Sometimes, lack of motivation seems like the only thing holding us back from achieving our goals and dreams in life. But where do we get this motivation? Is there a magic formula to make motivation appear?
Maybe you feel tired, uninspired or you can’t find motivation to get out of bed and study. Whatever it might be, I’m here to help. These 20 tips will help you become more productive and motivated.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy an item, I may earn a commission without any additional charges to you.
1.Start small (like really small)
If you feel like you have no motivation at all and you have a hard time getting things done, maybe you’re thinking too big. Start by taking small, baby steps towards your goal everyday so that overtime you will make a lot of progress. This way, you will not get scared or feel unmotivated and you will actually get things done.
For example, if you want to lose weight, you don’t have to immediately start working out for hours and eat only salads. You can start by doing some sort of work out for a few minutes and start eating one healthy meal everyday. After some time you can increase the duration of your workouts and the number of healthy meals you eat daily.
2.Keep track of your progress
If you constantly see progress, you will never lack motivation, but sometimes seeing progress may be more difficult than you thought. In order for you to always feel productive, you should keep track of your progress daily.
Let’s say your goal is to read more books, keep track of how many pages you read everyday and for how long. By doing this, you will be able to improve at what you’re doing and also see the progress that you made.
A good way to keep track of your progress is by having a planner that helps you with that. This one is my personal favorite!
3.Make your goals realistic
Don’t get me wrong, you should always set high standards for yourself but the dreams you have for your life have to be achievable too. Unrealistic goals will only increase your lack of motivation and of productivity.
Instead of focusing on trying to achieve unrealistic dreams, focus on the ones that are realistic and that you can achieve. As I said before, taking small steps is the key to stay motivated, so you should start by setting smaller goals that will help you obtain your bigger ones.
4.Create a routine that works for you
If you want to become productive and successful, you have to be as organized as possible and the way to do that is to create a routine that works for you. The truth is no one but yourself can create the perfect daily routine for your life.
A thing a lot of wealthy people do and maybe you should too is time blocking. It will help you make sure you spend enough time focused and working. While you should spend a lot of time working towards your goal, in your daily routine , make sure you also spend time relaxing and having fun.
You can create a perfect routine by having a journal that help you keep track of all your habits. I use this one and it helped me a lot!
5.Prioritize the most important tasks
Sometimes you become so stressed about small stuff that you forget to do the most important tasks. To avoid that from happening, your first priorities should always be your most important tasks. Even if you don’t always want to do those tasks, you should tackle procrastination head on. Don’t make excuses that waste your time, instead try focusing and working as much as you can on your main priorities.
6.Challenge yourself
Often times we experience lack of motivation because we don’t feel challenged. If the challenge is too big, then you might get scared and lose interest, but if the challenge is too small you will easily lose motivation and will become bored. As humans, we need to feel constantly challenged in our life in order to stay motivated and productive. Try to make your work and your life filled with constant challenges!
7.Ask a friend for help
You will automatically feel more motivated if someone believes in you and your dreams. Consider having a “goal buddy” that will motivate and encourage you everyday. If you’re struggling to find motivation to exercise or you struggle to find motivation for work, having a friend that shares similar goals with you will help you, as you can keep each other accountable.
8.Celebrate small wins
Every little bit of progress is still progress and you should be proud of it. In order to stay motivated you should celebrate even the small wins because after all they are still wins. Celebrating the small things you achieve will surely increase your level of productivity and it will make you feel a lot more motivated. Always remember that you should enjoy the journey until you get to your goal.
9.Learn how to manage your stress
Being stressed will make you feel fatigued, tired and in no-way motivated. If you want to be productive, make sure you know how to manage your stress. Taking a break to just relax and calm down is the best thing to do when you feel overwhelmed.
The ways to counter stress are different from person to person, but here are a few ideas:
Exercising – It helps with your cognitive function and makes you feel more energized;
Journaling – It eases stresses like anxiety or pain.
Yoga – Helps with your breathing rate and improves your concentration- You can simply do it using this yoga mat;
Meditation – It clears out your mind and makes you feel less tried.
10.Stay positive
Whether we feel motivated or not is up to us. When you start feeling stressed and your mind starts filling up with negative thoughts, it’s very important to replace those thoughts with positive ones. A positive mindset leads to positive actions, so make sure you fill your mind with positive affirmations that will help you achieve your goals. Take control over your mindset because that will lead to big accomplishments.
11.Visualise your success
When you simply can’t find any motivation, visualizing yourself succeeding will help you concentrate more and obtain your goals. Every time you have no will to get up and do something productive, try to think about successfully completing that task and how good will achieving that feel.
12.Don’t multitask
Don’t try to split your attention in a lot of places, instead give your full attention to only one task. Chances of succeeding are way higher when you’re focusing on only one thing instead of a ton of tasks!
13.Spend a lot of time in the zone
When you’re in the zone you are the most focused, you have high productivity and can get the most work done. Try to spend as much time in the zone as possible. Create an environment that allows you to create your best ideas and do your best work. These sound proof headphones will help improve your focus by a lot!
14.Find out what drives you today
The key to always being motivated is to be passionate about what you do. Make sure the goal that you have is connected to your passion. Your passion will always keep you engaged and entertained and you will never feel bored or unmotivated.
15.Eliminate distraction
How many times have you been distracted from doing something productive by your phone? If you want to feel productive at all times, you have to cut out some distractions from your life. For example, your phone is probably what distracts you the most, so it might be a good idea to put it on airplane mode from time to time. As I said before, a set of soundproof headphones will help you cut out distractions!
16.Take time for yourself
Sometimes it’s better if you take a break to just relax and calm down. Motivation will not come if you’re constantly tired. Whenever you feel like you’re becoming stressed, make sure you take a break and do something that will help you energize and that will help clear your mind from any problems you might have. A few bath bombs and a bath will help you calm down instantly!
17.Read about it daily
Every time I lack motivation I go and read about my goal and it immediately reinvigorates me. Reading helps you focus and motivates you on what you’re reading about. So make sure that you’ll try to read about your goal everyday, especially on the days when you lack motivation and productivity.
If you would like to find the best books to read for self improvement, check this article out: 10 Books You Need To Read If You Want To Become Successful and A Millionaire.
18.Make it fun
You can’t stay motivated for long, if you easily become bored. So if you seriously want to feel motivated, make sure you find a way to make it fun. Having fun while working shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing because it can be a great motivator.
19.Be willing to fail
You won’t always progress and become better, sometimes you will fail and you will have to take two steps back. However, you shouldn’t be afraid of failure, instead you should embrace it. When you experience failure you will lose motivation but a thing a lot of people don’t realize is that motivation comes and goes. But remember that while motivation may go away, it will always come back.
20.Don’t give up
Think of your goal as a long journey that will have some bumps on the way, but you have to get through them. Again, your motivation will come back even if you feel you’re in a slump right now. Whatever you do, don’t ever give up. Stick with your dreams for the long term and you will get there.
BOTTOM LINE
Motivation can sometimes be difficult to find, but what you have to understand is that once you’ll find your true motivation, happiness and success will come in your life too. Motivation is something that you have within you and that you’re the only one who can find it.
If you enjoyed reading this article and you would like to read more about this subject, take a look at my blogFixed Happiness. I would love to know what you thought of this post. Do you have other tips about finding motivation? Tell me in the comments and I’ll be glad to read them.
