Whether you are trying to keep your home clean or trying to get up to go to work, staying motivated can feel impossible. It can bring about a lot of negative feelings when you struggle to motivate yourself. This is completely normal and valid to feel a lack of motivation. It is also okay if you feel embarrassed for struggling to motivate yourself or to keep yourself motivated. Here are a few tips to get and keep yourself motivated.
Make Achievable Goals and Look at Them Often
One way to begin feeling motivated in your everyday life is to make goals. Whether they are goals for the day, the week, the month, or the year, knowing what you want to accomplish and why is important to keep your life filled with purpose. When you begin to make goals, you want to make sure that they are “SMART“:
- Specific: You need to make your goal as specific as possible to not misinterpret it when you look back at it.
- Measurable: Track your progress. Keep updates in a journal or a checklist, etc.
- Attainable: Make realistic goals. Making unattainable goals may overwhelm you and inhibit you from being motivated at all.
- Relevant: Your values, beliefs, and interests should be considered when making goals.
- Timely: Giving yourself a deadline helps you stay conscious of how much time you need to complete your goal – wanting to finish household chores by 5 pm, for example.
By using the SMART method for creating goals, you hit every point that motivates you to get working.
Break Large Goals Into Smaller Goals
Trying to stay motivated when you have a lot on your plate can be too overwhelming. To combat this, break up your work into smaller pieces. By doing this, you can focus on one step at a time, making it less overwhelming to look at. You can break things up into a to-do list if applicable and go one by one down the list.
While it is important to look at the bigger picture of what you want to accomplish, it is counter-intuitive if looking at the big picture gives you anxiety and tempts you to avoid the whole situation.
First, think of the best order to complete the task. While thinking of this order, write it down. These become the steps you will take one at a time. Next, have a deadline for each step just like your goals. For example, if you are cleaning your room, you can choose to put your clothes away first. Tell yourself you want to finish this by ___ o’clock. After giving yourself steps and deadlines, it’s time to get to work. If you begin feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to take a break.
Keep your breaks short. It is good to take a break when you are feeling overwhelmed, but you don’t want to break for so long that you lose your motivation to continue. Set a timer for five to fifteen minutes when taking breaks from daily tasks. If your tasks are longer than a day’s worth, set aside a specific time and duration that you plan on working on your tasks.
By breaking tasks down and taking breaks when you begin feeling overwhelmed, you give yourself the ability to stay motivated for longer periods.
Minimize Distractions and Create the Best Work Space
One reason we struggle to motivate ourselves is we keep too many distractions around us in our everyday life. From clutter to smartphones, we fall victim to the temptation of these distractions. To maintain motivation, it is best to diminish distractions and create the best possible workspace.
Turn your phone off or turn the volume down. Keep the television off. If you listen to music while you continue working, consider music without words if your task requires a lot of focus. If you are working at a desk, make sure your desk is clean. By keeping your workspace clean and keeping your technology off when possible, you take away distractions and make a better environment to keep yourself motivated.
Try to Make It Fun and Stay Positive
If after making goals, breaking up your tasks, and getting rid of distractions, you are still lacking motivation, try to make your goals and tasks more enjoyable. Play music that gets you moving. Make a game out of it. Remind yourself how good you will feel once you’ve completed your goals. Staying positive and keeping your tasks as fun as possible can keep you feeling motivated to complete them.
While a lack of motivation every once in a while is normal, rarely feeling motivated can be cause for concern. If you continue struggling to motivate yourself even after trying these tips on your own, you will want to consider talking to a therapist about it. A therapist can give you more strategies to motivate yourself. They can even work with you to find reasons you may lack motivation or the ability to motivate yourself.
Mindfuli knows how hard it can be to stay motivated in your everyday life. By talking with a counselor or therapist, you can begin to learn more strategies to motivate yourself. Therapy can give you the tools you need to live a more fulfilling life. They can help you make SMART goals and you can work with them to attain them. You can find what motivates you and begin living a happier life. It’s time to find what inspires you and keeps you moving through your life with purpose. You don’t have to struggle on your own with this. To learn more about our services, call us at (866) 973-4415.
