8 Tips To Help You Stay Motivated + Crush Your Goals

April 16, 2018

Source: Ylanite Koppens from Pexels

Beep. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beeeeeep.

Hi. That was my impression of your alarm clocks ringing from various locations in your bedroom. What do you do? What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?

Maybe you have snarky flatmates and you're worried the incessant noise will rock the boat. Maybe you have a baby, which means you don't need an alarm in the morning (me!). Maybe you get up to escape the snores of your partner. Or, realistically, you get up because you damn well have to do it.

Autumn has arrived in New Zealand, which means my motivation levels are starting to dip. Even the lure of a hot cup of coffee is failing to get me out of bed in the morning.

I can't stay in bed, as tempting as that thought is. I have a baby, I have to study, and, gosh darn it, I need that coffee (as much as I'm trying to kick the habit)

I've been a student for five years (ew) so I have tried and true methods of staying motivated and productive throughout the colder months and general hard slog of student life.

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01. Set a big goal
I'm talking about a goal that will be realised way in the future. Write it down. Say it out loud. Tell someone about it. Does it scare you? Are you hungry for it? Good. That means you really want it and it won't be a throw-away goal you forget about in a month or two. I realised a few of these goals in the last few days and they are terrifying, intimidating, and exciting. I'm not ready to talk about them on my blog (yet) but never say 'never'.

02. ...And a few smaller goals.
It would be hard to stay motivated if you were focusing on a goal that only comes to fruition in ten years time. Set a few smaller goals that can be accomplished in weeks, months, or a year and work towards them. This is the chance to break your big goal into bite-sized chunks so you don't a) get overwhelmed, and b) burnout.

03. Have a 'to-do' list
If you've seen my Twitter, you would see that I have intentions for the day. Sometimes I post them, sometimes I don't; however, I find my motivation levels increase 100% when I know my goals are 'out there' for other people to judge. I am a list person. I have a 'to do' list on Twitter, written down in notebooks, diaries, and my phone. I check in on my lists several times throughout the day to see if I'm 'on track' or if I need to step it up a notch.

04. Be realistic
This is one I struggle with because I have so much to do. Don't we all? Sometimes the amount to do can be crippling and my motivation levels dip. I've found that choosing five (or so) goals for the day is a reasonable expectation and seeing them being crossed off my list keeps me motivated.

Photo by Mikayla Mallek on Unsplash
05. Rewards
Intrinsic or extrinsic - rewards work for me. I'm a coffee fiend, so I tell myself that I can have a really nice coffee (or two) when I drop my son at daycare on Thursday and Friday. I set a deadline and away I go. The key is picking a reward that isn't instantaneous or achieved in a day. I'm motivated to keep my behaviours consistent the whole week if I know I can get my caffeine fix at the end of the week.

06. Review, review, review
Are you constantly setting a goal that you don't achieve? Why is that? Go back and look at your actions in the last week. Were you working towards your goal or were you actively avoiding it? Did you get stuck at the starting block or was there a hurdle in the middle that you didn't expect? Look at your processes and see what works for you and what doesn't work. See where you're spending the majority of your time and create new goals in that area.

07. Routine
I know some people have a set time to go to the gym with a friend or simply time out to read their book. I am a stay-at-home-mum, so I'm confined to my son's routine. Or, as I like to say, "what routine?" Being a parent is the ultimate test of time-management. I know I have specific chunks of time to accomplish household chores, self-care, and study. I achieve what I can with a toddler-sized shadow and then go like the clappers when he's in bed.

08. Self-care
Take a break. Look after yourself. Be kind to yourself if you don't achieve all your goals for the day. It happens. Schedule in "me time" every day so you actually feel like a human, rather than a robot just going through the routine of everyday life.
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Nothing worth having comes easy. That's what makes it so special. If you really want something, the work will be just as satisfying as the reward at the end.

What do you do to stay motivated? Do you write down your goals? What is one goal you have right now?

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7 comments

  1. I don't know why, but I always struggle with keeping on track for a long time. I might start strong, set my goals, create to-do list, but after 2 or 3 months I would just stop and watch movies all days long... I hope I can bit that awful habit one day:)

    Thank you for great tips!

    Kseniia,
    thestylejungle.co.nz

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  2. This is great inspiration! I don’t usually write my goals down, I have them in mind as I go. School and my blog have two different goals, and the school ones seem to be trickier but I’m excited to work towards them. Great post x

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  3. This was super useful as I’m going through exam season so needed this to keep me going ����

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  4. This is wonderful, just love it!

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  5. I could use that help. Self care is my problem.

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  6. Really helpful motivation tips. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thank you so much for this blogpost! Really wonderful and inspiring. Staying motivated is a tough thing and this was exactly what I needed this morning.. ;)

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