Afternoon, everyone!
Hope this afternoon is going splendid for you. I am sat here with a very hot cup of hot chocolate. So valentines day passed by me like a blur. The whole week has been quite hectic. With interviews and random health struggles, it has all been a bit overwhelming. I decided to take yesterday to rethink all my current habits and how I was going to improve. I think it is so vital to take a step to reflect upon systems and methods that are not working and daily changes that have to be made to improve. The following are my 21 tips on motivation. I don't use all of them but I do think there is some merit to all of them. Productivity is, like everything else, a skill that needs to be practised meticulously.
1) Plan every hour of every day. Planning often keeps you accountable to your goals and tasks. The act of writing down a plan will make the plan more achievable than if it is in a cesspool inside your head.
2) Take a shower. If you are feeling particularly low on energy or exhausted, a shower is really helpful to wake you up and rejuvenate your body.
3) Write down the goals that you've always wanted to complete. Maybe these are things that remain in your life like pesky bills or cancelling random subscriptions. Write them down so that you can visually see them and you can visually track them.
4) Work with other people. This will motivate you to get out of bed and do some work. It will also keep you accountable as you wouldn't want to cancel on your friend.
6) Create SMART goals. In a future post, I will explain in detail what SMART goals are and how you can utilise them in your own life. But in summary, SMART goals are goals that are created with time and foreseeability in mind. You cannot learn to run a marathon in one day. It will take a bit of time so with SMART goals you can really take that into consideration.
7) Keep a little list of things you've accomplished in a day or a week or a year, whatever suits you. You can use that to inspire you to keep doing work. Also seeing the accomplishments will make you realise that you are not actually stagnant.
8) Try the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique is quite simple but incredibly effective. It prevents burnouts and inspires you to take a break and keep working at the appropriate times. Basically, you work for 25 minutes and then you take a 5-minute break then you repeat that four times and once you have completed four 25 minute work sessions, you can take a 15-minute break.[Attached is a video by elloitsangela in which she uses the Pomodoro technique in her study with me. I have watched her videos so many times when completing my dissertation and they are a god send]
9) Reach inside your heart and find your purpose. Why are you doing what you are doing? What is your ultimate motive or purpose? What is your plan? This will help you realise why you need to be making forward steps to ensure that you get to where you want to be.
10) Along the same path as above, make a mood board. Whether it's on Pinterest or online or simply on a scrapbook, find pictures and words that inspire you to keep going.
11) Watch a ted talk. While Ted Talks are so entertaining, they are often also very informative and inspiring. Again it will be the first step into the right direction. Here is a list of five of my favourite motivational ted talks.
12) Use the law of attraction. This entails what kind of things you want to attract and what kind of things you don't. This comes with actively manifesting your goals and putting effort and time into them. This method also makes you realise the time and effort needed for goals. [Attached is a video by Amy Lee that introduced me to this method]
13) Create a policy of saying yes and no to commitments. Often times you can't say no and end up doing the job of other people and being responsible for way too many things. Create a tight policy of things you will be okay with committing to and things you absolutely do not have the time for. On the flip side, you might say no to all opportunities for whatever reason. Create a policy of saying yes to things without the what-ifs and buts and see what happens.
14) Write down all your thoughts, negative or positive. It's all better out than in. It does no good to bottle things up and ponder on it if they are particularly negative. They will not be helpful in the long run so write it down. You might see a pattern of you perpetually creating a circle of negativity in your head that's more unproductive than productive. Often the reason for procrastination is our own ideas of failure. It can be absolutely debilitating so write it all out so it's out of your system.
15) Say affirmations. You can find plenty on Pinterest or online. They are so helpful in creating a better mental space and it can help you focus and hone in on the positives. This will, in turn, create positive thoughts and feelings towards your goals and tasks
16) Meditate. It's so incredible for your mental health and physical health. Often times we consistently run and run without taking care of our body. You need time to relax, time to sit down and take a quiet minute for yourself where you let your entire body not worry or stress.
17) Alongside the above idea, try going for a walk. I cannot imagine taking a casual stroll in this weather but sometimes it's good to get some good oxygen into your system. We spend an awful amount of time inside during the colder months so it's important to go outside and take in the fresh air.
18) Clean your room. As they say, a tidy room is a tidy mind. It doesn't have to be at any great standards but make sure it's at a standard where you can find anything and everything you need. Everyone has their own idea of what tidy is so make sure it's tidy to your standard. You cannot possibly work in the middle of chaos so keeping your workspace clean will inspire you to actually do more work.
19) Exercise. It doesn't have to be a lot. You can do a simple pilates routine at home or go for a little walk or run. Just keep yourself moving. It will help to keep energised and upbeat.
20) Prioritise your tasks. Do the easiest one first because it will help keep your morale up and keep going till you get to the very end. Sometimes when you are working through something, it might feel like you are not making movement at all so prioritising and doing more easier tasks will create a sense of satisfaction to keep going. Break down bigger tasks into smaller tasks. If you have a particularly long module to revise for, break it down into its components and work through them one by one instead of trying to finish it all in one go. Similarly, if you have to write an essay for university, break down the essay into its components: introduction, main body and conclusion then tackle each of them one by one.
21) Socialise and say yes to fun activities. It's so important to have the break and enjoy it with control. So plan with friends what you will be doing and what activities you are excited about. I think we feel the need to be grumpy but sometimes you have to choose joy and happiness.
Hope these tips help you! That's it from me and I will see you in my next post!
