“Into The Bloom” courtesy of PopArtMachine

I’m sure you’ve noticed that a lot gets said about productivity – not just here on Pick the Brain, but around the web. We’re always keen to squeeze a little bit more out of our day, fighting against all the interruptions and distractions of modern life.

It’s easy to end up struggling much harder than you need to, though, by trying to be productive in the wrong ways, at the wrong times. Working with your body clock and your natural peaks and troughs of energy lets you maximize your productivity all day long … rather than struggling through several miserable hours by sheer willpower, only to end up too tired and tetchy to carry on working.

Morning Lark or Night Owl?

A great place to start is figuring out whether or not you’re a morning person. Given the chance, would you prefer to get up early to finish off some work, or stay up late? I’ve been an early riser since my teens – I find I have plenty of mental clarity and self-discipline first thing in the morning, whereas my brain seems to turn to mush in the evenings!

There’s no inherent virtue in being an early morning or a late night person, and while you definitely can try to shift one way or the other, it’s easiest to just work with what you’ve got.

If you have any control over your hours, can you start earlier (if you’re a lark) or later (if you’re an owl)? Of course, that’s easiest if you work for yourself – but many employers are becoming more flexible about working hours now. If you feel that a shift genuinely would make you more productive, try asking!

Peaks and Troughs of Energy

Throughout the day, you probably find that there are regularly times when you focus well – or not! Again, I’m a morning person here: I get most of my creative, energy-draining work done before lunch. Others find that they need much of the morning to get going, and make big strides in the afternoons.

This might seem obvious, but it will really help if you can do harder work – like writing, designing, brainstorming and planning – during your “peak” times. Leave more routine tasks – most emails, phone calls, filing, photocopying, etc – for times when your energy is at a low.

In some cases, this might mean having a think about your normal working habits. If you regularly start the day by answering emails, would it be more effective for you to spend those first couple of “peak” hours working on something more high-level?

During times when you know you’re going to be struggling to focus, be particularly wary of letting distractions creep in. It’s all too easy to end up reading blogs, answering emails or playing around on Twitter or Facebook – and, often, distraction can become a vicious cycle. If it’s a real problem for you at particular times of day, look into software which will allow you to block websites during those hours.

Keeping Meetings and Appointments Outside Your Peak Times

I’ve got Charlie Gilkey of Productive Flourishing to thank for this tip, in How Much is Your Creative Time Worth?

Let’s imagine that you have the option of going to a doctor at 10am – right during your creative peak – or 4pm – when you’re off-peak. Let’s also say it’ll cost $60 to visit the doctor and your creative time is worth $128. If you choose to go at 4pm, then the net value of the visit is $100. If you go in the morning, it’ll be $188. If the receptionist at the doctor said that it’d cost you $88 extra to visit in the morning, I’m sure you’d choose to go in the afternoon. Left to our own devices, though, we’ll give up that $88 without thinking about it.

Perhaps because I’m a “morning person”, I used to invariably schedule appointments at around 9am or 10am – generally because I hoped the doctor/hairdresser/etc wouldn’t be overrunning already at that hour! However, taking a big chunk out of my morning means I lose my best productive time – whereas having the same appointment in the afternoon would only take time which I’d be spending on routine admin or chores.

Do you have a bad habit of scheduling appointments or meetings during times when you’d be better off at your desk? Can you adjust any of these?

Staying Productive Throughout the Day

Even when you’re working with your natural peaks and troughs, it’s still a good idea to do what you can to keep your energy levels up. For most of us, that means following some simple good health practices like:

• Drinking plenty of water – dehydration saps your concentration.
• Eating sensibly: neither too little nor too much. If you regularly find yourself sleepy after lunch, try eating a lighter meal and having a small snack mid-afternoon.
• Getting sufficient exercise. A brisk walk will wake you up if you feel drowsy during your working hours – and exercising during the day means sleeping better at night.

It’s also important to take breaks during the day. None of us can concentrate fully for long at a time (many estimates suggest that we can stay focused for about 45 minutes and then need to take a break). You might try taking, say, a ten minute break every hour, or working for a couple of hours then having half an hour’s rest.

When you do take a break, make it a proper rest – answering emails or doing the dishes isn’t really a “break”! For maximum rest in minimum time, try sitting in silence for a few minutes, perhaps with your eyes closed. It’s surprising how taking just five minutes like this can help you get perspective on your day – and can help you refocus and concentrate on the next task.

How do you stay productive each day? What practices have you found which help you make the most of your energy levels – or what stories can you share of when things haven’t gone so well?

