Motivation is something we all need from time to time. It fuels our drive, our purpose, our visions for the future, and the clear consciousness of who we actually are.
Although motivation is so important, it seems we have a natural resistance to effort and consistency that no amount of caffeine can hide. It’s crucial to refuel every once in a while.
After all, self-motivation is one of the main things that distinguishes the success of each and every one of us. Essentially, motivation is a gateway to the productive action that gets us places.
If you’re looking for ways to stay motivated, consistent, or even just a little more focused, then I would encourage you to read on. Here I will be teaching you how to keep that energy that we all love: motivation.
1. Find a Fun Factor
There’s an equation for productivity that states the functional parts of being productive:
Productivity = Useful Output/Time x Fun Factor
However, an abundance of useful output requires a great sum of discipline in the absence of motivation, which many of us can struggle to make up when we’re not feeling it. The best way to fix this motivation deficit is by adding a fun factor.
What if I told you that work could be easy and fun as long as you make it that way? Adding a fun factor (or multiple fun factors) to your tasks can be quite useful to decrease the willpower and discipline that comes with dreadful work.
Have you ever procrastinated watching TV or going out with your friends? Probably not because those activities are fun; therefore, easy and require little to no effort or motivation.
A fun factor tries to replicate these kinds of scenarios but within your workflow.
So how can you make hard work seem more like fun? It’s really up to you. Not everyone is the same, so what gets you hyped up might do nothing for me. It’s all about making the job or task easier in a fun way.
This could be anywhere from changing the environment around you to making the job into a game or even just completing the work with a few friends. These are all useful fun factors that can be used to fuel motivation.
Or try this…
Another thing I would like to point out is that fun doesn’t have to be this complicated if you’re already enjoying yourself. Finding something that you enjoy doing is an even easier fix to your motivation deficit.
Even if you don’t enjoy the things you’re doing, it’s always healthy to pinpoint the positives in a negative plain.
A simple and easy switch in the mindset will leave you more grateful and motivated rather than angry about the activities that you dread doing.
2. Make Goals (the right way)
According to recent research, writing down your goals will make you 42% more likely to complete them. So you should be writing your goals down right? Yes and no.
Writing down your goals is a great idea because when you reach a goal for something you tend to be more motivated to keep doing that thing. This is because your brain loves chasing highs, and reaching goals gives you a lot of highs
Although goals are promising, many people write down the wrong type of goals. They would write something like “lose 50 pounds by next year” or “have a stable source of income in four months.”
These kinds of goals are unreasonable because, as time goes on, you lose motivation to keep going after a goal. If you aren’t reaching the high of achievement fast enough, your will to keep going dies out.
The only way goals function as motivation is if they are consistently reached in a reasonable amount of time. If the highs are given to you at a steady rate, the motivation to reach the next milestone is given to you at a steady rate.
Goals are signs of progress, so when you reach a new chapter, you are rewarded a high, and it keeps you going.
3. Rewards & Punishments
Humans respond well to knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel. Whether the thing at the end of the tunnel is good or bad, motivation will drive us to get things done faster if we know what and when the end is.
For example, if I was running a marathon and I suddenly saw the finish line in front of me, I would probably run a little faster. This happens because I know how much longer I have to run until I can be rewarded by stopping and catching my breath. This can be very motivating, especially when you’ve been working towards something for a while.
This same concept can be applied to your daily motivation.
If you knew that you were going to be rewarded with one thousand dollars if you studied, then you would most likely be more motivated to get out your books and start studying. You can reward yourself with many things such as money, candy, or even a vacation. It really just depends on what personally motivates you.
Another, more unpleasant way to get yourself motivated, is through punishment. If I were to punish myself by giving away one thousand dollars if I didn’t finish my homework, then I would be very motivated to get that homework done.
It all leads back to motivation and what drives you to be more energetic for that boring and dull task.
Punishment isn’t an ideal form of motivation because we want our work to be as enjoyable as possible, but if it comes down to it, this is a great backup plan.