What is motivation, where does it come from and where does it go? Why did you want to change your life for the better yesterday – start learning a new language, enroll in a self-defense class or quit smoking, and today you don’t feel like even getting up off the couch?
Motivation – it is a powerful force that helps us make promises to ourselves and keep them successfully. Like other emotions, motivation comes and goes. We all have days when we are ready to take action, and days when we are overcome by the desire to crawl under the covers and not stick out at all.
That's why we decided to share some tips that will help you increase your motivation.
1. Do what you like
Of course, easier said than done. However, try to build your life around activities that you really enjoy. It's much easier to be motivated when you do something that gives you real pleasure.
Things to think about:
- about work. Swapping your current job for your dream job is not always realistic. However, look at your work. Surely there are some tasks that you like more than others. Perhaps you can pass the tasks you don't like to someone else?
- about goals. If you want to exercise or go on a diet, choose the type of exercise or food that you like best – you don't have to torment yourself with what you dislike the most.
- about obligations. In this case, it is also better, if possible, to remove obligations that you do not like, even if you agreed to fulfill them before.
2. Focus on the goal or result
Most projects require hard work over a long period of time to be successful. However, no matter how excited you are at the thought of an upcoming achievement, there will almost always be work that you don’t really want to do.
Instead of thinking about how boring or difficult the task you have to complete, focus on your goal or future result.
For example:
- going to eat at a health food establishment instead of McDonald's will have a beneficial effect on your weight;
- doing a difficult task today will make work easier later on;
- Checking an item on your to-do list will help you feel better.
3. Easy wins – the right way to big victories
If it's really hard for you to get started at the start of the day, try doing small tasks that will only take you a few minutes but will help you build confidence.
For example:
- write a letter or make a call that you have been putting off for a long time;
- clean one room in the house or throw old things out of the closet;
- sort the papers that have accumulated on your desk for several weeks.
4. Take on the hardest task first
This paragraph is an alternative to paragraph 3. Also, the most difficult task can be taken after 15 – 30 minutes of easy wins.
This advice may seem strange in the context of increasing motivation, but once the most difficult task is completed, everything else seems extremely simple by comparison.
In this case, the most difficult task – it is not necessarily something that requires significant mental or physical effort. Sometimes even one phone call can be the most difficult task for you.
5. Take breaks
It's very easy to be motivated if you feel refreshed and refreshed, but throughout the day your motivation level can drop hour by hour.
Breaks – it's a great way to increase your productivity instead of battling fatigue for hours on end. Also, some people can work more efficiently if they know they're on a break.
6. Don't take on too much
Most of us have to cope with a huge number of tasks. We often do not have time to complete all work tasks and household duties and try to solve several tasks at the same time.
No matter how motivated you are, there are only 24 hours in a day, and you still need to rest and sleep. It is also necessary to leave a margin of time in case something does not go according to plan – force majeure at work and in personal life – not such a rare occurrence.
For big plans like losing weight, writing a book, changing careers, it's best to do them one at a time. Thus, the likelihood of success is increased.
7. Reward yourself
Some experts believe that rewards are detrimental to productivity. However, if used wisely, they are great for boosting motivation.
If you have set yourself a difficult task for yourself, promise yourself an appropriate reward for completing it. It can be anything: a cup of coffee after a completed chapter, a break for a book, and generally anything that makes you happy. Such a reward will help you complete the task to the end.
Motivation can be increased. Moreover, this does not require inhuman efforts, to gather all the will into a fist or to work hard. It is enough just to correctly calculate your strengths and understand why you are doing what you are doing, and how much it can simplify your life in the future.
Source estet-portal.com
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