At times, one of the biggest challenges we face in life is motivating ourselves to action. If your self motivation needs to be enhanced, here are a few tips to get you started.
Planning your day/projects in advance
It is key to have a roadmap to your ultimate destination, therefore you will always know where you are and where you are going. Any time you feel a lag in your day or life, you can always refer back to the plan to keep you on track. Refer back to the plan, see what you should be doing and simply do it. Also, allow time in your plan for breaks and interruptions since those are inevitable. In the event that they happen, you can get right back on track. Without a detailed plan, you can find yourself with a lot of non-productive activity. Take the time at night or first thing in the morning to create a detailed plan for the day or weeks ahead.
Take Walks
Taking a walk clears your mind. Take a 5-10 minute walk when you find that procrastination or non-productive activities are interrupting your flow. The law of inertia states that a body in motion tends to remain in motion. Action creates action and a walk also increases circulation. Breathing fully while you walk increases the oxygen flow to the brain. You’ll find that when you return, you will be more energized and ready to be more productive.
Use Questions
An effective way to motivate yourself to action is to use questions to change your state of mind. A question that we use regularly to motivate ourselves is “What is something that we have done successfully in the past?” When you have answered that question, then ask yourself “What process did I go through to complete it successfully?” Once you have answered that question, simply use a similar roadmap to assist you in getting started. For example, If you organized a friend’s party in the past, and now are faced with the prospect of organizing a big family reunion, tap into process that you used to plan the party for the larger task at hand.
Start small
The trick to action sometimes is simply just getting started. If you’re having difficulty in getting started on a project, commit to working on it for just five minutes. What you’ll find more often than not, is that you’ll work for more than five minutes and you will build the momentum to keep you going. Another way to build momentum is to ask yourself the question, “What is the smallest step I can take on this project?” Then take that step. For example, if there is a letter that you need to write, simply writing the date, name and address on the letterhead is a start. Then ask yourself, what is another small step I can take…
Try some of these techniques when procrastination sets in or your motivation wanes !!!
March
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