1) Just Go!

Sometimes, the best way to motivate yourself is just to go out and start what you plan to start. You shouldn’t wait for motivation to come to you – you need to make it happen. Instead of telling yourself you’ll start fresh on Monday, just start it now. What are you waiting for? It won’t get easier as time passes. Just go out and get started and let your motivation catch up.

2) Start Small

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is ringing in all the changes at once. If your motivation ebbs as tasks get too big, start small. Procrastination often kicks in when we overwhelm ourselves, so break it all down into small steps and milestones to keep your motivation flowing.

3) Avoid Distractions

The internet is excellent, having instant access to the world is a technological wonder, but it’s just another distraction. Sometimes you have to turn off the router, put your phone away, and shut the world out to focus and get things done. If you’re prone to procrastinating, it’s sapping your motivation and drive, and you’re allowing it to happen. Another excellent way to stay on track is to take advantage of a great browser extension. They will block your access from time-wasting sites if you spend too much time on them. That should help keep you focused.

Motivational journaling is a good way to get yourself fired up by the burning passion and desire inside you to do better. As you journal, you may find yourself getting more and more motivated to do well, and focus on your tasks at hand. Journaling is a convenient and easy way to inspire yourself to face your daily grind and tasks. Check it out now!

4) Accountability Partnership

Some people don’t bother sharing their goals with other people – one of the biggest reasons for this is, no one will know when you fail. Isn’t that just setting yourself up for failure? You need to hold yourself accountable, and one of the most effective ways to do that is to enlist the help of your friends. It might be that you choose to do that via social media. However, you can use a close friend who you know will check up on you and hold your feet to the fire.

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” ~ Og Mandino

5) Positive Surroundings

Do you have a friend who always dismisses your ideas and often talks you out of making changes? The people around you can impact your motivation and drive. So, stop spending time with those negative people and start surrounding yourself with positive people who help you stay positive.

6) An Inspiration

There is plenty of people online who can motivate you – whether it’s through the content on their blog, a book, or their social media feed. Social media can quickly drag you down, so find uplifting, motivational feeds and boost your drive.

7) High-Energy Music

Never underestimate the power of music. Create a playlist with upbeat music that you can listen to throughout your work. Now, if you are easily distracted, music with lyrics may affect your focus. So, find the right balance. There’s a reason that people listen to upbeat music at the gym; it keeps them pumped and focused. It works for the workday or big projects, too. It’s also a great way to shut the world out.

8) Find Optimism

Pessimism and negativity are exhausting, and they are a quick way to completely drain your energy levels and your motivation. Of course, that suggests that optimism does the opposite (and it does). When you find yourself faced with a setback, start looking for the positives of the situation. It’s the surest way to push through.

9) Self-Love

When you make a mistake, be kind to yourself. Think about how you treat your friends when they come to you after slipping up. You probably extend kind words and a shoulder to cry on. Yet, when you are in the same situation, you beat yourself up over it. Don’t. Treat yourself with the same kindness that you reserve for others – it’s the best way to keep yourself motivated to move forward.

10) Constructive Considerations

When you do experience a failure, don’t get hurtful, get constructive. The first question that you should ask yourself is what the lesson is in the setback. From there, you can take affirmative action to make improvements.

11) Friendly Competition

While it’s never a good thing to get caught up comparing yourself to others, a bit of friendly competition is helpful to stay motivated. It may be that you challenge someone in your position and put up a small prize. Or, it’s just something that you think about as you push on.

12) Center Your Goals

If you start to feel your motivation slipping, it’s time to remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing. You can create a visual to remind you of your goals continually. Or, you can take a minute to write down the major reasons for your current stream of activity. It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to save money, going back to school, or trying to lose weight. You can keep your reminder on a post-it note on your fridge, the computer, or even type it into your phone.

13) The Escape

If you are trying to lose weight or quit smoking, an effective way to stay motivated is by reminding yourself of the consequences. For example, if it’s cigarettes you’re trying to kick, ask yourself what will happen a year from now if you keep smoking. That can include health risks, as well as the total cost of feeding your habit. What does that look like five years from now? What about ten years in the future? That can be a serious motivation. Especially when you think about what you could be spending that money on.

14) Gratitude

You may wonder what this has to do with motivation, but when you start to feel it slip, take a moment to look through the lens of gratitude. Look at everything in your life and what your hard work has reaped. It could be your partner or perhaps children, but it could be as simple as having access to food and clean water and having a roof over your head. There’s always something to be grateful for, and that in itself can be a motivation.

15) Avoid The Rut

Falling into a rut is the surest way to murder your motivation. You should continuously mix things up to avoid ever getting in a rut. Read books you wouldn’t usually read. Seek out conversation with people you don’t generally spend time with. Listen to new music, try new podcasts, understand a differing viewpoint.

