Motivation can be tougher to find than your keys in the haystack that is your home! Below I’ll give you tactics that go from a small case of the” I don’t wanna”s to a daily dose of the “I’ll do this tomorrow”s. And if you need more weapons in your metaphoric arsenal, I’ve also put together a list of tricks that you can pile on top until you have a productivity open faced sandwich. Try them in different combinations and hopefully something will help you tackle whatever you’re being creative as hell to avoid.
Level 1: As Nike says, Just Do It. We think that the order of operations needs to go “can do” -> “want to do” -> “do”. However, we can actually flip that on its head and start with the doing and then get to the wanting and the able to do. Motivation can follow action rather than precede it.
Level 2: Assign a day and time and put it in your calendar. Bonus points: write out the steps needed to accomplish the task.
Level 3: Set a timer for 15-30 minutes and go ham! Or hey, start with 2 minutes. Anything that seems like a very doable amount of time. This has several benefits: gets you started, gamifies the task, and gives you a reasonable out. Check out the pomodoro technique and possibly even get a pomodoro app.
- Getting started is often the hardest part. Newton’s law applies to productivity too: an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. Telling yourself you only have to work for a small amount of time can help you to get over the hump of starting. There’s a chance that after the timer goes off you might not even want to stop, but even if you do at least you did a little!
- Even us adults love to play games. Having to race against the clock gets you amped up and hyper focused.
- Another law to help us here is Parkinson’s law which says work will fill the time allowed for it. You’d be surprised how much you can get done in a short amount of time when you’re going full force.
Level 4: Hang your goal around your house. Don’t let it lead to your shaming yourself, but do let it seep into your brain like motivation osmosis.
Level 5: Tell someone you’re close with of your goal and have them check in to see if you accomplished it
Level 6: Tell social media what you’re planning to do and say you’ll provide proof when it’s done. Or make a public facing google doc.
Level 7: Make a wager with a friend or internet strangers on whether or not you’ll accomplish your goal. Try an anti-charity website like stickK or Beeminder.
Other tips:
- Really dig into why you don’t want to do the task. Are you rebelling against something or someone? Are you afraid of not doing a good enough job? Do you feel you don’t know how to do it? Once you shine a light on the reason, it might not be as big of a deal as your subconscious was making it out to be, or you might be able to counter it.
- Also articulate why you do want to get it done or why it’s important. Get excited about the results!
- Pair it with something you like, especially if you only allow yourself to do the fun thing while you’re doing the annoying task. Music, podcasts, audiobooks, tv, comfy clothes, to name a few. Imagine having to stay in jeans and heels (you too, men) unless you do the thing you’re avoiding.
- Try working during different times. Maybe your motivation wanes over the day so it’s best to do this project at the start of your day. Or maybe you get all of your energy at night. If so, tackle that project when the sun goes down!
- Find a task that you dislike even more and then assign both tasks to be done that day
- Get someone to help or keep you company. Misery loves company! 🙂
- Impose a deadline for yourself e.g. setting up a meeting at your job where you’ll show the work you’ve been doing or inviting people over so you feel pressure to clean
- Chunk the task into small steps. Your first one can be standing up, and taking a physical small step. Putting your gym clothes and shoes is the first step to a workout.
- Tap into your identity and your values. If you identify as a responsible, hard working human then you’re likely to act in those ways whether you want to or not. On the flip side, if you see yourself as lazy and messy, you may actually be perpetuating those habits.
- Do ten jumping jacks. This gets you up and moving and the blood flowing which can uplift your mood and make you want to do other productive things too.
- Be nice to yourself. Most of us aren’t aware how truly cruel we are to ourselves in our brain dialogue. Oftentimes the fears and insecurities that we’re repeating in our heads is what is holding us back.
- Cut off your normal distractions, for example, put your phone in airplane mode, turn off the tv, use headphones, etc.
- Power pose and/or use affirmations or a good song to pump yourself up
- Make today your new year’s day. Why wait until the new year to set new goals? Today works just as well!
- Take a walk in nature or put on your favorite green shirt. The color green has been shown to spark creativity and motivation
- Use a calendar or app to track any habit you want to improve. Depending on the difficulty of the habit, aim to not break the streak or to never miss more than two days in a row.
What other tricks do you have for bumping up your motivation? Leave them in the comments below, and then get to work on your goals!