Motivate Yourself to Get Things Done

Procrastination is a hard thing to overcome and everyone suffers through it sooner or later.  So many things can lead to distraction, eventually leading to a loss of productivity and guilty feelings that you did not accomplish what you wanted to.  Here are some tips you can use to motivate yourself to get things done.

Organize Everything

Whether at work or at home, good organization is one of the most effective ways to motivate yourself.  When everything is in place and ready to go, it makes you far more likely to dive in and get it done.

For example, when all the items for a work project are ready and waiting for you on your desk, it makes it easier to get started.  When everything is a disorganized mess, it invokes feelings of dread before you can even begin.

Take a few moments to get organized and you will see yourself one step closer to your goal.

Set Small Goals and Do a Little Every Day

The feeling of lack of motivation can often stem from the sense that what you want to accomplish is "impossible", "too big", or "too difficult" for you to do. If you set smaller goals for yourself and take them in stride, you will find it easier to see it through to the end.

If you have a long-term goal or project, such as losing weight within a certain time period or completing an essay, do a small bit every day instead of trying to do it all at once.

Think "bite-sized". Small victories will motivate you along and help you to make big wins in the long term. The positive reinforcement you will feel as a result of getting even small things done will help to avoid stopping. As a reformed chronic procrastinator myself, I've heard this advice time and time again but shrugged it off. It does work though, if you want it to.

Avoid Distractions

When you do get started on your goal, avoid distractions as much as possible.

You should avoid the Internet at all costs, unless your project is directly related or for research purposes.  It is far too easy to turn a ten minute research project into a three-hour YouTube video watching marathon or forum-reading frenzy.

Setting a timer can help with those kind of distractions.

If you know you will be working on a project at a certain time, let your friends and family members know that you will be unavailable during that time.  Even minor distractions can break your flow and cause you to lose the impetus to get things done.

Don't Feel Guilty

If you do fail to reach your goal, try to not feel guilty.  This can turn into a self-feeding negative energy that will only cause stress and problems when you start your next project.  It will be that much harder to motivate yourself in the future if you are guilt-ridden over past failures.

Setting small goals, taking small steps to reach those goals, and knowing that you are not the only one that has problems finding motivation at times can help to overcome procrastination issues.  There are times when it is a matter of sheer force of will to get motivated, but following these simple techniques can make those times come far less often.

Start now. Bookmark this site and get started. Come back when you feel you need another little push in the right direction.