16) Declutter

Declutter your workspace, your car, and your home. It might not sound much, but it will help you remain focused as it can be challenging to think clearly when you’re surrounded by clutter. We also waste a lot of time looking for things – if you keep your spaces decluttered and clean, you can quickly put your hand on exactly what you need, when you need it.

17) Shave Your List

To-do lists are a must, but putting too many items on them is just asking for trouble. For serious procrastinators, a to-do list with a single (or up to three) items is an excellent place to start. You can still have a long list ready, waiting in the wings, but for visual purposes, a small to-do list will help you tackle the day psychologically. It’s always a good idea to include breaks in that to-do list, too. Nothing will drain you like working constantly and not taking a minute for yourself. It’s essential to take time out to recharge your brain and get a break.

18) Exercise

Exercise isn’t just for your body, and it isn’t just for losing weight or building muscles, either. It can help relieve stress and tension. Those feel-good hormones are a great focus boost, and your body will thank you, too.

19) Rewards

It doesn’t matter how small or great your successes are; you should celebrate every single one of them. That reward serves as a great motivator as well. It doesn’t matter how you choose to celebrate – it could be anything that you know will keep you motivated. Additionally, reaching your goal and getting that reward will recharge your drive and motivation.

 20) Draw From Memory

When you are feeling down and discouraged, take a moment to remember your greatest successes. Think about how hard you worked to achieve success, how it felt when you got there, and how it improved your life. Use those positive memories to fuel your motivation.

“You will never win if you never begin.” ~ Helen Rowland

21) Research

Before you start anything, take a bit of time out to research. This is especially important if you are undertaking a completely new task. Speak to people who have done it before and get a feel of how long it took them to achieve it. Draw on their experience to find out about the challenges you will face. You can plan for every eventuality and avoid having your motivation sapped.

22) Your Purpose

It isn’t just about knowing your greater life’s purpose, though that is pretty important. It’s also being able to look to the purpose of what you’re trying to achieve. Every goal has an ultimate purpose. So, if it’s a weight loss journey, the purpose is to slim down and be healthier. If you’re chasing a promotion, your purpose might be to climb the ladder or to increase your salary. Regardless of your goal, there is a purpose that is pushing you. Never forget the purpose.

23) Avoid Overthinking

If you want to over-complicate the task, then overthinking it is the quickest way to do so. An over-thinker can complicate even the simplest of tasks by creating a list of the worst-case scenarios and unlikely problems. All this does is create stress and add pressure. Ultimately, it’s blocking your motivation. Not to mention the fact that chronic stress can shrink your brain over time. The best way to avoid overthinking is to keep goals small. If you’re an over-thinker, you should draw from the same advice that procrastinators do.

24) Break Down Mental Blocks

Nothing will drain your motivation levels like a mental block. A mental block can interrupt your ability to do things that you do every day, actions as simple as 2+2= 4. It’s indicative of being caught up in a loop of negative thoughts. You place more pressure on yourself to get it right because you know how to do it, it’s easy, what’s the problem? When you find yourself in this position, you must change the perspective and re-frame the questions.

25) Counter The Negative

How do you feel when you approach a particular task? Without a doubt, there will be those you go into with gusto. Likewise, there will be those you dread. You recognize that it will be a grueling mission, one that will be tedious. That mindset right there is what will sap your motivation before you even have a chance to start. It’s so important that you learn to change the gears and shift away from those negative perceptions.

Picture your negativity on a television screen as you scroll through the eco-friendly settings. The picture gets dimmer, let it dim in your brain until it disappears. Now, change the picture. That should help take the sting out of the upcoming event.

26) Get Connected To Your Values

You don’t need to be working in your dream job to find a way to connect it to your values. If you can find a way to connect your values and your work, then you are onto something special. So, take a moment to write out your values. How can you relate them to the work that you do? Or, the goal that you’re chasing? If you value growth, then pursuing a promotion makes perfect sense. If one of your values is learning, then the pursuit of self-improvement is a no-brainer. Your life will be much fuller if you can create a link between the two.

27) Know The Why

This is related to your ultimate purpose. We touched on this briefly earlier, but now it’s the focus. You should be able to break that why or purpose down into a single sentence. So, what’s your one-liner? It should be sufficient to get you back on the motivational track.

28) Change It

Whether it’s your why or your how sometimes you get it wrong. You might be doing certain things for all the wrong reasons. If you are, it’s okay to make changes. You can also change the how. Just imagine how much more you will enjoy certain tasks if you instead focus on doing them well, instead of just getting them done. You’ll soon realize that you get things done more efficiently.

