1. Eat A Frog – A favorite saying of mine is: If the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, you can rest assured it will be the most unpleasant thing you will do all day! Not only is ‘eating a frog’ the #1 tip for improving motivation every day, eating a particularly ugly frog first thing Monday morning will boost you up for the entire week! And if it’s a large frog, like a big project that will take several hours, simply eat one of the legs in 30 minutes.
2. 7 minute warm-up – Take seven minutes to organize your space and your thoughts. Clear the desk or re-arrange the piles (dust demotivates)! Get unimportant items out of your line of site. Ask yourself some organizing questions – What are the priorities? What attitude am I holding in my mind right now? What impact am I choosing to make today? Who do I want to connect with?
3. You are the boss – You may be working for a company but you are the boss of you. No one else makes the ultimate decision about what you think and what you do. Place a little card next to your phone or computer screen that reads “My Name Inc”. Hold this attitude to come out from under any perceived notion of being a “subordinate”.
4. Help someone else today – If the phrase “what goes around comes around” means anything to you, reach out to help a colleague, peer, friend or family member achieve success today.
5. Act as if – What would a totally motivated person be thinking at this moment? What feelings would they have? What would they be doing, right now? Think, feel and act the way you think a motivated person would, and you will become motivated!
6. Make someone proud of you – If you did X today, that special someone you love and respect would likely feel proud of you. So do it (whether you tell them about it or not)!
7. Plan a nice lunch – Meet friends, bring something you really enjoy or take yourself out to a favorite little restaurant on your own. Make lunch on Monday something special.
8. Do it different – We tend to drop into ruts of habit and routine which ultimately feel stale and boring. Spice things up a bit and make some changes (even small ones effect motivation).
9. Keep everything simple – The more complex our plans and actions, the less likely we are to execute them. Whenever you come across something that causes you to pause, ask yourself “how can I simplify this?” and break it down into the smallest next steps. Then take one.
10. Take time off – After doing all of the 9 suggestions above you still feel unmotivated, then it is time to disconnect completely (leave the laptop and smartphone at home) and recharge your batteries. For some people, that is a long weekend and for others, it may mean more time. Whatever it is for you, take 10 minutes to plan that out right now.
What’s your favorite way to motivate yourself? Please give us your #11.
Sunny-day music ….. Nothing cheers me up quicker than songs that trigger fond memories of sunny summer days doing fun and happy things with family and friends.