Sincerely Sinthu
Hope this afternoon is going splendid for you. I am sat here with a very hot cup of hot chocolate. So valentines day passed by me like a blur. The whole week has been quite hectic. With interviews and random health struggles, it has all been a bit overwhelming. I decided to take yesterday to rethink all my current habits and how I was going to improve. I think it is so vital to take a step to reflect upon systems and methods that are not working and daily changes that have to be made to improve. The following are my 21 tips on motivation. I don't use all of them but I do think there is some merit to all of them. Productivity is, like everything else, a skill that needs to be practised meticulously.
1) Plan every hour of every day. Planning often keeps you accountable to your goals and tasks. The act of writing down a plan will make the plan more achievable than if it is in a cesspool inside your head.
2) Take a shower. If you are feeling particularly low on energy or exhausted, a shower is really helpful to wake you up and rejuvenate your body.
3) Write down the goals that you've always wanted to complete. Maybe these are things that remain in your life like pesky bills or cancelling random subscriptions. Write them down so that you can visually see them and you can visually track them.
4) Work with other people. This will motivate you to get out of bed and do some work. It will also keep you accountable as you wouldn't want to cancel on your friend.
5) If you are in a really bad slump where you cannot bring yourself to work, make some tea or coffee or a beverage of your choice. Take it to your work environment and work for the duration of you drinking that particular beverage. It helps with making that first initial step into productivity. [Attached to the right is a video by Clahrah that demonstrates this method]
6) Create SMART goals. In a future post, I will explain in detail what SMART goals are and how you can utilise them in your own life. But in summary, SMART goals are goals that are created with time and foreseeability in mind. You cannot learn to run a marathon in one day. It will take a bit of time so with SMART goals you can really take that into consideration.
7) Keep a little list of things you've accomplished in a day or a week or a year, whatever suits you. You can use that to inspire you to keep doing work. Also seeing the accomplishments will make you realise that you are not actually stagnant.
8) Try the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique is quite simple but incredibly effective. It prevents burnouts and inspires you to take a break and keep working at the appropriate times. Basically, you work for 25 minutes and then you take a 5-minute break then you repeat that four times and once you have completed four 25 minute work sessions, you can take a 15-minute break.[Attached is a video by elloitsangela in which she uses the Pomodoro technique in her study with me. I have watched her videos so many times when completing my dissertation and they are a god send]
9) Reach inside your heart and find your purpose. Why are you doing what you are doing? What is your ultimate motive or purpose? What is your plan? This will help you realise why you need to be making forward steps to ensure that you get to where you want to be.
10) Along the same path as above, make a mood board. Whether it's on Pinterest or online or simply on a scrapbook, find pictures and words that inspire you to keep going.
11) Watch a ted talk. While Ted Talks are so entertaining, they are often also very informative and inspiring. Again it will be the first step into the right direction. Here is a list of five of my favourite motivational ted talks.
13) Create a policy of saying yes and no to commitments. Often times you can't say no and end up doing the job of other people and being responsible for way too many things. Create a tight policy of things you will be okay with committing to and things you absolutely do not have the time for. On the flip side, you might say no to all opportunities for whatever reason. Create a policy of saying yes to things without the what-ifs and buts and see what happens.
14) Write down all your thoughts, negative or positive. It's all better out than in. It does no good to bottle things up and ponder on it if they are particularly negative. They will not be helpful in the long run so write it down. You might see a pattern of you perpetually creating a circle of negativity in your head that's more unproductive than productive. Often the reason for procrastination is our own ideas of failure. It can be absolutely debilitating so write it all out so it's out of your system.
15) Say affirmations. You can find plenty on Pinterest or online. They are so helpful in creating a better mental space and it can help you focus and hone in on the positives. This will, in turn, create positive thoughts and feelings towards your goals and tasks
16) Meditate. It's so incredible for your mental health and physical health. Often times we consistently run and run without taking care of our body. You need time to relax, time to sit down and take a quiet minute for yourself where you let your entire body not worry or stress.
17) Alongside the above idea, try going for a walk. I cannot imagine taking a casual stroll in this weather but sometimes it's good to get some good oxygen into your system. We spend an awful amount of time inside during the colder months so it's important to go outside and take in the fresh air.
18) Clean your room. As they say, a tidy room is a tidy mind. It doesn't have to be at any great standards but make sure it's at a standard where you can find anything and everything you need. Everyone has their own idea of what tidy is so make sure it's tidy to your standard. You cannot possibly work in the middle of chaos so keeping your workspace clean will inspire you to actually do more work.
19) Exercise. It doesn't have to be a lot. You can do a simple pilates routine at home or go for a little walk or run. Just keep yourself moving. It will help to keep energised and upbeat.
20) Prioritise your tasks. Do the easiest one first because it will help keep your morale up and keep going till you get to the very end. Sometimes when you are working through something, it might feel like you are not making movement at all so prioritising and doing more easier tasks will create a sense of satisfaction to keep going. Break down bigger tasks into smaller tasks. If you have a particularly long module to revise for, break it down into its components and work through them one by one instead of trying to finish it all in one go. Similarly, if you have to write an essay for university, break down the essay into its components: introduction, main body and conclusion then tackle each of them one by one.
21) Socialise and say yes to fun activities. It's so important to have the break and enjoy it with control. So plan with friends what you will be doing and what activities you are excited about. I think we feel the need to be grumpy but sometimes you have to choose joy and happiness.
Hope these tips help you! That's it from me and I will see you in my next post!
Sincerely Sinthu
Comments
Post a Comment