29) Shift

We talk a lot about focusing on the present and forgetting the past. There’s something to be said for knowing how and when to shift from the present to the past or future. Sometimes having the ability to visualize your future can be a compelling motivational tool. Just as taking a moment to look back at a difficult past can help you in being grateful for the present.

30) Metaphorical Miracles

Come up with a metaphor for yourself that will fuel your motivation. It doesn’t matter what it is; you don’t need to share it with anyone else or announce it. It’s merely about having a personal metaphor that will help you connect your values to your actions and change a project into an adventure.

31) Feeling Good

Combine something you love with something that you don’t. For example, if you hate ironing or doing inventory, listen to your favorite music or podcast while you work. Whatever it is, it should be something that brings you enjoyment so that it can overcome the annoyance that comes with the task. Ideally, you should have a song that you consider your anthem. Whenever you feel discouraged or frustrated, you can listen to it, hum it, sing it or, just play it in your head.

32) It Should Impress You Much

How can you expect others to be impressed by your work if you aren’t impressed first? That doesn’t mean you should be a perfectionist; that won’t help anyone. What it does mean, however, is that your internal bar should be high. When you inspire or impress yourself, you know you’ve got it down. The people who do this best are those that connect their values and passions with the work they do.

33) Choose

Instead of doing what you have to do or feeling as though you must or should do it, choose to do it. The other options will only weaken your drive and motivation. There’s a lot of power in changing the language that you use and choosing to do what you do.

34) Your Strengths

Focusing on your weaknesses will only wear you down – you must learn how to play to your strengths. It’s even better if you can pair up with someone who balances you out. Your strengths should be their weaknesses and vice versa. You grow more when you play to your strengths because it re-energizes you. Don’t worry; you can still work on your weaknesses.

35) Journal

This is a habit that you will be glad you invested your time in. Not only is it a great way to document the journey, but it’s also an excellent way to dump your ideas, feelings, and thoughts. It’s essentially a purge of your brain. It allows you to remain focused on what counts. Vent in your journal about a terrible day. Celebrate your successes. Keep track of your goals.

Have you checked out our Motivation Journal Kit? We have included in our kit 3 different styles of motivational journals you can use right now. We have designed our motivation journal in dot grid bullet journal, lined and blank styles for you. Grab your kit now! Check it out now!

Take A Peep Inside Your Beautiful Motivation Journal Boxset (BUJO, Lined, Blank)

Here’s a peep at the bullet journal (BUJO) style motivation journal:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” ~ Mark Twain

36) Picture Your Success

Success is a great motivator. The more success you enjoy, the more motivated you will be. The result will impact your motivation; however, being able to picture your success can help you stay on track. So, if you put the hard work in and don’t get the result you want, don’t let it derail your efforts. Start picturing you achieving your goals and channel your positivity into your efforts.

37) Big Picture Thinking

It’s easy to get mired in detail. Sometimes, though, you just need to take a deep breath, take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself about your long-term goal, where you are in terms of achieving it, where you were when you started, why you made the goal(s) you did, how you plan to achieve it, and why it’s important to you.

38) Short-Term Goals

Equally important is your ability to make short-term goals to keep you motivated between achieving your larger goals. It can be challenging to maintain motivation when you’re working on a big project that is time-consuming and is set to take months to reach. You can make smaller goals to maintain your motivation and provide yourself with smaller achievements to celebrate in the meantime.

39) Organization

Your brain will work more efficiently and recharge quicker when you are an organized person. You want to know where it is, what it is, and how it’s going to help you when you need it to. You can create a plan on paper or simply have it in your head, so you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it. Organization will help you increase your productivity as well.

40) Believe In Yourself

We are nothing without self-confidence. How can you motivate yourself if you don’t honestly believe that you are capable of achieving your goals? The greatest motivator you can draw from is a strong belief in self.

Final Thoughts

Humans, quite naturally, gravitate to pleasure while avoiding pain. However, old habits die hard, which means that change can bring pain with it, though it’s only temporary. The true motivators are linked with pleasure – and they drive healthy behaviors. The words that you use, as well as the affirmations and thoughts that you think, should all be positive. All of these will feed your motivation or detract from it.

One of the biggest considerations for your motivations is the difference between the two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Understanding the two can help you succeed. Intrinsic motivations are those within you – your rewards are entirely internal. When it comes to long-term goals, intrinsic motivations are more effective.

Whereas extrinsic motivations are external, whether it’s money or praise. Extrinsic motivations are more suited to short-term goals. Often, people get caught up in the reward and lose the passion for something they have always enjoyed.

Don’t get caught up in extrinsic motivations. When you set yourself a goal, it’s okay if there are some extrinsic motivations. However, you should find the intrinsic motivations and focus on those.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ Les Brown