I am probably the laziest person I’ve ever met. I need constant daily motivation to avoid becoming a complete bum. The 5 tips below help me motivate myself to get stuff (eventually) done.
1) Break big steps down
Having goals is nice and all but if you’re like me, your brain shuts down if the goal is too big.
For example, if my goal is “write a blog post today”, it will probably take me months to write it. But if I trick myself and say “write a blog post title today” or “write one sentence today”, then I can do it without any trouble.
Doing just a little bit boosts my confidence and pushes me to keep doing more. Look up the Kaizen principle and thank me later.
2) Shrink your to-do list
Having 30 things to do every day makes me feel productive – when I get them done. It also makes me feel like a loser if I end up putting them off to a later time. I limit how much I have to do per day to keep myself from avoiding it completely.
It’s easy to commit to doing one or two tasks per day that you know you can finish. Be honest with yourself and be flexible. Although it’s fun sometimes, you don’t have to be your own worst enemy all the time.
3) Have a positive attitude
This is very common knowledge but that doesn’t diminish its importance. I do my best to have a positive attitude every single day and it really helps.
Does this mean every single day is perfect and my life is just “Hakuna Matata”? I wish. It means I look at what I can do. I look at what’s possible and do my best to push through to get to what I want.
4) Surround yourself with the right people
As much as I like saying I don’t need anyone, we need people. Humans are tribal by nature and need to feel connected. The right people can really enhance your life experience.
Some people help me feel like I can build a spaceship in my garage; I really like those people. I like to keep motivated people around me because they help me grow and motivate myself.
5) Do what you enjoy
There is nothing as demotivating as a boring routine. Find an activity that makes your heart happy and do it. You don’t have to do it for a living, do it for pure fun.
That activity will motivate you to do your other work and will open up so many other doors for you.