Getting and keeping your motivational level up is essential, regardless on if it is for a business venture or other personal goals in your life. It helps you get things done and makes life’s every days tasks easier to tackle. Not having drive and aspirations can make life very dreary and at times seem pointless. It can be hard at first, but once you start to see progress from your hard work it can be very rewarding. It can inspire you to keep pushing ahead and do things you never thought possible. Reach new heights and take on new endeavors. As a bonus those around you may start to take notice and your positivity can rub off to them. And being able to inspire others to accomplish great things is the best gift one can receive.
Take a few moments to read over these helpful tips and ideas that might just help you get more motivated.
1. Setting yourself smaller goals
I am the worst at trying to do too much at once. My mind is full of ideas and I want to fit many lives into just one. As great as it is to try lots of things, you will never get good at anything if you keep jumping from one idea to the next. Starting new ideas is fun, it’s like starting a new relationship. But soon reality sets in and you realize how much work it is. How much time things actually take. It can be easy to give up at this point. And honestly most people do. I can’t count how many times people have told me about an idea they had. Only to make excuses why they shouldn’t do it a few minutes later. I think just talking about it starts to discourage them as they start to see the work involved.
If you have a hard time even starting anything maybe your ideas are too big. Start with small successes and try to build up your confidence. It is easy to say you want to do all these things. Doing them on the other hand is a lot harder. Be realistic with yourself. Instead of talking about all these big plans and goals do some self examination. Find one thing in your life you can improve upon. Something easy but that will give you a result that is more or better then you started. Setting smaller goals or break big ones up into smaller chunks can help you actually accomplish them.
2. Discover inspiration in someone else
Sometimes we learn and grow from watching others. There will always be other people who have more knowledge them us. Finding others that have accomplished the things we aspire to do one day can be empowering. We can get feedback and hear how they got past the hurdles we might be facing today. They may be happy to talk and give tips to help you on your path. You might even find some group with a bunch of people in the same area of business or whatever your goal is. Then you get to see many levels of learning and expertises. You might even teach what you have learned so far to others. Teaching others helps to keep you more motivated also. It also helps you understand it more as you have to explain it to others. And you make connections that may come in handy in the future. Networking is always good. And if you are learning at the same time you are accomplishing a few things at once.
3. Take a new approach
Shaking things up when you feel like you are going nowhere and just spinning your wheels can be the best approach. Maybe you have lost interest in your goal and are just dredging along. Make it fun again, change things up. Maybe find a new fitness group. Or meet new business minded people. Try a different time of the day to do your plan. Or a different setting to work on it. If it’s writing you are doing maybe get out to a coffee shop to for a change of scenery. Just doing small changes to make it not so routine can be refreshing. Go new places to find inspiration. Talk to new people. And maybe you might need to adjust your goal a bit. You could be getting burnt out. You might need to drop other things that are taking up too much time and making it much harder to accomplish it all. Learn to say no to all the things you are doing for others in order to have the time you need. And reward yourself along the way as you see progress. Be proud of what you have done and don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect. Tomorrow is another day.
4. Make lists of your goals
I know this isn’t the most fun thing to do but it can be very helpful in knowing what you need to do in order to accomplish your goals. Writing lists in broken down task form will help you pick away at your main goal/ goals better. Instead of just having it all in your mind with no way of really seeing your progress. This way you can tick off the chunks as you accomplish them. It helps keep you motivated as you will realize you are actually accomplishing your goals. Plus you will have a better understanding of how long every aspect will take you for better time management in the future.
5. Connect with an accountability partner
Having somebody there to talk to and keep you on track can be very helpful. Maybe they are working on the same goal and you can encourage each other. Or work on it together. Doing things alone isn’t much fun. Having a partner to work with can be so much nicer. It can be anyone in your life. Empowering each other along the journey. Challenge each other and set goals together. My only attempt at crocheting was with my sister many years ago. We both made a hat. They both were horrible! Somehow one was twice the size and the other had big holes where it connected. Even though this didn’t set off my crocheting career it was most enjoyable. We laughed and at the awefull outcome. And probably made plans to do more projects. Whatever you are setting out to accomplish doing it as a team can make it easier to stick to. The other person is depending on you and you on them. It’s harder to walk away from a goal when you involve others. And when one of you is starting to feel less motivated the other can hold you up. Give advice and help you feel stronger. Also I always find I think of ideas and get more inspired when conversing with others. You are accessing their knowledge and seeing other points of view than just yours. ourselves.