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Have you ever started off a project feeling really enthusiastic about it – perhaps even to the point that you were losing sleep? Whether it was a new business direction, or book, or piece of art, or home improvement, or diet … it had you gripped. In the early stages, you found yourself thinking about it in the shower, jotting down ideas in the evening, wondering “what if…”

But somewhere along the way, you simply lost motivation. Perhaps you let your diet slide for a while and just couldn’t get up any enthusiasm to restart. Maybe you stopped writing your novel for months, and stopped caring too. Or you woke up one day and realised you dreaded grinding through any more of the steps in that business plan.

We know what it’s like to be motivated – and we know what it’s like to be unable to sustain that motivation. Here’s how to make sure you stay consistently motivated: so that you don’t burn out or lose interest.

Find the Right Number of Projects

First, your problem could be that you’re doing too much … or it could be that you’re not doing enough. Some people work best when they focus single-mindedly on one project: they can achieve astonishingly fast results like this. Others (myself included) prefer to work on lots of different things at once, changing tack frequently to avoid boredom.

Do You Have Too Many Projects?

Signs that you’ve got too much going on are:

• Feeling like you never have any breathing space
• Never getting to the bottom of your to-do list
• Worrying constantly that you should be doing something else, whatever you’re working on
• Spending ages figuring out where you’d got to with each project, every time you pick it up
• Never making any significant progress
• Sabotaging one project for another (e.g. being too busy with your job to stick to your goal of regular exercise)

Do You Have Too Few Projects?

Having too little to do can also be a problem, manifesting as:

• Often feeling bored, and wishing you had something engaging to do
• Going out and buying games, DVDs, books, etc because you want something to occupy your mind and your time
• Feeling listless, feeling that it’s not worth getting up in the mornings because there’s nothing to do
• A sense that you’re not doing anything meaningful
• Trying to focus on one goal or project but getting rapidly bored of it

Whether you’ve got too much or too little going on, recognise that this will prevent you from staying consistently motivated. You need to be doing enough to keep your mind interested and your heart engaged … but not so much that you’re trying desperately to fit it all in.

Know When to Work … and When to Stop

Do you have a clear handle on when it’s best for you to work, and when you need to stop? You might start off by thinking about your most productive times of day and focusing on working during those hours, but you’ll also want to get a handle on when you’re just distracted and need to focus, verses when you need a proper break.

Pressing On Through Distractions

Sometimes, you might be struggling to focus due to distractions. This is a problem for a lot of us, especially if we work online. There are plenty of tips and tricks for cutting down your distractability – like turning off new email notifications, signing out of social media applications and even switching off your internet connection altogether.

Whenever you start on a creative or high-energy piece of work, you’ll probably find yourself experiencing some resistance. Of course it’s easier to play around on Facebook or Twitter, instead of writing the next section of your business plan. But if you filter out the initial distractions and suppress your urge to respond to your impulses, then you’ll usually get going well.

Taking Proper Breaks

Sometimes, though, you’re struggling to focus because you genuinely need to take a break. If you’ve been working for a couple of hours on a project, you may just be running out of steam. Getting cranky, upset, exhausted or feeling otherwise low can be a warning that it’s time to step away from what you’re doing.

This also applies on a broader level: if you’re finding yourself struggling for motivation on a daily basis, you may need to take a weekend, a week or even more away from your projects.

Figure Out What Works for You

When it comes to staying motivated, we’re all wired a bit differently. Some of us like a boot-camp style personal trainer to push them hard; others want an encouraging and supportive friend. For some, working first thing in the morning is perfect; others are night owls.

Don’t be afraid to ditch advice that doesn’t work for you. Here’s just one example of how people can be differently motivated, and how you could pick a different guideline depending on what works best for you:

Do Hard Tasks First

Some gurus advise getting hard tasks out of the way first thing during your work day. Perhaps it’s something which takes a lot of creative energy, or something which you dread doing: any task which you’re feeling a lot of resistance to.

This works for some people, because it means the rest of the day is an easy coast downhill.

Do Easy Tasks First

Other experts suggest “warming up” by tackling a few easy tasks first thing: something which doesn’t require too much thought and which you can almost do on autopilot.

This one works because it eases you in gently, and lets you feel the motivational boost of ticking off several items straight away.

The trick is to figure out what works for you … for me, that’s doing a couple of easy tasks and then going straight into a difficult one.

How do you stay motivated, consistently? Whatever type of project you’re working on, let us know your thoughts…

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How To Motivate Yourself

“Never Wake Up” courtesy of Heiko Muller

I bet you’ve had days when you just want to stay under the duvet. Maybe you slept badly, or perhaps you just can’t face dragging yourself out of bed and facing your to-do list. Yet you know that if you could get up when you want to every day – rather than at the last minute possible – you’d be able to accomplish a lot more of your goals.

Here are nine ways to wake up ready to rock, roughly in order of when you’ll need to do them the day before. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments!

