10 Ways To Boost Motivation and Get Things Done

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Before I began learning about personal development and productivity, I had no idea that motivation was something you could just "switch-on". Here I was, relying on good days and lots of coffee, as I'm sure some of us are currently doing. After learning ways that could help me to boost motivation, I was inspired to start making lifestyle adjustments to create the life that I wanted.

Through the years of being a full-time student, working part-time, maintaining some sort of social life, spending time with my family, watering my plants, taking care of my dogs, and taking care of myself, my to-do lists were crazy and I had so many things I needed to get done in a short time frame.

One of my favorite topics in post-secondary was motivation. Whether I was learning it within my business courses or psychology electives, I loved learning how our motivation is derived, the different theories surrounding what motivates us, and how we stay motivated.

If you've ever had those days when you felt like doing absolutely nothing and just felt like a pile of meh, well join the club! We've all had bad, depressing, boring, and crappy days, and sadly those days are still going to come. However, rather than just always waiting for motivation to come to you, It can be helpful to learn how to get to motivation first. Maybe then, you can turn those bad days into productive ones!

Ways To Boost Motivation and Get Things Done

#1 Plan your days.

Planning is extremely important! Chances are if you're looking to boost motivation, you most likely have a bunch of things on your to-do list. Figuring out your plans for the day, the week, or even the month, can help you get organized and accomplish some time-management. Even on days that I have the motivation to get moving, I always use my planner and excel spreadsheets to organize my time and ensure I'm getting everything done. After you have a visualization of everything, you can plan your day accordingly.

Another concept tided into planning is goal-setting. Goal-setting is a great method for creating motivation to do undesirable things because it provides us with the vision of a greater future.

My current planner is purchased from Marshalls and is by Fringe Studio.

#2 Just start.

Always remember, action = motivation! Sometimes, a great way to complete an entire task is by tackling a smaller part of it first. Just getting up and doing it will provide you with that boost, whereas overthinking just creates excuses. For example, if you know you need to clean your room, and you don't feel like doing it, try cleaning an area of your room first. Sometimes you just need to make a tiny step to get into the groove to boost motivation to complete the task completely.

#3 Environmental changes.

Our environments play a huge part in helping us make decisions and choices throughout the day, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. We are a product of our environments.

To complete tasks, align your environment with your goals and plans, and design for laziness and mindless actions. For example, if you want to eat healthier, prepare healthy snacks beforehand, if you have to record more for your youtube channel, keep your equipment set up so it is ready to go. Same with working out, try placing your clothing out the day before. Now you're a step closer to completing your tasks than you were before. The easier our tasks are to complete, the more likely we will perform them because they are easier and they seem more attainable.

#4 Clean your space.

For me, it's tough to get things done when my workspace, or home in general, is messy. I am constantly distracted from working on my tasks because I can't stop focusing on the mess that surrounds me. Messy homes and workspaces leave us feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, and stress is the biggest killer of our motivation and productivity.

Just a quick five minutes a day to keep your area clean. Enforcing that habit of cleaning up after yourself is super important. It can make your environment less stressful and allow you to place your focus on other things. If you are overwhelmed with clutter, consider reading Marie Kondo's book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". Her insight has had a positive impact on many lives and can help change yours for the better.

#5 Create habits/rituals.

Habits and rituals are a great way to reduce the willpower needed to perform certain behaviors, those behaviors simply become apart of our routines. Think of something like brushing your teeth, or washing your hands after using the bathroom, those actions don't require as much effort because you just naturally do them. Working on developing habits can take time, but it is extremely worth it in the end.

#6 Break it down. 

Sometimes breaking down your lists and major projects into mini-tasks can make them seem easier to complete. This works the same when you're designing your long-term goals. By breaking your long-term goals down into short-term goals you can help increase your motivation and start completing your tasks. It is always less stressful looking at mini-tasks rather than looking at one big task that seems unachievable or like it would take more time and effort.

Additionally, if your lists are too long, you'll probably end up completing the easier/unimportant tasks first, which leads to a less productive day. Or, you'll just dread your entire day because of how "busy" you are. Remember, the easier it is to do, the more likely you'll do it rather than putting it off for another day.   

#7 Get inspired by others.

This is one of my favorite ways to boost motivation! Something I do ALL THE TIME is watching other people perform the tasks I need to do. Watching my favorite YouTubers vlogging their clean with me, life admin, workout videos, and the list go on! I also love using Pinterest for motivation and some quick inspiration! Plus, I could gain some insight and tips on how to perform that task better. 

Another way to get inspired is reading, or watching videos, learning about motivation. Learning about how motivation works can give you a different perspective and can also be eye-opening. If you are a procrastinator like I was, check out this Ted Talk by Tim Urban. Tim's perspective changed my life. I highly recommend watching it as this may also help give you the motivation you need!

#8 Visualization.

According to the Law of Attraction, you attract what you think about most often and in time you will become what you think about. The more real an image is in our mind the more likely you will turn that image into a reality. Our subconscious mind will take that image in our conscious mind and begin to look for things in the environment to support that image.

Using positive affirmations can also help motivate you, as you visualize yourself completing the tasks you need to get done. Another excellent example is creating a vision board. Vision boards always help remind us of our goals and why we want to achieve them. Whether you physically make one or gather up photos from online and use them as a wallpaper on your phone/desktop. Whatever works best for you! Just having that reminder can help reconnect you to your goals and why you want to achieve those goals.

Personally, I don't believe that visualization can work on its own for staying motivated, but I do think that it does help when combined with other techniques used to boost motivation.

#9 Reward system.

Rewarding ourselves can be another great way to boost motivation. Telling yourself if you complete the first/hardest task, you can reward yourself. Watching your favorite show, eating your favorite snack, or hanging out with your friends, it can be anything you enjoy. 

This works extremely well for me, and others that I know, and is worth a shot trying! I think it is extremely important to be productive and also have time for relaxation. Having a reward system can help to create a well-balanced life. 

#10 Self-talk.

Our self-talk is a powerful tool that is sometimes overlooked. The way we talk to ourselves can be either extremely beneficial or entirely destructive. Our words influence how we feel about ourselves and how we respond to situations in our lives.

Sometimes we go through tough situations and there will be times you have negative or distracting thoughts. A system I learned from Beau Norton was the system reset strategy, which he discusses in his book Get More Done In Less Time: Productivity and Motivation 101. This book is free on the apple books app so check it out!

How the system reset strategy works is by resetting your brain when you catch yourself thinking negatively or becoming distracted. First, take a deep breath and follow with a positive phrase. Your phrase must relate or remind you of your original purpose of completing the task. This exercise can help you re-motivate yourself in completing whatever it is you are currently working on.

Remember, what motivates us will be different for everyone. Motivation is personal and specific to each individual. What motivates you? what are you passionate about? I hope you found some of my suggestions insightful. Talk soon!