Tag Archives: goals

How to Get Motivated in 5 Steps Now

how to get motivated
how to get motivated.

If you’re wondering how to get motivated, why not start here and read through these five tips to help you get back on track.

We all have goals, tasks and necessary errands that need to get done. It doesn’t matter what they are, we all need help from time to time, conjuring up the motivation needed to achieve them. Your goal could be as simple as getting round to making that application or as large as writing a book. If you do happen to be writing a book, check out my previous article on this.

Think of motivation as something that you need to ignite within yourself at set times instead of something you should always have. There is a time for everything, including having relaxation time, so If you hold the belief that being motivated is a state that you should always be in, then not being motivated can be, well, demotivating and it becomes and endless cycle. I hope that wasn’t too much word salad for you!

Instead, it’s important to know that we all go through different stages which require different levels of motivation. For those times when you find it difficult to pick yourself up to complete the important tasks, try these six tips.

Tip One: Who will you be if you keep this up?

How to get motivated, visualisation method.

How to stay motivated you ask? Use this visualisation method. Look at yourself as you are now. This could be in a literal sense by looking in a mirror if your goal is a physical one such as personal grooming or fitness related or in a more figurative sense by taking time to think about where you are in life right now and the distance between yourself and your goal or task. If you don’t take action where will you be a year from now? I know when I do this, it kickstarts me towards taking the steps needed to get started. The last place you want to be this time next year is even further away from your goal. Use your currently untapped potential to warn yourself of the not so pleasant results to come (an unrealised you) in the future if you don’t act soon.

Tip Two: Write it down

The simplest way to get motivated is to get organised with a good old pen and piece of paper. I have previously mentioned in this article how beneficial it can be to make lists. However, how many of us are actually listing our goals and then listing the actions needed in order to make them happen? This simple, no thrills method, makes all the difference- let me be a testament to that fact!  In fact any written form, outlining your goals and plans are a valuable way mapping out a clear way to achieve them. Check out my previous article, detailing how to use different methods to do this, here.

Tip Three: Start a small exercise routine

Want to know how to get motivated within a matter of days? Start up a small achievable exercise routine. Don’t overwhelm yourself as it’s always good to start small for two simple reasons. The first being that a small simple routine will help you stick to it. The second being that if you can stick to it, you have then kickstarted motivational energy, that energy can then be used to fuel other goals. Work on one goal at a time until that goal no longer feels like a goal and instead becomes a habit, then work on the next one and so forth. This is a process that can take months but if you remain consistent, you will see your motivation levels increase.

Remember: Motivation can be contagious so when you have achieved it, you can then turn to other goals and start transferring that energy and discipline towards them.

Some ideas for simple work outs are:

A light dumbbell routine

A low impact YouTube video

A ten-minute stretch routine

Breathing and posture exercises

Tip Four: Create a Vision Board

Vison board enthusiasts know just how to get you motivated. Yes, ten people have probably suggested this before me but vision boards really do work. According to Psychology Today, pursuing goals that keep you motivated will increase the likelihood of you achieving them, hence the major tip I’ve outlined  above about the benefits of starting out small.

Tip Five: Visualise your end product

This visualisation technique is similar to Tip One, except it is in the reverse. This time imagine your end product. How will you feel once you have achieved your goal? Imagine how you will look physically after achieving it. What positive lasting impact will it have on you and your perception of what you can achieve?

Remember, it takes one small, sustained action to motivate yourself towards one particular goal. Take the faith of a mustard seed approach and pick a time to start that small habit. Then take small actions to water it like a plant each day. Go easy on yourself and slowly but surely you will start to see growing results!

Do you have any tips that keep you motivated to share goals? Let me know in the comments below!

5 Perfect Writing Habits to Take up Now

Change your writing output with these five tips.

I wanted to share five proactive habits aimed at helping you to achieve your writing goals for 2020! So without further ado lets get straight to the point.

Organise your projects

We feel less stressed when we are organised.

Identify what your main writing projects will be this year. It’s difficult getting things in order when they’re all just hanging in the air. Instead of letting your mind wonder and beginning to worry, start to name, categorise and subhead your projects into groups.

Here’s your chance to get visually creative by using mind maps, Venn-diagrams, flow charts and tables. I tend to keep it simple by using spider diagrams and bullet points as they’re hassle free and can be completed in no time at all.

According to Psychology Today, clutter can have disastrous effects on our stress levels. For example, when we know we aren’t as organised as we should be, we begin to harbour anxiety about our productivity and our feelings of negativity can spiral. Being disorganised also stifles our creativity because we are not using methods such as the ones mentioned above (brainstorming, diagrams etc.) in order to get rid of the excessive clutter which acts as a stimulant for stress. When we know we are putting systems in place to organise our projects and make space for them, we begin to feel less stressed.

Write your thoughts down

Let those thoughts and ideas flow onto the pages.

Fiction writers’ minds are always flowing with different ideas. Even when we have writer’s block, it’s often because we don’t know how to execute a pre-existing idea. Try to write a stream of consciousness and let those thoughts and ideas flow onto the pages. In addition, research suggests that there are physical benefits of putting pen to paper. In his breakthrough Psychological Science article (1997), Writing about Emotional experiences as Therapeutic Process, Dr James Pennebaker found that personal journaling contributed to greater physical and mental wellbeing.  

Make lists. Lots of them.

It helps to make lists to help you remember unfinished tasks.

It can take a lot of orchestration and string pulling to actually achieve your goals. So isn’t it great that the human brain apparently loves to make lists? According to Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik, the brain has a fixation with unfinished tasks and is actually better at remembering tasks that need to be done rather than completed ones. This sounds about right. How many of us have those niggling mental reminders about the complaint we need to make, the refund that we need or that left out shopping list item? More of us should be presenting our writing goals as lists; multiple steps which bring our ideas to fruition- they’re an absolute no brainer and written tangibly on paper at that!

Make note of relevant websites, ideas, YouTube tutorials programmes that you might forget otherwise. Anything that holds relevant information and ideas for inspiration needs to be written down and you’ll be well on your way to getting your plans into action.

Summarise your writing sessions

Note what went well and what could have been done differently next time. Evaluate them and use these summaries to enhance your writing experiences and increase productivity.

Talk to other writers

Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely craft.

Writing can be one of the loneliest crafts but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of writers worry about their process and whether they are doing it right. There is no right way of writing but its comforting to hear other writers speak about their process and mention what works for them. Look for an event on Eventbrite or Meetup and add a social element to your writing. The #writingcommunity on twitter is also golden with tons of advice and information for writers of all disciplines and degrees of experience.

What organisation techniques do you employ for your personal projects? Let me know in the comments below!