1.    Exercise During the Day

There are plenty of great reasons to exercise, and I won’t rehash them all here. Many people, though, find that exercising helps them to sleep well at night – yet another health-boosting benefit.

If you’re struggling to fit exercise into your day, try looking for ways to get active in your lunch hour or straight after work: if exercise forms a natural part of your routine, you’ll be much more likely to stick with it.

2.    Stop Work in the Middle of a Task

Sometimes, even when we do manage to get up on time, we’re just not in the mood to rock! At the end of the day, try stopping work in the middle of a task. If you’re a writer, that might mean ending part way through an article; if you’re a programmer, it may mean leaving something that you can easily come back to.

The advantage here is that instead of building up the energy to get stuck in on something new – where you haven’t already gathered momentum – you’ve got an easy little task to start off your day and to get you straight into working, diminishing the urge to procrastinate.

3.    Avoid Caffeine in the Evening

Drinking tea, coffee, cola or other caffeinated drinks in the evening is almost certainly going to have a bad effect on your sleep. Everyone’s a bit different here, but it’s worth setting yourself a clear “caffeine curfew”. I used to drink tea at 6.30pm after work each evening but I quickly found that this wasn’t helping me get to sleep on time! Now, I rarely drink anything caffeinated after 4pm, and that works for me.

Post-dinner coffee is definitely a habit to get out of – if you like it for the taste or the social aspect, try decaffeinated instead.

4.    Set Out Your Clothes the Night Before

When I wake up in the morning, even deciding what to wear can be enough effort to keep me under the covers! If that’s you, try setting your clothes out the night before: decide exactly what you’re wearing and hang your clothes at the far edge of your closet, or over a chair or on a door.

It might seem like a little thing, but waking up ready to rock means taking care of as many decisions as possible before that moment when you’re looking for any excuse to hit “snooze”.

5.    Don’t Eat a Heavy Dinner

You’ve probably had the experience of eating a big dinner and then finding that your stomach is uncomfortably full, gurgling and churning as it digests your food. This definitely isn’t a good start to a night’s sleep.

You could eat a bit earlier in the evening, or simply eat a lighter meal at dinner time. Don’t go too light, though – waking up at three am because you’re hungry won’t do much for your sleep either. A happy balance here depends very much on you as an individual, so experiment a little to find what works.

6.    Journal or Read Before Bed

Many of us find it hard to “switch off” at the end of the day, often lying awake thinking about all the stuff that we didn’t get done, or worrying about what’s coming up the following day. A couple of great ways to deal with this problem are:

• Write in a journal before you go to bed – get any problems out of your head and onto the paper. Often, this is enough to ensure that they’re not preying on your mind when you try to sleep.
• Read a book, preferably fiction – this is a great way to forget what’s been going on during the day, and to do something relaxing before you sleep.

7.    Know What You’re Doing First Thing

What’s your morning routine like? If you decide before you go to sleep exactly what you’re doing in the morning (for maximum easiness, try to make this the same each day) then you won’t have to wake up dithering about what to do first.

Many of us find that hitting the shower first thing works well – the water will wake you up if you’re still half asleep – or you might prefer to start your day with a quiet time of meditation, prayer or reading. What you do isn’t really that important – the fact that you’re planning to do something specific is.

8.    Get to Bed On Time

This is another rather obvious point, but getting to bed on time is crucial if you want to get a decent night’s sleep before your alarm goes off. Most adults find the concept of a regular bedtime a bit odd – but it’s not just for kids.

If you’ve got a tendency to get caught up in whatever you’re doing in the evening, then setting an alarm to remind you that it’s bedtime can help. Try to plan for getting at least seven hours’ sleep – you may find that you need eight or even more to feel sufficiently rested. (If you’re not sure how much sleep you need, here’s a great method for finding out.)

9.    Visualize Sleeping Well

I picked up this tip from Dave Navarro’s excellent “Become an Early Riser” program. When you lie down to sleep, visualize getting a really great night’s sleep. Just as you may have tried visualization to help you towards success in various areas in life, picturing yourself sleeping brilliantly helps prime your mind and body to achieve what you’re imagining.

I know it sounds a bit kooky and weird, but do give it a try – it only takes a minute or two, and you just might find that it’s surprisingly effective.

Do any of these work well for you? What tips of your own would you add for waking up ready to rock?

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When you were a child, you often had to wait for permission to do something. Perhaps you needed to be a certain age before you were allowed to use the oven or cross the road by yourself. Maybe you needed to ask mom before you got a snack. Even as a teen, you had to stick to rules: curfew, acceptable music volume, homework…

Once you’re eighteen, you’re free to do what you want (within the bounds of legality). So why do we get stuck waiting for permission?

