Practical Tips to Get Yourself Motivated
Wet Noodles……. Wet noodles can have problems with starting a task or finishing……. BUT…. The same goes with the rest of us.
It’s funny, I was always highly motivated to get things done, overachieve……. Ahhhh……. But wait…….. Always? Really? “Always” and “Motivation” almost never go hand in hand, anyone that says they are “always motivated” are either a machine or lying.
It’s funny, I remember in school being lazy…… My first job I was always on time and liked the people, I wasn’t lazy. But then in my early 20′s I had a few bouts with laziness. I finally found my internal motivation…. Winning……. Yep, gold ole plain butt kicking other people…… Especially in sales and motivating others to over achieve for me……
After years of super success I found myself working for myself, and “lazy” started creeping in…… I had people doing stuff for me the last 15 years, I didn’t have to do much I didn’t want to……. Like filing…… I HATE filing….. I would dread going into my home office afraid the paper would drown me. I have taken so many online courses, I have a bookcase of binders. Binders are great if you remember what is in them…… But then there was still all that stuff that needed to be filed daily…….
I finally had to ask myself, “Do I make money from paper?” the answer is “No”. So I have resorted to wicker baskets, they look nice, and each basket has paper, files, ebooks and stuff related to various projects. Is it a perfect solution? Probably not to people who like to file, but I work well over 50 hours a week on various blogs, websites, videos, ebooks, etc. I don’t find “filing” very productive.
The moral of that story? Does it need to be done? Is is going to give you ROI on your time? A quote I made up a LONG time ago and live by to this day………… “Time is my only non-renewable resource“. So here are some tips if you REALLY have to get something done………
Kick the habit of procrastination – Procrastination is very enticing, that is why many people are led to its path. But, never for a second believe that it is satisfying. Procrastination eats up a lot of your time while leaving nothing for you to get ahead with your task. Procrastination also leaves that lingering, powerful guilt feeling that saps the energy out of your body.
The unwashed laundry. The unfinished business plan. The project that lays idle on your table. The dream of being able to work from home. All these are reminders that you haven’t done anything with your habit of procrastination. And all these produce that same sense of half-pleasure, half-guilt feeling produced by not doing the task on time, so get them done!
Push yourself – Over pampering yourself is a bad habit, and a fatal one too. You may not lose your life while procrastinating, but you can lose your job, opportunities and the chances of success whenever you hesitate and delay your tasks. No one wants to miss out on these things, so just do the opposite of pampering, try to push yourself.
If you think you can do a task in one hour, try to finish it in 30 minutes. Add more outputs every day. Make yourself extra productive. There is a certain sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to defeat your worst enemy – yourself.
Be careful not to push yourself too hard though. Always leave time for rest and relaxation as these can charge your mind and body to keep your energy and interest in the things you do at the highest.
Stop talking yourself out of it – There are always two parts of your head that are battling for your attention. One part convinces you to start working on your task; the other gives you all the convincing arguments to delay your work. In most cases, the second part wins. But for people who have no serious issue with motivation, the good, inspiring side always wins out the debate. Always try to listen to that part that talks you into doing your tasks, not to the one that pulls you back to that cozy bed where you can steal a few minutes’ worth more of rest.
Envision the completion of the task – Think like you have already finished your task. Few people appreciate the benefits of creating mental images of finished tasks. The reality though is, this can help a great deal in motivating you to get on with it. Think of the euphoria of not having anything to make you feel guilty. Or the sense of pride in being able to accomplish something. The more you think of the benefits of finishing your tasks, the more convinced you will become to get ahead with it.
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