Do you know that feeling when you feel ready to take on a new challenge? You are taken over by a wave of motivation and enthusiasm and you’ve made a commitment that you fully intend to stick to. Does it sound familiar?
Initially, everything is going well, maybe even better than planned, and you feel satisfied. Dopamine kicks in!
After this early stage, the motivation begins to decline which may be the result of several factors, for example, if you are teleworking you may have noticed a decrease in your motivation and productivity. Continuing your project doesn’t seem as easy as it once was and you have to strive to stay true to the goal.
Eventually, procrastination kicks in, and your goal is going down the drain. Procrastination is a counterproductive habit so rooted in the human being that it often prevents the achievement of daily tasks, short and long-term goals, and even lifelong dreams.
To counter this trend, in this article we will share 7 tips to help you stay motivated, even when you feel like giving up on your goal.
1- Reconnect with your Why
First, one of the best things you can do is trigger your intrinsic motivation, the motivation that comes from within.
Take some intentional time to check in with your why. Why were you excited about your goal? Why did you want to stick to it? Why is it important to you?
If you want to get your motivation back, then go back to the beginning. Think about why your goal is valuable to you and what it means for your life to remain committed to its realization.
If your goal is to fulfill a task of your work that is delaying or restarting a project that has left unfinished, think of the positive feeling you will experience when you have finally fulfilled that goal.
2- Stop waiting for motivation
Motivation doesn’t fall from the sky. Sitting around waiting for motivation to come to you is a losing battle.
Motivation is a “motive for action,” a reason to do something. But motivation doesn’t always precede action, sometimes you have to act first.
Start with something small. Sometimes, having very ambitious plans can be a reason for feeling unmotivated. It’s okay to dream big, the problem is when you feel frustrated at not being able to achieve your dream. If you dream a little lower at an early stage and perform tangible tasks, you’ll become more motivated as you’ll be able to complete them successfully.
3- Follow the plan and not your mood
If you follow your mood you may well take no action. Don’t fully believe your feelings, they’re not always telling the truth. If you are prone to not doing what you say you will, then this is a good technique to master.
When your plan is too broad, it becomes overwhelming and difficult to achieve. Try to divide the overall goal into small steps.
By performing a plan and following it, even when you feel unmotivated, the chance of achieving the goal is much more realistic.
4- Share your goals
Share your plans with someone! The sense of responsibility can help regain your motivation.
Sharing your calendar or checking in weekly with a colleague or friend is a good technique to feel more motivated. It can also add to the fun to have someone else involved.
Gain more clarity about your goal and how to achieve it by talking about it out loud. Talking to someone about your project can help you clarify and better define your action plan.
If you haven’t shared your vision or goals with others, think about what’s stopping you and what you can do to overcome that obstacle.
5- Don’t be too hard on yourself
Don’t beat yourself up. The lack of motivation you may feel doesn’t reflect your value. You are simply feeling a drop in motivation and need to make some adjustments to get back on track.
Feeling guilty for the choices you make will cause unnecessary stress that leads to a negative mindset, which only leads to you feeling even more guilty.
Don’t make this personal. The more you beat yourself up, the worse you feel; the worse you feel, the less motivation you have to accomplish the tasks you want. It’s a vicious cycle.
6- Recognize your thought patterns
Make sure you are not developing thought patterns that lead you to compare yourself to others and tell yourself that you are not good enough. That’s not your voice, it’s your fear talking.
Learning not to get caught up in negative thoughts is an essential skill to help you accomplish your goals.
Don’t underestimate yourself! Ask yourself: are you self-sabotaging? If the conclusion is that you are, make conscious choices to contradict these negative thoughts. Every time you think, “I can’t do it,” remember your Why.
7- Write down your goals
Schedule what you need to do and when. Knowing that you have a defined and detailed plan can help you feel better about yourself and the situation.
You’re more likely to stick to a plan if you’ve put it on your schedule.
Keeping track of the things we need to do and staying organized can be a daily struggle. It’s so easy to distract yourself, especially when all our information is scattered across different devices and online tools. As a result, projects take longer to finish and we waste our precious time every day.
Airdesk, the All-in-One collaboration platform, lets you work better, faster, and with greater versatility. By tracking all your projects, tasks, deals and time records, you’ll feel in control and more motivated to meet your short- and long-term goals.
The lack of motivation you feel at the moment does not mean that your goal is not important to you. You’re one step ahead because you clicked on this article, which means you want to know how to be more motivated.
Acquiring knowledge is only a part of the battle, the next part is taking action. And this depends only on you. Where are you going to start?
