{"id":11568,"date":"2012-10-09T21:17:39","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T05:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=11568"},"modified":"2013-09-20T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T21:09:11","slug":"7-easy-ways-to-boost-your-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/7-easy-ways-to-boost-your-motivation\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Easy Ways to Boost Your Motivation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/pAjjf-30A\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Do you always feel motivated to achieve your goals?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re anything like me \u2013 and most of the world! \u2013 you almost certainly have days when your motivation takes a sudden nose-dive.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps you were really enthusiastic about your new diet at the start of the week &#8230; but now it\u2019s Friday, and you\u2019re craving chocolate.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps you were excited about starting your own business &#8230; but now you\u2019ve realized just how much work you need to do.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps you were firmly committed to exercising every day &#8230; but now you\u2019re tired, and you don\u2019t seem to have the energy to even get off the sofa.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Motivation is a powerful force, one that helps us make new commitments and carry them through. Like any emotion, though, motivation comes and goes.<\/strong> You\u2019ll have days when you wake up ready to leap into action \u2013 and days when you just want to hit snooze and curl up under the duvet.<\/p>\n<p>Here are seven ways to boost your motivation \u2013 try at least one today.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>#1: Do Things That You Enjoy<\/h2>\n<p>This might be a bit easier said than done &#8230; but in general, try to focus your life around activities that you genuinely enjoy. It\u2019s far, far easier to be motivated when you love what you\u2019re doing than when you feel so-so about it.<\/p>\n<p>You might want to think about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Your work.<\/strong> Perhaps switching to your dream career isn\u2019t an option right now \u2013 but can you take on more of the tasks that you like, and delegate some of the ones you don\u2019t like?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your goals.<\/strong> If you\u2019re trying to establish a good exercise routine, for instance, look for forms of activity that you genuinely enjoy &#8230; not ones that feel like a chore.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your commitments.<\/strong> Look for ways to reduce or cut out any which you don\u2019t enjoy. Don\u2019t be afraid to say \u201cno\u201d \u2013 even to something that you\u2019ve said \u201cyes\u201d to in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>#2: Focus on Your Goal or the Outcome<\/h2>\n<p>Most big projects require a lot of work over an extended period of time. However excited you are about your end goal, there\u2019ll almost certainly be times when the work at hand isn\u2019t especially appealing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Instead of thinking about the boring or difficult task you need to get through today, focus on your goal, or the outcome. <\/strong>For instance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making a healthy choice for lunch will help you to reach your goal of losing weight.<\/li>\n<li>Dealing with a dull but necessary task will make life easier in the future.<\/li>\n<li>Getting something checked off your to-do list will make you feel good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>#3: Go For Some Easy Wins<\/h2>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re really struggling to get going at the start of the day (or at the start of a session working towards a particular goal), look for some easy wins.<\/strong> These are tasks that you can complete in just a few minutes, leaving you with a sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>That could be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Writing an email or making a phone call that you\u2019ve been putting off.<\/li>\n<li>Tidying your closet, or sorting out one small area of your house.<\/li>\n<li>Filing those papers that have been mounting up for weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>#4: Tackle the Hardest Task First<\/h2>\n<p>This is an alternative to #3 \u2013 or something you can try after spending 15 \u2013 30 minutes on quick wins. Tackle the hardest task on your list, the one that you feel least like doing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This might seem an odd recipe for motivation &#8230; but once that difficult task is out of the way, everything else will seem easy in comparison.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHardest\u201d here doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s intellectually or physically demanding. Sometimes, a single phone call that you\u2019ve been putting off can feel very difficult.<\/p>\n<h2>#5: Take Regular Breaks from Working<\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re feeling fresh and alert, it\u2019s easy to be motivated &#8230; but as the day goes on, you might find your motivation levels dropping hour by hour.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Taking breaks is a great way to improve your productivity<\/strong>: instead of struggling away for hours (perhaps procrastinating some of the time), you have a deliberate, planned break from your work. This means you return feeling refreshed and more motivated.<\/p>\n<p>Most people also find that they can work harder and faster when they know there\u2019s a break coming up. (If you\u2019ve ever managed to clear a lot of tasks off your to-do list in the last couple of hours of Friday, you\u2019ll have experienced this effect!)<\/p>\n<h2>#6: Don\u2019t Take On Too Much<\/h2>\n<p>Most of us are in a position where we\u2019re doing too much. We over-commit at work or in our home life, and we try to tackle several goals at a time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>However motivated you are, you only have 24 hours in each day \u2013 and you need sufficient sleep and down time.<\/strong> You also need to allow for the occasions where things don\u2019t go smoothly: a sudden crisis at home or work will be much easier to deal with if your daily schedule contains a bit of slack.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to major goals (like losing weight, writing a book, changing career), it\u2019s a good idea to have just one goal as a priority at any one time. That way, you\u2019re much more likely to succeed.<\/p>\n<h2>#7: Reward Yourself<\/h2>\n<p>Some experts feel that rewards can be counter-productive, but I think they\u2019re useful in moderation \u2013 and can certainly be a good quick fix for motivation problems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re struggling to stay focused on a particular task, promise yourself a reward for when you\u2019re done.<\/strong> That could be a mug of coffee, a quick walk round the block, a break to read your favorite magazine &#8230; whatever works for you.<\/p>\n<p>In many cases, the \u201creward\u201d might well be something you were going to have or do anyway \u2013 you\u2019re simply shifting it to the end of this particular task, rather than stopping mid-way.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>What helps you to recover your motivation on a bad day? Share your tips with us in the comments.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Motivation is a powerful force, one that helps us make new commitments and carry them through. Like any emotion, though, motivation comes and goes. You\u2019ll have days when you wake up ready to leap into action \u2013 and days when you just want to hit snooze and curl up under the duvet. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/7-easy-ways-to-boost-your-motivation\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":11570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[4631,1562,66,4639,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Easy Ways to Boost Your Motivation - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re anything like me \u2013 and most of the world! \u2013 you almost certainly have days when your motivation takes a sudden nose-dive. 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