A Guide to Motivation

Motivation and drive are the most elusive of things.

Those who naturally possess these traits are able to get ahead and cannot comprehend that others do not automatically have the need to be active and productive.

For most of us, it is something that we can learn.

Motivation is something I struggled with for many years. Procrastination was the rule. "Why do it now?" "I can do that tomorrow." Then the time passes and it turns into "it's too late to do that now".

I thought that this was the only way I'd ever be, despaired at the thought that I'd never achieve what I thought I could and I always fell back into the same pattern of "doing something about it later."

I've taught myself motivation and given myself that drive that was missing for so long. The most important thing I've learnt? It's easier than you think.

The first thing to learn is how to be productive. I came across a phrase that helped me rationalise where to start.

"Never have a zero day"

The essence of this is not allowing yourself a day where nothing is achieved. You can set the goals as small as you need to start with, do some washing up, tidy your room or file some paperwork. As long as you've done something that you can count as productive then you've avoided a zero day. You'll soon find that you're doing the small stuff automatically every day and the goals you set will become bigger. This is a great way to start your path to productivity and avoids the urge to crash out in front of the TV as soon as you finish work.

Once you've started to deal with the small stuff then you can think about taking on bigger challenges. Whatever it is that you've been avoiding starting is the next objective. The hardest part about larger challenges is that the end goal seems too remote and far away. Without the focus of immediate benefit it can be difficult to get the right mindset to even start a longer project. So how do you visualise the outcome? The short answer is that you don't. Not to start with.

I'll share a metaphor that my mother used when I was growing up, unfortunately it took me years to realise the significance!

You have a whole house to tidy. The mess in each room is overwhelming. How do you know where to start? What's the best order to do it in? Should I clean the kitchen or the living room first? It doesn't matter. You have to pick something up and put it in the right place. Again and again. Do this enough and the whole house will be tidy.

Break down the issue in to the smallest increments possible and start by completing them. The objective is not to finish the project but to start it, to be making progress towards it. This is the important part. Making progress is just as important as the end result.

This leads nicely on to the next point. I'm going to use a quote from Commander Chris Hadfield who can sum it up better than I can, and with much more authority.

"Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person."

Set yourself long term goals but don't sweat about reaching them too quickly. The important thing is putting yourself on the right path. Make good decisions about the little things and the big things will happen for you. As long as you're making progress along the path to your goal then you're doing the right think and making progress is an achievement!

Now you're on your journey to productivity, but can you stay on it?

Look back at your progress regularly. You don't need to analyse in detail every action on every day but now is the time to look at the bigger picture. Consider your position a month ago, a year ago. Has it improved? Then imagine how it will be in the future. Use this to push yourself further.

The final advise is one that I've found particularly useful recently. Give yourself productive hobbies where you are achieving goals and keep them diverse. Learn a new skill or work on existing skills, pick up a new language or a musical instrument. By being able to change what you're working on you can keep everything fresh and interesting.

It is important to realise that this isn't giving up. You can come back with a fresh outlook and more enthusiasm than you left it. But remember to never leave one thing too long or what you're working towards can disappear.

The key things to take away?

No Zero Days

Start small

Have long term goals

Review your progress

Keep it interesting!

Following this will mean that suddenly your downtime is spent improving your life rather than watching it pass by.

Personally? I'm teaching myself Spanish.

Gracias y adiós.

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