6. Psych yourself up
Some days you just don’t feel motivated. Maybe it’s the weather or maybe it’s been a long week. Doing things to get yourself motivated again can be easier then you might think. Put on some fun music that gets you pumped up. I find that is a good one for me. Dance around and sing till you feel some spark again. Well maybe the music isn’t your thing. Getting out can help liven you up a bit. Sometimes we feel bad that we aren’t getting anything done. We don’t want to leave the situation. But sitting around thinking about how we aren’t getting anything done isn’t going to make it happen. Maybe you need to freshen yourself up a bit. Get a new haircut or clothing. Looking more the part can sometimes makes us feel the part. Reading motivational writing can help. Sometimes it’s that one little bit of information we needed to hear that day. It sets off that light in our head and we have that ah huh moment. And if you really can’t get out maybe just call a friend. Breaking up the monotony can help freshen things up a bit.
And if that doesn’t work get yourself a big bowl of ice cream and take a break. Watch a funny movie or video. Take a break and don’t be so hard on yourself.
7. Take a lot of ‘you’ time
All work and no play isn’t very much fun. It’s easy and to lose all sense of you when building your business. You have calls to answer and emails to send. Bills to deal with and the list is endless. Take a break once in a while. Go on a vacation. Or a day out on the town if the vacation is out of your budget. Go to a day spa. Heck go to the town over and walk around the mall if that’s all you can afford right now. Give yourself lots of rewards and breaks. Overworking yourself might feel ok for a bit. But over time you will get burnt out. Then you will accomplish even less. Take time to recharge and refocus your body and mind. Don’t agree to all the demands others will put on you if you let them. Be selfish and say no when you really don’t want to do something. Many people will be there when you are catering to their needs but will disappear when you need something. People will use your skills for free if you aren’t careful and drain your energy. This might sound mean but sometimes you have to cut out some people from your life. Surround yourself with people that are like minded. That have goals and ambitions.
8. Hire outside help
When people start a business often they end up filling a lot of possessions. Starting a business is expensive and you need to keep your costs down. But at some point you will realize you just can’t do it all. You can’t learn every skill and know it all. Hiring employees or outsourcing certain tasks can actually make you more money over the long time. As well if you want to grow your business over time you will need to hire help. If you find good employees you can even go away for a few days and know things will be ok. Bringing in others can freshen up your business. They might see potential in areas you hadn’t even thought of yet. Sometimes the people you hire might have already established connections and relationships that took years to build. Using their skills and connections can open doors that might otherwise been unavailable. It can be hard to let our baby go and give up some of the control. But business is fluid and ever changing. Don’t get stuck in a rut and refuse to look into new ideas.
9. Double down on your higher moments.
Nobody is productive 100 percent of the time, yet we all want to think we can be. Work on things when you feel the inspiration. Sometimes you might get lots done for a while. Then at other times you don’t feel the drive. Know yourself and take advantage and use those moments of drive. Don’t keep trying to force yourself when you are having a dry spell. Maybe you need that break I mentioned before to recharge and find your inspiration again. If you pick away every day at something even for a little bit you will get more done over time. Just keep at it. Not every day is going to bring you as much progress as the next. If you still do a bit every day you won’t feel as discouraged. Look back over your past work and see how much you have actually accomplished.
10. Set timelines for your goals
A lot of people just set out on a goal without any end date in mind. This might sound like a good idea because it takes away the pressure. But it can actually can be detrimental. You have no accountability and no idea when it will ever be finished. You can keep changing things and trying to make it perfect. Which is also bad because you may never complete anything. Never finishing a project or goal is actually really hard on our moral. You never feel the joy of actually completing anything. It’s always soomeday. It is better to put out finished not 100% work then nothing at all.
Break the task up into smaller chunks. Set yourself a realistic timeline. Write that timeline down, tell it to others to hold you accountable. Keep at it and finish it. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. You will get better overtime with practice.