue.

Conclusion

Remember that reading motivating posts doesn’t solve problems. In this article, we have described in detail how to motivate ourselves to do important work, but the suggested tips will be effective only in one case – if you start putting them into practice today ! Check out all the suggested methods to find the best ones, and feel free to experiment! You will succeed!