How to Improve Motivation the Easy Way

And make procrastination a thing of the past.

I’m a new writer on Medium. I didn’t start writing sooner because I couldn’t find the motivation. Here is the story of my typical day:

I’d be determined to write a Medium article that day. I’d wake up, feed the dogs, take them out, then sit down at my desk to begin writing. First, I’d look at my emails, and there would be a few urgent messages that I needed to answer. Then I’d see some interesting links in those emails that would take me to the internet. From there, I’d often check the news on Facebook/Messenger and see things that required a comment or response.

Also, the phone might ring, or Amazon could deliver a parcel or two. Then I make myself some brunch, or my husband might ask me to help him with a project. And my puppy might need reprimanding for destroying yet another plant or throw cushion. Before I knew it, it would be afternoon.

Then I have a 3-hour online training course to deliver. I’d tell myself that this is my “day job,” and so, it has to take priority. I’d need to prepare for the session, deliver it and then do some follow-up.

By the time I’d finish, it would be after 6:00 p.m., and I’d need to make dinner. I’d tell myself that I’d get around to writing the article later that evening. But, after dinner, my energy would start to wane, and I’d sit down in front of the TV.

Day after day, the same thing would happen until I decided to do three simple things:

1. Have only ONE thing to do every day.

One of the biggest reasons for procrastination and lack of motivation is being overwhelmed….having a To-Do List that is a mile long. Where do you even start?

No matter how many things are on my To-Do List, I now hide the complete list and have one Post-it Note on top. This note says, “The only thing I have to do today is X.” I never have more than ONE thing to do at any given time. I focus all my effort on just that one job.

It is helpful to decide your one goal the night before so that mentally you know what it is, and you lose no time trying to choose that task on the day. How do you decide what that will be? What is the essential thing that needs to get done to achieve your goal?

As an entrepreneur, my goal is to make money from my business. I found that I was often going down rabbit holes doing all sorts of chores that didn’t matter. For example, does it matter that my website images need to be updated or that I should finish a course I bought two weeks ago? Is either of those things going to earn me any money?

They might. Someone might spend those extra few minutes on my website because it is aesthetically appealing. The course might teach me something that I could use to become better at what I do. But there’s not a direct link between the action and cash in the bank. Whereas writing a Medium article can and will (hopefully) lead to a direct result — money in the bank.

The 80/20 rule says that 80% of your results will come from 20% of the things you do or 20% of your customers. The solution is to focus your time and effort on the 20% of activities that will yield 80% of the results (whatever the ‘results’ are for you). Think about that for a moment. You can 4x your income by working the same amount of time, or you can work for only 20% of the time and produce the majority of your results.

Choosing the right task is crucial!

2. Ensure that there are no distractions.

You must be ruthless on this point when it comes to how to improve motivation:

• Put your phone away and turn off all notifications.
• Shut yourself in a room where you can’t be disturbed.
• Put your pets out to pasture.
• Close any unnecessary windows on your computer.
• Don’t allow yourself to do any other task but that one.

You can schedule this time whenever it best suits you. You may have to juggle time with your children or other obligations. I am at my most productive early in the morning, so that is the time I like to schedule my essential work.

Whatever time you block out to do your task of the day, make sure not to take any calls or schedule anything else during that time. Block it out on your calendar and tell your family and friends that you cannot be disturbed during that time.

3. Take action — just do it!

The path to success is to take massive, determined actions. — Tony Robbins

This is the most important of the three steps. Don’t wait until you’re motivated to take action. Taking action is what gets you motivated!! It’s not the other way around, as many people think.

I used to believe that I needed to find motivation first. Then, and only then, could I take action. Once I realized that this was flawed thinking and I started to act before getting motivated, my life changed. I decided on the task and then just DID IT the following day. Even if I wasn’t motivated, I soon found that I didn’t want to stop. The motivation comes with the process of taking action.

It reminds me of Nike’s slogan, “Just Do it!” I usually can’t find the motivation to exercise, so this slogan is very apt. Take action — like putting your shoes on — then go for it. You can make things very complicated and try all sorts of techniques to get yourself motivated, or you can “just do it.” Life is that simple.

Action builds momentum and creates energy, and energy creates more energy. Taking action gets the ball rolling, and once it’s in motion, it keeps moving, almost effortlessly. Learning this was a huge “aha” moment for me when I realized how easy it was to motivate myself in this way.

Takeaways and conclusion

How to improve motivation?

• Plan ONE crucial thing that you want to do the following day.
• Create a block of uninterrupted time to work.
• Take action and just do it.

The magical thing about completing an important task every day is that you soon see inspiring results. If you set yourself a goal to write 1,000 words per day, in 3 months, you will have 90,000 words, which is enough for a 200-page book.

My days now consist of getting up earlier and blocking 2–3 hours of quiet time every morning. Even if I have no motivation whatsoever to undertake my chosen task, I just start doing it. Soon I find that I’m in that flow state. When writing, the words begin to pour out as if by magic onto the page. Before I know it, I’ve written the article, and I’ve completed the task. By this time, I’m so excited that I almost have to make myself stop.

Don’t wait for motivation; take action to create momentum!