You’ll know what I mean, even if you’ve never consciously acknowledged it. Maybe:

• You’re waiting for someone to say that you’re good enough before you’ll allow yourself to paint/write/sing/act
• You won’t take that course or qualification until you’re “ready”
• There are some things you’d love to try – but you’re worried what your mom would say
• You’re afraid to be yourself; you always follow the crowd

So often, the only person who needs to say “yes” is … you. Here’s how:

Step 1: Put Yourself In Control

It’s tempting to blame our problems on other people. It’s easy to make excuses for not taking the steps we want to in our lives.

You keep your boring, safe job because quitting would shock your parents. You never branch out and buy different clothes because you wouldn’t fit in with your friends any more. You and your partner want to emigrate, but you know your grandparents will be upset if you move away.

I’m not saying that your decisions are easy, but you do need to make yourself responsible for taking them. That means:

• Stop making excuses like “my mom wouldn’t like it if…” or “my friends would laugh at me”
• Start admitting what you want – even if you’re still convinced you can’t have it. Tell someone you trust or write it down in secret.

Step 2: Get Real About Barriers to Entry

When we’re stuck waiting for permission (from ourselves), it’s often because we think we’re not good enough. Maybe you’d love to learn to paint or act or write, but you’re scared to take a course because you’re a beginner.

In Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards writes:

Often, in fact, people even feel that they shouldn’t take a drawing course because they don’t know already how to draw. This is like deciding that you shouldn’t take a French class because you don’t already speak French, or that you shouldn’t sign up for a course in carpentry because you don’t know how to build a house.

Everyone starts as a beginner. Of course some of us have more innate talent than others, but you can almost certainly improve with teaching and practice.

Is there really anything stopping you applying for that course? Booking a place at that seminar? Applying for that job? Often, the skills and qualifications you’ve got are enough – you’re just selling yourself short.

Step 3: Figure out a First Step

Sometimes, we’re not just waiting for permission – we’re also waiting for someone to tell us how to begin. Just like when we were children, we’re expecting mom or dad or a friend to say “start here”. Unfortunately, you need to figure out your own first steps.

If you’d love to be a writer, stop waiting for the world to give you permission. Figure out what you need to do to get started (maybe write a short story – or send out something to a competition) and get going.

First steps aren’t necessarily easy. You might try and fail. (But that didn’t stop you when you were learning to walk, did it?) You might be afraid that people will laugh, scoff, or even be angry if you take a new direction. Often, you’ll be surprised how supportive the friends and family close to you are – if they really don’t get it, try joining a group, club or association of like-minded people who can encourage you.

Are you waiting for permission to get started on something you’ve dreamt about? Why? Who’s stopping you?

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A lot of people have quite a fatalistic attitude towards self-discipline. They see themselves as essentially undisciplined people who lack the stamina to follow through on their decisions. They might talk about a “procrastination problem” or “no will power”. They blame their lack of self-discipline for their inability to get their business off the ground, or finish college, or successfully quit smoking or diet.

I don’t believe that any of us are lost causes when it comes to self-discipline. I also don’t think that any of us are born with iron wills or great tenacity: it’s something which we learn.

Short-Time Pleasure

A lack of self-discipline is often the result of a focus on short-term pleasure over long-term rewards. You might have experienced this a lot as a teen or in college, prioritising partying or computer games over studying! And, at the time, you might have been quite annoyed by adults who tried to persuade you to knuckle down and get on with your homework. Perhaps you used to blow your allowance money on CDs, only to end up broke and unable to go out with friends.

As we grow up, we learn (sometimes painfully) that it’s often worth enduring some short-term difficulties in order to have longer-term happiness.

How You Developed Self-Discipline

In most cases, we become more self-disciplined as we grow older. If you think back to your childhood or teens, you can probably remember times when you had almost no self-discipline. I suspect that now:

• You’re able to get up on time when you have to go to work – without dad yelling at you to get out of bed
• You make sure you have enough money to pay your bills – without mom doling it out in small installments
• You keep your home reasonably clean: not because your parents are nagging you to do your chores, but because you want to have clean dishes to eat off!

Even though you might feel that you’re not very self-disciplined, you have learnt to delay gratification and to get on with things that aren’t necessarily end-to-end fun – because you know that life’s easier that way.

Growing the Self-Discipline Muscle

In college, I used to regularly drink far too much. I stayed up late at night playing computer games, and often dashed off essays at the last minute. I expect that might sound pretty familiar! However, I now make a living freelancing – and I’ve also written around 200,000 words of fiction in the past year. I probably wouldn’t have had the self-discipline to do what I do today, six years ago.

If you’ve ever worked out in the gym, you’ll know how quickly you can build up muscles. Your self-discipline is a bit like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it’ll become. However, if you try to do far too much too soon, you’ll just fail and end up disappointed.

So how can you actively improve your self discipline?

