Having Trouble Staying Motivated? 

I am. Lately, I have just been in a funk. I have been disorganized at home and I’ve let my to-do list get the better of me. I know. I am ashamed, but we all have our little setbacks. Starting today, I have done the following to get me going again and it has worked. I’m writing to you as a result!

Note: This was originally published July 20, 2015 and has since been updated to fix small grammatical errors.

Write Your Goals And Make Them Visible

todo-whiteboard

Whiteboard to-do list

You may have written your goals in your organizer, or manage your to-do list with an app, but nothing compares to writing your goals and to-do’s down and making them visible. Get a whiteboard for the kitchen, a Post-it note, or a mirror with a dry-erase marker and write away.  Here’s some tips:

  • Break down your goals and to-do’s into something more manageable. The smaller the task, the more likely you are to complete it.
  • Add anything – Appointments, reminders, or even statements like “You are awesome!” will do wonders for your morale.

These should be visible to you where you will see them the most. So, don’t go adding post-its and goals in your spare bedroom you never use. My whiteboard is placed on my kitchen cabinet where I drink my morning water, and take my medication and vitamins. This is also where I open and dispose of mail after work ,therefore, there is no escaping these goals.

Plan Your Time

Nothing else can help keep you motivated better than planning your time. 

calendar-planning

After getting your list together and written down. Add a date to it. Personally, I manage this via my Google calendar. I look at this list and block the time on my calendar for when I think I can complete it. Adding reminders pings my phone or desktop with a notification of my entry 15 minutes before it is to start. Just knowing what I am working on ahead of time eliminates the guess-work when I get home after a long day, and I can just jump right into it. 

Find What Inspires You

Is it music? Sometimes putting on that favorite playlist can ignite one to do something.  Music soothes me and helps my creative juices flow. Whether it is to write, read, or create my own music. 

Maybe it is someone else. Do you have a blog that you love to visit? Is there a writer that inspires you? Is there a home designer that posts some awesome stuff to inspire you? Go read them! Go watch them!  I love web design, so I like to stop by a few design blogs to check things out and that always gets my mind flowing. I take that energy and put it into action. 

Find your inspiration and let it get you motivated.

Don’t Overwhelm YourSelf

Don’t write more than what you can reasonably accomplish. Yes, you’ve broken up your goals into small manageable tasks, but that doesn’t mean that you can complete a 100 of them in a week.  Keep it small. Keep it simple!

Take A Break

beer

Every night of my week is not planned with calendar entries to take on a task and neither should yours. Some nights I just want to myself, so those remain empty. The goal here is to try not to move a planned item, but just plan for nothing. Make Thursday evening your movie night. Catch up on the latest episode of Halt & Catch Fire and Mr. Robot. That’s what I am doing.

Are You Motivated?

I am. Just sharing my tips to get and staying motivated has motivated me! I hope that these tips were helpful or just good reminders to get you out-of-the-funk.