Whether you need to get work finished or can’t seem to get off your couch, learning how to get more motivated can be an essential skill. Building motivation doesn’t have to be complicated. The process can be incredibly simple if you allow it to be. Consider these 7 steps when learning how to get more motivated.
1. Determine Where Your Motivation Is Failing
The first step in getting more motivated is to find out why yours is failing. Perhaps you are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. Or maybe you think planning everything out perfectly is necessary before action begins. Discovering where your motivation failure begins can be critical to understanding what comes next.
a. Too Many Goals – Focus on One
Many people who set goals and fail to adequately chase them have set too many. Doing so typically brings about overwhelm and burnout, resulting in none of the goals seeing success. Choose one goal to focus on when your motivation is unsteady.
b. Make it Public
Private goals are easy to ignore because there is no one to disappoint but yourself. When you make your goals known, you are held accountable to others.
c. Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a motivation demolisher. When you can’t figure out how to get more motivated despite the desire to put forth your best, consider trying for “good enough.”
2. Develop a Disciplined Routine
Creating a routine can be vital to the success of any task or goal. Motivation ebbs and flows. It cannot always be relied upon. Instead, a routine that creates a habit ensures that everything that should get done is completed. Try adding a task that you have trouble starting to something you do every day. For instance, if your email is overloaded and you’re procrastinating getting through it, start by answering or deleting five emails each time you pour a fresh cup of coffee.
3. How to Get More Motivated with Joy
It may seem strange that seeking joy can cure a lack of motivation, but the truth is, it works. According to Six Seconds, a nonprofit for emotional intelligence, people who regularly anticipate small joys experience higher levels of motivation. Consider these ideas to find some joy:
- Get outdoors
- Find a fun hobby
- Volunteer with a sense of purpose
4. Figure Out Who Inspires You
Who most inspires you? Perhaps it’s a historical figure who changed the game, or it could be your mom or dad. Maybe it’s an old boss who could always get you moving. Whoever it is, list ways that you might model their behavior or inspiration. When the motivation isn’t flowing, you can pull out your list and try something that worked for them.
5. How to Get More Motivated with Grace
Getting down on yourself for your lack of motivation rarely generates the response necessary for the brain to get started. The Mayo Clinic suggests that positive thinking can decrease stress. Since stress is often a component of overwhelm, it may be ideal to give yourself a little grace. It may begin with a small step in the right direction.
Take Small Steps
Often, people start headfirst into the big picture. While it is helpful to know where you are going, the journey can be long. Instead of trying to make giant leaps toward massive goals, break bigger goals down into baby steps. Each time a smaller goal is accomplished, you can build momentum toward the big picture. The simple act of making your goals smaller is infused with grace!
6. Ask for Help
Here’s a lesson to learn: you don’t have to do everything on your own! Independence is a great ability, but it doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. Ask a trusted friend or advisor how they maintain momentum. Or, you may even ask someone for help with a task. Removing something from your plate can help you focus on what you must do.
7. Make Plans with Others
If you are constantly trying to figure out how to get more motivated, something isn’t sticking. When you cannot maintain motivation on your own, it’s time to make firm plans with someone else. Maybe for you, that looks like signing up for the 5K in two months with a group of friends. Or, it could be splitting the cost of a coworking space with another friend who works from home. It may even be investing in a Right Fit Communications course on leadership and taking it with a coworker.
Making plans with someone else will help you to stay the course.
How to Get More Motivated: Conclusion
You’ve read the 7 steps on how to get more motivated. The question is, are you ready to take action? Or will you simply read another article on the same topic? Get going. Your goals are calling.