How to Get Personal Motivation

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How many times have you done this?

It’s 9:00 at night. You know you have a busy day tomorrow so you map out how you’re going to get it all done while also adding in some extra things you should do as well. You feel good about how you’re going to get it all done and you head off to bed.

The next day comes and maybe you’ve looked over your day or maybe not. But did you actually stick with the schedule or plan you gave yourself? Did you follow it to a T or did you make up the plan as you went along? Or maybe you said, forget it, I want to do what I want to do knowing the urgent stuff is in your head so you won’t forget that. But you never took the time to look over the list you prepared for yourself the night before.

And why do we do that to ourselves?

We have the best intentions the night before. We tell ourselves we’re going to follow the plan.

But when that next morning comes and we’ve lost all motivation, it’s going to be really hard to stick to that list and do all the work you intended to.

This is because of internal motivation.

According to Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Four Tendencies, a large group of us (I fall into this category) are what she calls “Obligers” which means we resist inner expectations or motivations but meet outer or external expectations easily.

What about you? When you tell someone else you’re going to do something, do you make sure it gets done but struggle to do the same for yourself?

For me, whenever I commit to someone else I’ll do something, I will make sure it gets done, even if it’s at the expense of inconveniencing my life. But if I tell myself I’ll do something, there’s a good chance I won’t end up doing it if I don’t want to.

A good example of this is, I love to read. In fact, I could spend all day reading but I know that’s not realistic. So, when I take some time to read, I’ll set a timer for how long I’m giving myself before I need to get back to work. But so many times, I choose to ignore the timer when it’s done.

This is challenging for me. I mean, when I set a timer, I have good intentions of stopping when it goes off. However, I’m in a different state of mind when I hear that timer and I don’t want to stop.

So, how do I get my tasks done when I don’t feel like doing them? Here are four ways that I’ve been able to motivate myself.

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4 Ways to Combat Your Lack of Inner Motivation

Have Accountability

If no one is there to know or drive you to do better, chances are, you’ll give up the moment things get tough. Let’s be honest, who knows about it and who are you affecting, right? Only you know this at the moment so it might not matter if you give up and stop trying.

But when we seek out accountability, we have to admit to someone else if we did the work or not. If we tell someone we are going to write a chapter in a book we’re creating, we have to admit (and maybe show them) if we finished the work we said we were going to do. And being an “Obliger”, I don’t want to admit to someone I didn’t do the work when I originally said I would.

Related: When You Feel Stuck and Don’t Know Why

Set Up Rewards

Most times, when we do something, we don’t take the time to reward ourselves when we’re finished with a project or a task. We just move on to the next one. When we take the time to acknowledge what we have done and reward ourselves for completing it, we have something to work toward.

But you have to take yourself seriously. If you really did the work you said you were going to do, make sure you reward yourself. Don’t think you don’t have time for it or it’s not worth it. You have to take the time for it so it pushes you to do more.

Ignoring the fact you finished your task and just moving on to the next one will make further tasks harder to do because you’ll know you aren’t taking yourself seriously on your reward.

Set up a reward to motivate you and make sure you are taking the time to actually reward yourself for a job well done.

Related: Add More Time to Your Day

Know Your “Why”

Let’s just say you want to write a book. But do you really know why you want to write this book? Is it because you want to be a New York Times Bestseller or because you have a message you want to share? Whatever your reason is, make sure you know it inside and out. Post it everywhere. Let it be a constant reminder of why you want to write this book. Drill it into your mind.

When you know what your “why’ is for doing something, that “why” will push you and motivate you when times get tough and you want to give up. That’s the reason you need to post your “why” everywhere so you don’t forget it. Put it on your bathroom mirror, make it the home screen on your phone, add a post-it note to your coffee maker, just put it all over the place so it’s a constant reminder of why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Just Get Started

I know, I hear you. You’re thinking….”If I could just start that easily, I wouldn’t need any motivational help”.

If it were that simple, this would be all you need. But it’s not so I’m going to teach you another trick I learned from the incredible book, The Five Second Rule, by Mel Robbins.

In her book, she explains when you hear that voice in your head telling you all the excuses of why you don’t want to do this thing or that. That’s when you use this technique…count backward from 5 to 1 and then act. The counting stops you from your negative thoughts so you can just go.

This works incredibly well because all the excuses, negative thoughts, and lazy behavior are stopped for that moment and that allows you to push yourself into whatever it is you’re procrastinating on.

Final Thoughts

Most things we want in life will be hard. There will be good times and bad. But when we know how to internally motivate ourselves, we’ll be better off handling any challenges we come across. Know what personally motivates you and use it to push yourself to finish your goals.

I use all of these ideas to motivate myself. I have an accountability group I meet with every week on Zoom. I set up rewards for myself when I finish any micro-goals. My “why” is always top of my mind so it pushes me when I want to give up. Lastly, when I get into a funk and nothing seems to work (we’ve all been there), I will 5-4-3-2-1 my way into action.

Recognize what works for you and use it. Get all your tasks and goals finished when you want to and enjoy the benefits of completing everything you’ve set out for yourself!

What other ways do you motivate yourself to get your goals and important tasks finished?  

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