It’s the start of the New Year and it is time for some change. Check out how to motivate yourself to accomplish your goals, get more done, and achieve anything!
Even though you may have that boost of adrenaline to complete all your tasks and become the most organized in the new year, that energy can deplete quickly.
Ask yourself, how many times have you set a New Year’s resolution just to give up the next month, week, or day?
Today, we are going to combat that rabbit hole and extend your goals.
You are going to learn how to motivate yourself to do things and tasks that require your attention asap.
AND, you are not going to give up or procrastinate on your goals and you will stay motivated throughout.
How to Motivate Yourself (+9 New Hacks)
How to motivate yourself when you don’t feel like it…
So you feel sluggish and tired after a long break or just don’t feel productive for the start of the week.
Whichever situation you are in, you can get yourself out of that slump and into a motivational phase.
If you have fallen behind and want to catch up, then you are already taking that step by being here.
You are looking for resources on how to get back on track or how to get started.
It is extremely easy to get motivated, but it takes a lot of effort to stay motivated.
So here are some tips and hacks on how to motivate yourself and keep you motivated.
1. Turn Your Goal Into a Habit
Instead of diving head on to your goal, you should build it into a habit first.
For instance, say you want to increase your grade from a B to an A.
First, you want to set your goal like raise your grade.
Then, plan what steps you need to accomplish that goal.
For example, complete all your assignments, study for exams, and go to office hours.
Next break those into manageable chunks that can be integrated into your habits.
Maybe complete your assignments the day you get it assigned.
Or study for half an hour or an hour each day on concepts and notes.
Next, plan to visit office hours once or twice a week to get questions answered.
Once you turn your goals into a habit, then it will be way easier to accomplish them since you are working towards it everyday.
2. Make Each Week a “New Year”
I know many of you might wait until the New Year to start your resolutions or decide to change.
However, if you treat each week as a New Year, then you won’t be stuck in that procrastination phase.
Maybe it’s the middle of July and you’re thinking maybe I’ll start working out in as my New Year resolution.
Oh no you aren’t.
Throw away that mentality and start each week like the beginning of the year.
Which is why I posted this after New Year’s to get YOU into the habit of crushing goals or starting them even when it isn’t the start of the year.
3. Use Accountability Tools
For me, planners are the holy grail tool to get me organized and prepared for the day.
If you don’t have any idea of what planner to choose, then I recommend checking out the Best College Planner To Try Right Now!
You can also go digital if you aren’t a paper person.
Once you identify the tools that help you stay accountable, then you will be able to complete your tasks in less time with more efficiency.
Moreover, accountability tools can be a phone reminder to complete a task, a friend reminding you about an assignment that is due soon, or calendar notifications about an upcoming project.
4. Make it Unavoidable
This is one of my best action tips.
If you have a way to make your task or project standout, then you are 50% of the way to work on it.
Say you have a paper due soon, then place all the materials that you need in one place.
Next, put it on top of your keyboard or laptop.
Or, place it on your bed.
Whichever place you go to “procrastinate” the most often, the better it is.
This will constantly remind you of the unavoidable task that you have to do.
Try to make your tasks stick out like a sore thumb to get you to take action.
5. Set Limitations on Your Distractions
Nowadays, everyone has a phone and it is the source of our greatest distraction.
First, identify all your potential distractions.
You may jot down anything that makes your mind wander or drift off to another place.
Then, set limitations on how to eliminate those distractions.
- phone notifications –> turn it off
- friend gatherings –> message in advance that you are busy and reschedule
- siblings –> if you need to babysit them, set rules; if they are really young, use time wisely when they are asleep/playing on their own
- social media –> block them for certain times
- distracting background noise –> move to new location (cafe, library, etc.) or put on headphones
The more you control the outer variables of distraction, then the less distracted you will be.
Try to identify and then either eliminate or limit those distractions to the best of your ability.
6. Create Urgency
Do you ever notice those big sale signs or last day that a sale or discount is happening?
Stores and markets create these signs to trigger a sense of urgency for consumers so that they buy.
Using this method, we can also create urgency to push you to complete a task.
It can be anything from setting alarms on your phone, leaving red action notes on your desk, or leaving reminders on your google calendar.
Whatever you need to do, do it.
You can set 1 hour alarms apart from each other to go off if you haven’t started on your task yet.
Or, you can create one hour meeting blocks on your google calendar to notify you every hour of your to-do.
Once you complete your task, then you can erase and delete those notifications and alarms.
Or else, they will consistently ring and alert you about your pressing assignment.
7. Focus Checkpoints
Similar to video games where you might have checkpoints or levels as you advance into a game, we are going to do the same.
Each time that you feel like you are about to give up, set up checkpoints to keep you going.
For instance, if you have a large goal, then break it up into smaller tasks that get you to that goal.
Refer back to the first tip for breaking your goal into chunks.
This way you won’t be overwhelmed by your goal or push it to later because you are unsure of where to start.
More importantly, the clearer and more specific your goal is, the better.
You might have heard of this a million times, but SMART goals are way more efficient than a goal.
For example, if you write “exercise more” as your goal, then it is too board.
You are setting yourself up for ignoring it.
However, if you narrow it down to a SMART goal:
- Specific: walk a mile
- Measurable: pedometer or phone app
- Achievable: every morning before 10 am
- Relevant: to become healthier
- Time-bound: six months
You will more likely achieve a goal by identifying and specifying the key components of your goal.
8. Feel Good Boosts
If whenever you are feeling like you are losing grip on focus or motivation, give yourself a “feel good boost”.
These are rewards that you can give yourself for completing a task within your goal or when you are not feeling it.
I am guilty of giving myself one too many feel good boosts in the name of boba, but hear me out.
The incentive of getting boba after completing a difficult project that took weeks to do is so rewarding.
And in between that time, I won’t break the itch to buy boba before I completed the assignment.
So, you can create your own feel good boost and it can be anything from going out to watch a movie, enjoying your favorite dessert, or some other entertainment activity.
Create a list of your “feel good boosts” and pick one to reward yourself after you have accomplished a goal.
9. Motivational Mindset
Last but not least-establishing a motivational mindset is crucial for starting your day or task.
Once you get into the rhythm of doing something, you will be more motivated to continue on with another task or assignment.
If you enjoyed how to motivate yourself when you don’t feel like it, then you should also check out Funny Monday Quotes to Jumpstart Your Week.
And if that is still not enough, then read How to Be More Productive (7 Hacks that Will Motivate You).
You can become productive and motivated if you foster a better mindset and use the tools to help you achieve your goals.
Hopefully, you learned more on how to motivate yourself with these tips and hacks!
