Five Steps to get Your Motivation Going

We all have days that we are not motivated to work, or to do anything for that matter.  Whether you are passionate about what you do or are struggling to find your direction in life you will still have these days!  So what do you do to change your motivation level and get headed in a better direction?  I have a variety of things that work for me, try these out:

1. Workout – always gets me going and refocused on healthy energy.  Sometimes this requires walking with strong coffee to get me going, but it always helps.
2. Build a list of good mood activities- take the time to build a list of things that make you happy that you can do easily.  For me this is includes coffee and a magazine at a local coffee shop.  Having a list ready means that when you need a lift you are ready to go!
3. Watch a motivational video or read something inspirational – I personally use the 212 movie; it is a great motivator (and short)!  
4. Change things up – start the day with something different than what you normally do.  If you typically answer emails and return phone calls first thing in the morning, but you are not in the mood to interact with people do some filing or other activity to get started.  Many times this is all it takes to get you on your way.
5. Give yourself 10 minutes – tell yourself that you are going to work on your activity for 10 minutes and then if your mood does not change you can do something else.  It is amazing how 10 minutes can turn into an hour!

Now you should be on your way to a motivation filled day!  If not, remember it is one day.  Tomorrow will be different especially when you love your direction in life!

Staying motivated, Positive and Happy

It can be very hard to stay motivated, positive and happy.  Especially with continually negative news (even when not warranted) and the day to day responsibilities that most of us have.  I myself find I can struggle to keep going even though I love what I do.  Some days I just want to throw my hands in the air and call it quits, but I don’t.  I do keep going.  How?  Usually I take a bit of recovery time for myself and try to refocus my energy to the positive. 

Yesterday was one of those days, so I pulled out some affirmations I use, committed myself to a media sabbatical (only positive things going in), put exercise first and reminded myself of my priorities.  Amazingly after only half a day I feel more revived than sometimes a long weekend can revive me!

 I challenge you, instead of being cranky or negative refocus yourself and get back to working on what you love.

Keep Going

How do we as professionals keep going when we don’t want to?  I wish I knew the answer every time I had a slow start day, but I don’t.  I believe every time we struggle it may be a different issue!  Is it a project that you don’t want to work on, do you need a vacation, or did your day get off to a bad start and you just need to reset?  How do you re-set your day? 

My re-starts:
Great music
exercise
mediation
bath
walk around block
long lunch
small tasks that keep me moving till the motivation comes back – like filing and paying bills