Self-Motivation
Whether you’re feeling like Doug writing an essay about silt or Spongebob writing an essay about what not to do at a stoplight, self-motivation may feel like a near impossible task at the moment. I’ve pulled together my top ten tips to help you get motivated and break through that wall.
Boost your energy. Lack of motivation can be a symptom of low physical energy. So, I’m going to put on my mom jeans and ask you, “Are you getting enough sleep? Eating right? Drinking enough water? Exercising? How are your poops?” Go on a walk to get your blood pumping, make it a habit to fill up your water bottle everyday, and hold off on eating that burger, fries, and milkshake combo until after you finish your tasks. Give it a try. Worst case scenario you improve your health and you still haven’t written that report (if you’re honest with yourself, you probably wouldn’t have written it anyway).
Create a reward system. It can help to create a reward system for yourself to keep yourself motivated. You can reward yourself for finishing a task with a tasty snack, an instagram break, or a 3-minute dance party. Maybe if you finish writing the draft of your report in the morning, you can edit the report outside on the deck in the fresh air in the afternoon. The reward system only works well if you’re self-disciplined enough to follow the rules. It obviously doesn’t work if you would just eat your cookies without finishing the task.
Change your environment. A cluttered home office can contribute to a cluttered mind. If you’re having trouble focusing on your tasks, try tidying up your work space and desk. Organize your files. Pop your writing utensils into a decorative cup. Clear up your computer desktop and email inbox. An organized physical and virtual desktop can improve your productivity. A change of scenery can also spark some motivation. Just make sure it’s a temporary change in pace to help get the ball rolling. You want to be careful about letting your workspace bleed into your personal space.
Turn up the pressure. Some people are procrastinators (no judgement!) and perform better under pressure. With the quiet solitude of your home office void of a hovering manager and nosy coworkers, you may find yourself needing some outside pressure to motivate you. Set up a meeting with your boss to go over your progress on a project. Promise to have your task completed by tomorrow. This may give you the push you need to get your work done.
Fight through the discomfort. It may be boring as h***, but you may just have to sit yourself down and force yourself to just do it. Set a timer for 15 minutes and force yourself to just try to get your work done. Once you get started, it may get easier to keep the momentum going.
Silence the distractions. Your reduction in productivity might be a result of too many distractions. Put your phone out of reach, somewhere where you would have to physically get up to look at it. Close your outlook and instant messaging system (or set your status to do not disturb) to minimize unscheduled distractions. Setting aside this time to focus on the one task at hand may help you get your work finished.
Find a buddy. You might find it helpful to find a motivation buddy. You can help keep each other accountable and give each other advice. You can celebrate your wins together, however small they may be. And don’t underestimate the power of a good venting session!
Create a garbage draft. Sometimes the idea of creating something good can make you clam up. Don’t be afraid to write something dumb as f***. If you’d be embarrassed if someone read your garbage draft, you know you’re doing it right. If you can’t think of the exact right word, just use the wrong word or a placeholder. “Thingamajig” or “whatchamacallit” work just fine. The idea of the garbage draft is to throw all your ideas onto the sheet and see what sticks. From there it’s much easier to edit, format, and organize your ideas into something more polished. Avoid getting caught up in the details at the start, and you might save yourself a headache now and finish your report more quickly.
Tackle the easy tasks. Crossing a few items off your to-do list can give you the motivation you need. Write down your to-do list on a piece of paper, so you can really get some satisfaction from physically crossing the task off. Getting even a small sense of accomplishment can help motivate you to take on the more dreaded tasks.
Lift your mood. When you’re in a negative headspace, it can manifest with lack of productivity. Something as simple as putting on that silly t-shirt of Tina Belcher high on caffeine, scrolling through a few derpy dog pictures online, or sticking that goofy photo booth picture of your family to your monitor can improve your mood. Note that you should always make your happiness a priority, regardless of the number of tasks on your plate. But if it can help you get your work done, that’s an added bonus!
If you have any tips on how to self-motivate, please share in the comments below!