Motivation in 4 Steps

Motivation is one of the things we all have but how motivated are we ?

For me , motivation is part and parcel of my daily challenge for i strive to be motivated to make that spark come to life but it seems nothing can light up the spark anymore . Futhermore it depresses me that i keep thinking that i am not motivated enough .

Browsing the AskMen online magazine , i came up to their article of 4 Steps : To get Motivated

Step 1

Commit To A Time Frame To Stay Motivated

This motivational tip especially applies to jobs that should not take more than a couple of hours. This means that you should specify a time frame before you get knee-deep into a particular task. If you’re the type that likes to plan ahead, mark your objective, with its corresponding time frame, on your calendar. Doing this a week or so in advance will help you get motivated as you will be setting a goal that you can look forward to accomplishing. On the other hand, if you’re more spontaneous in nature, say to yourself that you are going to start working on your task now and give it a termination time -- whether it’s accomplished or not. The pride you’ll feel once you do complete the task and knock it off your to-do list should be enough to get you motivated and keep you that way.

During your set time, eliminate all possible distractions that could lead to procrastination -- turn off your cell phone and disable your internet. You can even get some accountability going if you tell your friends that you have reserved some time to complete a specific job. This will help you stay motivated as well, because you don’t want to appear as a failure to your friends. Once your time frame has ended, just as in taking an exam, put your pencil down and walk away. The small window of time that you allot yourself to accomplish the task should naturally get enough adrenaline going to keep you motivated and give you the energy to make it happen.

Step 2

Set A Reward To Stay Motivated

Since you are most likely taking on a very mundane task within a relatively short period of time, you might have to resort to a very basic motivational technique: rewards. Tell yourself that if you get motivated enough to get the job done in your specified time frame, you are going to head to the mall and buy yourself that item you have been wanting. If you are dieting, motivate yourself with the promise of a pizza or a wings-and-beer fest once you are done.

We have two more basic tips to help you get motivatedCertainly, you could cheat and just have the motivation reward without actually getting your job done, but you won’t feel good about your lack of effort. A reward is crucial for positive reinforcement and should motivate you to actually find the energy to put the ball in motion.

Step 3

Stop Thinking To Stay Motivated

Particularly with boring jobs and chores, your brain has a propensity to over think things and suck what little motivation you have right out of you. Being over analytical about such things as getting your paperwork and files in order will only make the task seem magnificently overwhelming and likely preclude you from even taking a single step toward completion. In order to get motivated, focus on small, incremental actions and just start doing something. Initially, it may not be the most effective way to handle the task at hand, but as you work on it, you will learn, adapt and find faster, more efficient ways to really make some dents in what you are trying to accomplish. For example, if you are going toorganize your filing cabinet, which is overflowing with papers, start by just dumping it out on a table. It may seem like a big, daunting mess, but at least it is progress and the act of moving forward will break the inertia.

Step 4

Enjoy Yourself To Stay Motivated

Even big jobs like cleaning the garage do not have to be all work and no play. Certainly, there are other things you would rather be doing, but you can find ways to get motivated and make it fun. Blast some old-school tunes, such as “Nothin’ But a Good Time” by Poison or “Panama” by Van Halen when you feel you have hit a milestone in your task. If you are mopping the floor or actually getting dirty under the hood of your ’71 Chevelle, turning on Styx’s “Blue Collar Man” might be enough to motivate you or to alleviate some of the situation’s monotony. Once you lighten up your brain and embrace what you are doing, you will be able to creatively come up with ways to make it seem more entertaining, which makes the work and time pass more enjoyably and certainly more rapidly.

Motivate, Don’t Deliberate

Armed with the above four steps, you should be primed, pumped and motivated to finally get to whatever it is you have had on your mind. So, shut off your computer, spend the next two hours tackling your objective, and, to help you get motivated, call a friend and tell him that he’s coming over with a six pack and a pizza as soon as you're done.

http://www.askmen.com/money/body_and_mind_150/170b_better_living.html

Yeah , why not try to think this through .Since i have loads of time for tonight to think.