How To Motivate Yourself When You’d Rather Do Anything Else

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Everyone struggles with a lack of motivation at some point or another. Unfortunately, there are many instances where a lack of motivation is no excuse when work needs to get done. So how do you motivate yourself when you’d rather be doing literally anything else? Here are some tips.

Prioritize Your Health

When you feel your motivation lacking, drink some water. Eat a meal with protein and complex carbs if you haven’t eaten recently. Do a quick workout or some stretching to get the blood moving and a burst of energy. When you need to go hard and attack your goals, sometimes a quick reset with some healthy habits is enough to give you the boost you need.

Utilize a Reward System

Many people can be motivated with a reward system. This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. If you’re studying, give yourself a piece of candy for each page you need to read, or every time you correctly memorize a fact. If you’re trying to avoid spending any extra money, allow yourself to buy one thing from your wish list for every month you stick to your budget. Only you know what will motivate you best, but also keep in mind that this doesn’t work for everyone.

Write Everything Down

When you’re feeling particularly motivated, write down everything that is motivating you in that moment. Is it a new house? The way you’ll feel once you’ve reached your fitness goals? Is it that luxury item you’ve had your eye on for months now? Keep track of everything that makes you want to reach your goals so that when you’re struggling, you can reach for this list and read them back again.

Eat the Frog

Brian Tracey is responsible for an effective productivity method that is referred to as “eating the frog.” Here’s how it works: you find the biggest, most intimidating task in front of you, and you knock it out first thing. After, the rest of the tasks you have on your plate don’t seem so bad. They may even seem easy after you take out the toughest task. It’s important to note that this may not work as well for those who are neurodivergent. These individuals may work better getting small bursts of satisfaction from completing small tasks first.

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Get Support

Trying to find the motivation to complete your tasks can be rough when you’re forced to go it alone, but you may benefit from some type of support system. Maybe you just need a friend to come and sit with you while you clean. Maybe you need your partner to cheer you on when you’re struggling. Or maybe you and your colleagues need to compete on an app to see who can get the most points for completing various tasks. The support that is needed will look different from everyone, but don’t underestimate the value of a support system. Things that look bleak in isolation can feel far more doable when you have someone on your side.

Just Start

When all else fails, commit to the task for five minutes. That’s it, and then you can stop. Brains tend to do this funny thing where they hype up a task to be far more intimidating than it deserves to be, forcing you to freeze in fear just from thinking about it. But, if you can commit for five minutes, chances are you’ll be willing to keep going for another five, and then another. Sometimes, the most difficult part of a task is simply starting. It may not make sense, but it doesn’t have to hold you back.

A lack of motivation can ruin your day if you let it, but fleeting motivation doesn’t leave you helpless. With this list of tools in your arsenal, you’ll be better prepared to turn a bad day into a more productive and inspiring one.

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