• Pick three things you will definitely accomplish tomorrow. Many of us have real trouble in actually getting on with the things which we want to get done – we let interruptions and distractions take over our day.

• Take a thirty-day trial. If you’re trying to lose weight, take up exercise, etc, doing it for thirty days can give you more motivation and focus than if you simply try to do it indefinitely. You can always choose to extend the trial. (If thirty days is too long, try a week.)

• Get into the habit of fulfilling your promises – and ask those around you to keep you accountable. If both you and your partner know that when you say “I’ll cook tonight” that it’s not going to happen, then make sure that changes.

• Talk to friends or read books or blogs which encourage you – either by offering advice or by setting an example to follow. I like Dave Navarro’s no-nonsense Rock Your Day.

Above all, stop telling yourself that you “just aren’t self-disciplined”. Don’t see your levels of self-discipline as something dictated by fate – see them as something you can actively earn and improve upon.

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Back in November, I went away for a weekend’s retreat, and it was one of the best things I did last year. I have a lot going on in my life, and clearing that space meant juggling some commitments around – but it was well worth it. I felt much happier and more relaxed than I had done in a long time, and I came back from the weekend determined to keep some of that “quiet space” in my regular life.

I expect that you’re similarly busy. You probably find it hard – logistically and emotionally – to find any time for yourself. When you do get a gap in your day, you end up filling it with chores or emails or tasks that have been on your to-do list for months. And when it comes to the evening, you probably don’t have the energy to do much more than turn the television on.

Even when you’re short of time, though, it’s possible to find yourself a quiet space – mentally, if not always physically! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

If you have … five minutes

Five minutes might not seem like long, but if you sit in silence, focusing on your breathing, you’ll realise how refreshing that time can be. You might want to read up on meditation, or, if you’re religious, you might like to pray.

However busy you are, you can find five minutes a day – perhaps five minutes before work, during your lunch hour, and when you come home from work – to simply sit quietly and let yourself calm down from the busyness of the rest of your day.

If you have … half an hour

Although finding a half-hour block in your day is more challenging than snatching five minutes, it’s definitely possible. It might mean taking your lunch break (instead of working through it), or using the first half-hour when you get home from work in the evening.

Half an hour is a great length of time to go for a brisk walk. I find that walking is one of the best ways of being active, because you don’t need any special equipment, you don’t need to shower afterwards, it’s free, and you can do it almost anywhere. Instead of listening to music while you walk, opt for silence, and observe your thoughts.

If you have … an afternoon

Free afternoons (or mornings) don’t come about all that often, so make the most of them – and try blocking out a Saturday or Sunday afternoon every once in a while. (If you have kids, try arranging a childminding swap – you’ll take your friends’ kids if they’ll have yours the following week.)

A whole morning or afternoon is perfect for digging into a creative project. Whether you like to work with paint, clay, words, music or even food, give yourself the chance to make something. Don’t rush it, or feel that you have to produce something perfect or finished – just enjoy the process of creation.

If you aren’t in the creative mood, try curling up with a great book that you’ve been wanting to read for a while. Treat yourself to a mug of good coffee or hot chocolate too, and enjoy!

If you have … a weekend

Empty weekends are few and far between, and you may have to plan several months ahead to get one. It’s worth it, though: a whole weekend away from the busyness of life can refresh you, get your creative juices flowing, and help you think through the priorities and commitments that you have.

There are many places – some religious, others not – which welcome visitors to come on a retreat. Some retreats are run like courses (e.g. for painters or writers), others are very free-form and you can do whatever you like. Alternatively, you could just book yourself into a hotel, or go hiking for a weekend. Choose something which gets you away from the computer, the phone, and all your day-to-day worries – make yourself as uncontactable as possible!

I’d love to hear how you find quiet in your life, whether it’s for short or long periods.

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Image courtesy of The Huffington Post

You know what it’s like to feel unmotivated. You sit and stare at your to-do list, and nothing on it inspires you at all. It’s just a string of tasks that you wish you didn’t have to do. Simply getting started seems to take an unfathomable amount of effort.

Yet, you don’t always feel that way. You know what motivation feels like, too. You have times when you can’t wait to get started on something – a much-anticipated trip, a big project that you’ve been looking forward to sinking your teeth into, a new course that you’re taking, or a job which is going to be so satisfying when it’s done.

So how can you make sure that you are motivated, whatever the task at hand?

Psychologists distinguish between two forms of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. The effects of each might feel the same – excitement, being keen to “get on with it” – but the two types of motivation arise from different places.

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from within. It’s the sort of motivation that you get when you’re doing something you enjoy; when the task itself is its own reward. Think of something you love – perhaps computer games, playing the guitar, cooking, painting … any activity you enjoy. You never procrastinate over it, do you? It seems almost silly to ask that – of course you don’t, if anything, you put off other tasks in order to do the ones you enjoy!

