Self-motivation is one of the most important skills a person can develop and is key in the adult workforce. When we’re young, it drives us to do things that we enjoy, such as playing with friends, catching a bus to see a movie, and going to soccer practice. However, when we’re older the main goal behind self-motivation is to do things we don’t enjoy, like getting through a large amount of paperwork or cleaning the house.
Self-motivation is present in most of the tasks completed as an adult, and sometimes it can be hard to find. Maybe your bed is old and it hurts your back, but you lack the self-motivation to go out and get a koala mattress. Maybe your car needs fixing, but it seems like too much hard work to take it to the mechanic. We’ve set up a few things to help you overhaul your routine – which may be the cause of this motivation slump – in an attempt to restart your self-motivation.
Timing is Important
Timing is very important when working out what makes your routine unmotivating.
Often, people will give themselves plenty of time to do a task, and this surplus of time will make them get comfortable and wasteful with their time. Instead of doing the task immediately and relaxing afterward, they relax first and stress and rush the task later on. This is obviously an example of bad time organization, and the way around this is to change your routine to allow yourself enough time to do the task, but not so much as to relax either side of it. This takes away the rushing and stress of having too little time but doesn’t allow for the safety and comfort of far too much.
Restricting Distractions
Our routine regularly places us in situations that require our complete attention, and unfortunately it also often places us in distracting situations at the same time. Try restricting the amount of distractions you find yourself surrounded by, but not eradicating them completely. In a distraction-less room, your mind wanders and you become distracted by your own thoughts and unable to focus, whereas in a room with something going on, such as some colour or some background noise, you may find you can focus much more easily.
Finding Your Motivator
Your personal motivator will be different to everyone else’s, and that is a very positive thing.
Not everyone is motivated by money, or by success, or by stress, but everyone has something that can and does drive them to get out of bed every morning, and that is key to self-motivating. Maybe yours is making your family or friends proud of you, or getting that promotion at work, or just being able to retire and relax as early as possible. Whatever your motivator may be, it is essential to use it to your advantage when attempting to do things you otherwise wouldn’t look forward to doing.
Sleep
Finally, we come to sleep, the largest part of many people’s routines. Sleep takes up a third of our lives and influences our day-to-day more than we realize. Our routine must involve sleep regularly to make our daytime lives easier to navigate, and regulating your sleep is easier than you might think. By simply going to sleep at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning, you have effectively programmed your body to know exactly when it will sleep, so you don’t feel as tired throughout the day, and you sleep better at night. This allows you to stay sharp and focussed during the day, which is essential in motivating yourself to do all the tasks required of you in that time.
Routine plays a huge part in how motivated we are, and what we put that motivation towards. Harnessing yours is as easy as sleeping regularly while working out what motivates you in order to use it.
