3 min read
Introduction
Staying motivated at all times is tough. I can understand the struggle, because I have been there. If I need to get something done, but don’t have the motivation to get it done, one of two things happen:
- I don’t do it
- I spend way too long ‘doing that thing’
And, I’m guessing you don’t want to end up in the same situation. That’s fair. For that reason, I will show you the essential principles to staying motivated, no matter what. Even if you have a long report to get done for school, or have to read an extremely long contract for a client, here I will tell you the foundations of motivation and pretty much everything you need to know to stop procrastinating and actually get that task done.
Setting Clear Goals
What is it that you want to motivate yourself towards? Do you wish to motivate yourself to read that book you’ve been dreading? Or do you wish to motivate yourself to study for that long test that’s at the end of the week? Or is it that you wish to motivate yourself to go to the gym? What is it exactly?
Find Your ‘Why’
Although this may not seems as if it matters at first; it does. What is your aim? What is your ‘why’? Give yourself a purpose to get this done. If you have no purpose on achieving it, getting that ‘thing done’ will be much harder. Give yourself a natural boost of motivation that suits you; that suits practically everyone.
Once you have found your why, you can move onto the next thing; the goal(s). Do you wish to get it done fast, slowly, with high effort, low effort, high intensity, low intensity, or anything related? What is your aim?
Procrastination
Procrastination is awful. Pretty much everyone can understand that. And sadly enough, it happens to the best of us. So, what can you do?
My suggestion would be to:
- Eliminate all distractions
- Organize yourself accordingly
- Have a clear objective
- Know the exact steps to take that’ll spark your ‘flow state’
That’s all there really is to it. Of course, motivation is really the first couple of steps when it comes to even getting up to do good work in the first place; but, it’s a start.
Flow State
Your flow state is also code name for ‘being in the zone’. You know those times where you are suddenly getting really good work done, aren’t distract, and are completely motivated to get anything in your way done? Yeah, that’s your flow state.
Once you’ve found your flow state, it’s so easy to work without stopping. And once you’ve mastered it, and know the exact steps to take in order to reach it, you can literally work for multiple hours (and no, I don’t mean 2) straight without stopping. The hardest part about the flow state is getting into it in the first place.
My Flow State Procedure
You can expect a full post on this concept at some point in the future. Anyways, once you’ve found the answer to this, there aren’t very many challenges that stand in your way of good work.
Another bad thing is that it is somewhat different for everyone. For example, I am a person that works well with music. If I play a music I like, am interested in the topic that I am studying, or am in a good and organized environment, I am going to enter a flow state just like that. Although it takes a few minutes to actually ‘lean into it’, it happens eventually.
How to Sustain Your Motivation
To put it simply, once you enter your flow state, you mustn’t leave. The explanation is simple: losing motivation once you’ve entered the flow state, it’s almost impossible to lose motivation (all of a sudden), unless if it’s because of a distraction; even if it’s as minor as a phone notification.
Now What?
Now that you’ve done everything as told above, just repeat the process again and again until it becomes second nature. You know you’ve gotten really good at it when the only real step is #4, which is entering the flow state; in which you will already have a plan for it.
So, yeah, that’s about it.
Bottom Line
What I have described here today is everything you need to get up from that couch and starting working now without making another excuse. Although simplified, I think you can understand the steps necessary to go from doing absolutely nothing to being as productive as can be in just minutes.
A Personal Suggestion
My suggestion is to keep on doing this again and again until you find a way to enter your flow state smoothly. In the beginning, it will take time (probably) to suddenly enter your flow state; so, be patient and just let it happen.
In the near future, except an article entirely on the ‘flow state’ and how to enter your own. For now, just conduct the necessary research.