One way to make your to-do list easier is to put as many tasks on it as possible which are things you love. Sometimes they might be hard, or you might feel a little resistance to getting started – but once you’re doing them, you find them fun.

In some cases, that might mean rethinking your career choice or your lifestyle. If your life is made up of a whole string of unexciting or unpleasant tasks, how did you get into that situation? What can you do to change it?

When you’re engaged on something which makes you intrinsically motivated, you’ll find that:

• It’s fairly easy to maintain your concentration
• You’re keen to do well because the task deserves your best effort
• You’d do it whether or not you were paid or rewarded in any way

Intrinsic motivation can be a powerful force – but it can also be subject to your moods; when you’re feeling cheerful and upbeat, you’re more likely to enjoy what you’re working on than when you’re feeling low. And for some tasks, there’s simply no way you’re going to enjoy them. That’s where extrinsic motivation comes in.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation comes from outside. This is the motivation which gets you to plough on with something you don’t like all that much … because you know there’ll be a reward at the end. Think of a time in your life when you stuck with something in order to reach a particular goal: maybe you studied hard in college not because you loved studying, but because you wanted to get your degree. Or perhaps you worked in a job that bored you because you needed the paycheck. On a day to day level, you probably clean your house because you want it to be a pleasant place to live – not because you really love cleaning.

Sometimes, people think that extrinsic motivation is shallow or false – but it can be a very powerful force. Most difficult things become more bearable when you’ve got something to look forward to at the end.

With extrinsic motivation, you’ll find that:

• It might be hard to concentrate – you may be tempted to procrastinate
• You want to do the task to a high enough standard to get the reward or achieve the goal at the end, but you don’t care much about it being perfect or excellent.
• You’d be much more reluctant to do it if there was no reward

External motivation is easier to manufacture than intrinsic motivation. If you have a string of tasks which need to be done, but which don’t interest or excite you in any way, can you find extrinsic motivation? That might mean:

• Promising yourself a reward at the end (e.g. a cookie, a new DVD, some “me time” to indulge)
• Focusing on the goal rather than on the process – the finished result
• Finding a way for the completed task to give you public acknowledgement or acclaim (easier said than done – taking a qualification would be one way, or joining an organization focused on that particular area)

What works for you? Are most of your activities intrinsically or extrinsically motivated – or is it a bit of both?

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How To Increase Your Will Power

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Have you ever thought about quitting your job and working for yourself? Maybe it’s an idle whim that you have from time to time – or perhaps a much more serious intention. Whether it’s your two-hour commute, your gossiping colleagues, the office politics, the boss, the boring work or the inflexible hours, your job just isn’t much fun. It’s definitely not your true passion.

If “quit the day job” is one of your resolutions for 2010, you’ll find lots of encouragement around the internet. I’m a fan of plenty of freelancing and self-development blogs, and many writers can’t wait to extol the virtues and pleasures of being your own boss and working for yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy working for myself; I get to work in the comfort of my home, doing what I love. But I’m going to be brutally honest in this post and offer you six reasons to reconsider working for yourself – before you end up making a move that you might regret.

Plus, I’ll give you some tips on negating all six less-than-stellar aspects of the self-employed lifestyle…

1.    It Isn’t Stress-Free

First off, a lot of people think that working from home is going to be amazing. Surely freelancers get to sit around in their pajamas watching daytime TV?

The reality is that you’ll probably be ditching one lot of stresses for a different set. Sure, you won’t have the boss with the anger management problem any more … but you might be having a panic attack at the sight of your bank balance. You may also find yourself taking on more work, or more complex work, than you can comfortably handle.

Fix it: If you’re taking the leap into self-employment, be prepared for it to be stressful at times. Get honest with yourself: how much risk and uncertainty will you be comfortable with? How much down time do you need? You can determine exactly what you do and don’t do, so make sure you’re putting yourself in the best possible position right from the start.

2.    No-One Tells You When to Start Work

Yes, I know this doesn’t sound like much of a drawback! If you work from yourself, you can keep whatever hours you like. You don’t have to be at your desk at eight am. You don’t even have to get out of bed before noon. However…

It’s easy to end up wasting valuable time (and when you’re working for yourself, you’ll become all too aware of how time = money). If you work with clients who’ll expect to contact you by phone, or who want swift replies to emails during office hours, you might find that you’re losing out on potential gigs.

Fix it: Choose your working hours based on when you’re at your best. I’m a morning person, so I’m often at my desk at 7.30am; other freelancers work late in the evening. Be clear about which days are working days (it doesn’t necessarily have to be Monday to Friday). Try having a routine that gets you out of bed and into the day – like a brisk walk, a shower, and an energizing breakfast. If you regularly have a problem getting going, learn how to overcome procrastination.

