Something I get asked a lot is “How do you get so much done on your own?” As in, how do I stay so self motivated and self disciplined to get all the things done that I heap on top of my life. I’ve always been a busy bee. It’s just kind of how I roll. But lately I’ve thought about the things that really help me stay self motivated and the things that drag me down. {Especially after my lent promise.}
Tonight I’ve put together five things that help me remain motivated and push me to get lots of stuff accomplished. {Not just thought about.}
1. Set parameters
It’s easy to think that you are more disciplined than you really are. If you are anything like me you may start the day thinking “Oh, I’ll just leave the TV on as background noise…” Next thing you know you are working at half speed, and convincing yourself that you can wait until the end of “one more episode” before moving on to your next task. Understand yourself and set up parameters so that you don’t fall into those traps.
Make your work parameters reasonable. Find a way to hold yourself accountable to it.
2. Pick out some healthy rewards
I’m a huge fan of healthy rewards. Everyone knows the concept of a reward system. But if you are giving your self a junky prize after a job well done, you are setting yourself up for failure. I have found that self discipline grows fastest when we extend it even to our indulgences. Now, I’m not saying you should never treat yourself. You should! But–I think those treats should happen when you’ve given it some thought and are responsibly treating yourself.
You shouldn’t hinge your productivity and progress on unhealthy indulgences…and your unhealthy habits should hinge on your productivity. Eventually, you’ll find that a bowl of ice cream after every much accomplished day is making you feel fat, lethargic and not at your best. From there, you’ll find that your reward isn’t as desirable…and your productivity will wane.
Instead of rewarding yourself with unhealthy treats, think about some good-for-you prizes that you enjoy. This method got me all the way through college with a consistant spot on the Dean’s List and I never put on the dreaded freshman 15. For example, I love being outside and going to the gym. Most days I’d set a homework or reading goal. When I’d reached it I would go to the gym or for a walk outside…or better yet, play sand volley ball with friends. If I didn’t reach the goal, I stayed in and finished.
Now I use other things {especially since my back gave out last month.} When I get my daily work done I spend some time playing the piano, playing a board game with Derek {you know how I love those} or working on a DIY project {which, to me is much more fun than working on a computer.}
Consistently rewarding yourself with good things will keep you motivated and train you to view healthy payoffs as things worth working for.
3. Create realistic goals
To me, there is nothing more frustrating than failing. Wait…there is: failing regularly. Seriously, I can’t think of a worse feeling that spending day, after day, after day feeling like you’ve failed. I’ve been in that situation and it is no fun. None at all.
I used to look out upon my day and imagine all the things I could get done. The looong list of everything I needed to do and a whole 24 hours to do it. So I’d start whittling away the task list. Then life would get in the way. Derek would come home from work early and want to go for a walk {why would I turn that down?}, a gal from the high school youth group would call me with a broken heart in need of a cookie and some conversation and prayer, my computer pooped out, something that should have only taken an hour ended up taking several…
What I’m saying is, I spent a long time making a list of “daily tasks” and I failed. Every. Single. Day. It stunted my productivity. It made me crabby. I’d get mad because when things came up that were actually more important than any to-do list I would wind up feeling guilty for doing them instead of tackling another item on the list.
I’m not advocating that you should put playful whims before work. That’s not going to make you productive either.
Goals are great. They are vital to a productive lifestyle. I recommend making a list of tomorrow’s tasks at the end of every work day. Create your goals, but the key is to be realistic. Don’t set yourself up to fail. Make a list that you can reasonably get through in the course of a day, week, month, or whatever increment you choose. Leave room for error. Leave room for life. Take it from a person who has been there: You’ll be happier, healthier and more productive when you are riding the high of goals accomplished instead of the lows of a list left incomplete.
4. Start and end with something you get excited about
This is a big one.
I do not like getting out of bed in the morning. Which is weird, because almost all the people I am closest to love the morning. When the alarm goes of, I’d rather hit snooze six times, then lay in bed playing my Boggle app for 20 minutes before rolling out and starting the day. That–however–is not a productive habit.
To combat this, I always try to start my day out with something I’m looking forward to. This means I usually try to book fun meetings over morning coffee {it gets me up and looking decent first thing in the morning}, or I just book regular appointments that I have to show up to first thing…also, so I have to get out of bed early. If I don’t have anything scheduled, I make the first thing on my realistic to-do list something I actually want to get out of bed to do.
The same principle applies to the end of the day. We all know that draggy 2pm feeling. Sometimes I just want to curl up on the couch with Panda Cat and watch some reruns of Call the Midwife. But alas…things must progress. So I schedule something fun, or plan to finish my day with another task I look forward to. It’s like sandwiching the day’s mundane tasks between things you really enjoy.
5. Tell someone
My final secret to a motivated existence is accountability. Tell someone. Tell them your dreams, your goals, your parameters. Tell them what you hope to accomplish tomorrow, invite them to join in on your healthy reward. Once you tell someone what you are going to get done it becomes a lot harder to be lazy.
Your person should be someone you talk to pretty much every day. So whether that’s a spouse, a bestie, or a sibling…it doesn’t matter. It just needs to be someone you trust and someone who will be consistent. Tell them to check in on you. Make a point of sharing your progress with them. Swap stories of self motivation and productivity. I pinky swear, getting it out verbally will keep you motivated.
Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for self motivating! Leave me a comment…I read them all!
xo
Amy
