Your Complete Guide to Motivation Part 4: Five Simple Productivity Hacks to Get Motivated Today
Finding the motivation to get to work sometimes feels like trying to breathe underwater – your whole being screams at you to absolutely avoid it.
Fortunately for you, the internet is full of useful advice on how to effectively motivate yourself and finally get it all done.
Here are 5 simple productivity hacks that will boost your motivation instantly!
1: The 3-Second Rule
The 3-second rule is something that can finally help you get started, and it only lasts – you guessed it – 3 seconds!
Often, the reason why you still haven’t started lies in overthinking. The more you think about the action you need to take, the more discouraged you feel – what if something goes wrong? And what if you end up hating the task and the whole day gets ruined?
The truth is that most things usually seem scarier in your mind than they are in real life.
The 3-second rule gets rid of all unnecessary thinking – all you have to do is count to three and do it.
3…2…1…
Do it!
2: Find your flow state
A flow state is what happens when you’re so immersed in the work you’re doing that you absolutely forget you even exist.
Time flies by in a snap. The work you focus on draws you in so deeply that you basically become the activity itself.
A flow state can happen with most activities, such as exercising, reading, writing, studying, or preparing a work presentation. The key is to find such a good flow that the activity completely decreases in difficulty – you’re so focused it all just feels… easy.
One of the best ways to induce flow states is to listen to music that makes you feel productive. Lo-fi music is a perfect example of this.
The more you listen to this type of music, the more you prime your brain to associate it with flow states and productivity.
As time goes by, your brain learns to snap into focus quicker. Eventually, all you have to do is put on your headphones and you’ll automatically be in the zone.
3: Establish a contract with yourself
If you need a bit of extrinsic motivation to help you along, why not create a contract? It sounds kind of crazy, but it’s actually a very effective method of motivating yourself.
Write down the specifics of what you want to achieve in which time frame, and then create positive and negative consequences that will follow based on your behavior.
If you manage to go jogging three days a week for a month, reward yourself.
If you fail, you have to go to work wearing a ridiculous t-shirt for a whole week.
Fear is an excellent motivator sometimes.
4: Give yourself a fresh start
According to a 2015 study, using specific benchmarks in time – such as New Year’s, your birthday, the 1st of every month, or even every Monday – helps you give yourself a fresh start.
On a psychological level, it just feels satisfying if you start doing something on a day that fits well into your time frame. You’ll also be more inclined to stick to the habit because you’ve already established such a good time window.
Remember – you don’t have to stick to the usual dates associated with beginnings. If you want to start exercising, there’s no point in waiting until 1st January rolls around.
Why not create your own benchmark instead? Or just start on Monday next week?
The sooner you start, the better. Try to find the nearest benchmark in time that makes you feel satisfied.
5: Tell your friends and family about your goals
Accountability works wonders.
When you share your goals with everyone around you, you put a certain expectation on yourself – from now on, everyone will be waiting to see if you actually stick to your decision.
Social pressure is an amazing motivator, after all.
The fear of disappointing others or losing face might make you keep going on days when you feel like giving up. And the more people you tell, the better!
Final Thoughts on Motivation
Motivation is all about strategy. Even the most productive people on planet Earth sometimes wake up and feel like staying in bed until the sun goes down.
The difference between those who reach their goals and those who don’t lies in the methods they use to get there.
So go ahead and try out some of the techniques listed above! You might turn into a productivity master before you know it.