3.    …Or When to Stop

The flip side to having no start time is that you don’t have a stop time, either. I wrote a piece about Why You’ll Never Be Finished in response to a question from a reader who said “Now I am working for myself I do find it hard to stop because who is telling me when enough is enough?”

This is a real problem for a lot of self-employed folks – and it can lead to substandard work, high stress levels and eventual burn-out. However much you love what you do for a living, you need time to rest and recharge.

Fix it: Recognise that when you work for yourself, your job and your hours of work can expand beyond all recognition. Give yourself a firm “stop” time each day (perhaps tied to your family or household’s schedule) and make sure you at least have a couple of hours of non-work time before bed. You’ll sleep more soundly for it.

4.    There’s No Guaranteed Paycheck

In a traditional job, you know exactly what you’re being paid and when. As a freelancer, you’ll find that cash flow is sporadic. This can be a particular problem if your self-employment involves a large outlay on equipment or materials of some sort.

Many freelancers either work on a succession of small jobs (with a few hundred dollars coming in from each – often not on time!) or have one huge project on the go (which could mean getting paid in large sums every few months). If you’re used to getting a paycheck every two weeks, you may end up running into serious financial problems – especially if you have a non or late paying client.

Fix it: Have an emergency fund or a buffer that covers you for late and irregular payments. When you get large sums, resist the temptation to splash out. Put unexpected bonuses, such as gifts, into a savings account. For big projects, bill in installments during the work. Get new clients to pay 50% upfront.

5.    No-One Has Your Back

In most office jobs, there’s a limit to how much you can screw up. Even if you do something so awful that you get fired, you’ll be entitled to some period of leave. And generally, it’s hard to make huge mistakes: someone will be double-checking anything vital.

When you’re self-employed, everything is your responsibility. If you forget to bill a client, it’s your problem. If you’re so poorly organized that your clients start leaving you, or if you can’t get yourself motivated to complete your work, or if you take on so much that you rush it all and do a poor job … you could ruin your reputation in the industry. You might even get sued by an angry client.

Fix it: Get professional advice where applicable (perhaps when doing your taxes or accounts). Depending on where you live, you may need to set up as a limited company – so that you can’t be held personally liable for potential financial problems. Make sure that you have the time and energy to do your best work, and be careful about managing client expectations – don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

I know I’ve struck a pessimistic note in this piece – and I’d like to end by saying that I have never regretted leaving my own day job and striking out on my own! However, personal experience has taught me that self-employment – like any worthwhile endeavor – isn’t always easy. If you’ve got experience of working for yourself, or if you’d love to quit your job, why not share your thoughts in the comments?

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At the end of a year, we tend to look back at what we’ve accomplished – and what we want to go on and achieve. I know that in past years, I’ve often wondered where my time went. Do you feel like that, as though you’ve not really managed to do all that much over the past twelve months? Do you feel like you’re constantly busy – but without much to show for it?

We’ve all got twenty-four hours in the day and, like it or not, your time is going somewhere. Here’s how to find out where – and how to make some adjustments to ensure more of your time is being spent on exactly what you want to spend it on.

Time Logging

Known as time logging or time tracking, this is the practice of recording what you do at intervals throughout the day. It might sound like a waste of time – but it’s incredibly good at revealing weaknesses you didn’t know you had. (I know that doesn’t sound terribly enticing!)

There are several ways to do this: find one which is as simple and unobtrusive for you as possible. A couple that work for me are:

• Use a spreadsheet marked with 15 minute intervals. (8.00, 8.15, 8.30 etc). Record what you were doing at each time (just put ditto marks if you were carrying on with the same activity).
• Use a notebook and write each activity on a separate line, with its start time. Include any interruptions that cropped up – indent these to make them obvious.

If you do this for a week, you’ll get a very clear picture of exactly how long you’re spending on different tasks. You’ll also be more aware of interruptions and “urgent” tasks which crop up and send your plan off-schedule.

Many people find that tracking their time helps them to stay accountable – just as successful dieters often find that keeping a food diary makes them think twice about that extra cookie.

Task Switching

Whenever you switch between tasks, you take a bit of time to get “into” the next item on the list. If you’re writing a big report and stop to read your email, then start writing an email and stop to answer the phone, then have to go to a meeting, then get back to the report … you can quickly see why you might take a few minutes to figure out where you left off! If you’re doing creative work, switching between tasks can take you out of the “zone” and may even make you forget that great idea which you were starting to form.

If your time log involves a lot of switching between tasks, look and see if you can batch together similar ones. For example, can you write a bunch of emails in a single half-hour, rather than spending several separate five-or-ten-minute periods on them? Can you schedule all your  meetings or calls for the afternoon, leaving the morning free to get on with high-energy work?

