3 Simple Steps to Help You Get Motivated
For a lot of us it can be difficult to sit down and get things done! Often we are easily distracted or we succumb to many different forms of procrastination. I have heard many a story of people resorting to cleaning their entire house instead of starting a task that they don’t feel motivated to do. The difficulty with procrastination is that, for a lot of us, what we do to procrastinate is often things that we enjoy (cleaning, not included!). However, as we are procrastinating by doing these things (because we’re avoiding something else) we often don’t get the benefit of these activities because we feel guilty. Here, we discuss three simple strategies to help you improve your motivation, reduce your procrastination, and get you back to enjoying your time doing the things you love.
Write a List
When you have a number of things to do but feel like it is all too much, start by writing a list of everything you need to do. This can help you realise exactly what you need to do and hopefully reduce the generalised panic you feel when you know you have ‘a lot’ to do. Start with things that need to get done right away and separate these from tasks that are less urgent, or could take more time to complete. You can colour code these if you like, or, write separate lists of things that need to get done today, done by the end of the week, or done by the end of the month. These separate lists can help you to reduce the pressure you feel to do it all ‘right now’.
Start Small
Often we need to play small tricks on ourselves to kick us into gear. One simple strategy you can try when you need to start working is to begin by doing the small/easy tasks first. This might be that you begin with organising your desk or answering a simple email. Often, by doing these small tasks, and taking the pressure off yourself, you can get more into the rhythm of working and feel more capable of doing bigger tasks next.
Break it Up into Chucks
Similar to ‘starting small,’ breaking up what you need to do into smaller chucks can help you to boost your motivation. Start by breaking up the task you need to do into 30 minute ‘chucks.’ This helps you to take the pressure and expectation off yourself to sit and focus for long periods of time. Set a timer for 30 minutes and then get up for a 5-10 minute break before doing another 30 minute ‘chunk.’ For a lot of us, our attention span is about 30 minutes and then we often get distracted and start to go off task. Here we allow ourselves small breaks, timed, so that we don’t loose too much time or rhythm. Try not to do more than three lots of 30 minutes, in a row, before taking a bigger break and giving your brain a rest.
Hopefully these strategies are supportive in helping you to boost your motivation. If you find that you’re struggling with your motivation, or concentration, and want more support please don’t hesitate to contact us at Piece by Piece Therapies, or click the button below.
Happy working!