Charlie Gilkey puts this very clearly:

So you might have two hour-long calls at 2pm and 4pm. You’ll naturally start to disengage from whatever you’re doing before that 2pm call at around 1:45, and you might have a hard time engaging in anything after that 2pm call until 3:15. But you’ll also disengage at 3:45 for your 4pm call in the same way. If your “work hours” for the afternoon are 1pm to 5:30pm, you’d be hard-pressed to get a lot done that afternoon outside of your calls.

(Charlie Gilkey, The Key to Consistent Creativity and Productivity, Productive Flourishing)

Keeping Focused

Many of us have a problem with focus – both on a macro and a micro level.

On the macro level, we’re often chasing too many goals. Perhaps next year won’t be the year when you finally write a novel, lose 50lbs, start your own business and find your life partner … but it definitely could be the year for one of those. Trying to do too many things at once often means that you don’t see any of them through to completion.

On a micro level, there are a lot of distractions going on that keep us from getting on with the tasks which take us towards our goals. You probably know your particular nemesis: whether it’s television, Facebook, Twitter, or watching funny videos of cats. Focusing on the task at hand doesn’t require great self-discipline: it’s a habit which gets easier the more you practice it – and there are various tricks (like listening to music) which can help you to stay focused.

Have you found out anything about where your time has gone over the past week, month or year? What changes are you going to be making next year to make sure your time goes where YOU want it to?

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Who’s in charge of your life?

That might sound like a strange question. But bear with me here. How often have you said something like:

• I’d start my own business if only my partner was more supportive.
• It’s my uncle’s fault that I smoke.
• Well, I wouldn’t drink so much if it wasn’t for my friends.
• My boss really stresses me out.
• I can’t quit my job to travel the world … what would people think?
• I have to lose weight so that I can look more attractive.

In each of these cases, there’s a “should” or a “can’t” that’s been dictated by someone other than you. Perhaps it’s a family member, your peer group, or society as a whole. And many of us are prone to ditching responsibility in this way. I know that I, for one, find it much easier to blame my problems on someone else than to admit that they’re down to me!

Here are three ways to wrest back control:

Take 100% Responsibility

Several of the personal development writers who I read – Jack Canfield and Steve Pavlina amongst them – emphasize how important it is to take full responsibility for your life.

Yes, of course other people have an effect on us. Perhaps it’s your partner’s fault that your joint credit card is maxed out, or maybe your grandma fed you too much candy as a child and that’s why you have a mouthful of fillings. But in every case, you have a responsibility for what you’re doing about it now.

What situations in your life are you refusing to take responsibility for? Are you blaming your boss or colleagues for making you stressed? Are you blaming your kids or housemates for not clearing up around the house? You’ve got two choices: either you learn to accept the current status quo, or you take full responsibility for making it change. (That doesn’t mean kow-towing to the boss or picking up after the kids – it means being brave and telling people what you want them to do.)

Yes, responsibility sometimes means admitting our part in screwing things up. But it’s also empowering: when you’re responsible for something, you can change it.

Ignore Expectations

We get so many messages about how things should be done. The media tells us how we should look (by presenting fake, airbrushed photos) – and what we should wear, eat, do, buy… On top of that, our friends and family often tell us, explicitly or implicitly, that we should behave like them.

What would you do if there were no expectations on you? Where are you letting other people dictate your choices and preferences? When have you gone with someone else’s expectations for you – at the cost of your own happiness? (Think about kids whose parents push them into medical school when they’d rather study fine art, or adults who stay in high-paying jobs which they hate because society says that’s what to do.)

Now, sometimes we have to be pragmatic. Perhaps you’d love to spend Christmas with just your partner and kids – rather than visiting the in-laws. However, the cost of doing so (upsetting your mother-in-law) just isn’t worth it. It’s okay to meet expectations from others – but, surprisingly, you may find that you feel a lot happier about it when you’ve faced up to the fact that it really is your choice to do so.

Stand Up for What You Want

Many of us find it genuinely hard to say what we want. We end up stalling even on very simple decisions, like where to go for dinner. Often, our intentions are laudable: we’re trying to keep others happy. However, this can sometimes mean suppressing our own desires and feeling bitter about it.

There’s nothing wrong in standing up for what you want. The only time this becomes selfish is if you refuse to listen to other people’s wants too. Get into the habit of telling your spouse, or mom, or kids, what you would like to do. Again, sometimes you’ll have to be pragmatic and compromise – but at least you’ve stated your preference.

If you feel as though you’ve no idea what you really want – just for yourself – then simply pick something. Ask yourself what you’d choose if you did have a preference. Or just flip a coin! The point is that you make your own decisions – rather than letting others make them for you.

Do you feel as though other people are dictating the terms on which you live your life? Who – and how? Share your thoughts on this in the comments below.

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