BLOG #17
Getting motivated can be difficult. Motivation is the key to being productive. If you are not motivated, your work becomes bland and repetitive. Without motivation, we become lazy.
As millennials like to say, “I am always tired.” The always-tired mindset immediately turns our brains off from motivation or productivity. It resorts to laying on your couch, binge-watching Stranger Things, passing out for a two-hour nap, and waking up to a pile of Doritos in your lap.
Then you wake up in a fog, scroll through social media, watch YouTube, and can’t fall asleep until midnight with any real production to show for it. And you wonder why you can’t get anything done!?
How do you conquer the “Always-Tired” Mindset? Here are a few tips to get you back on track:
1. Meditate – Take at least 10 minutes every day to slow down and meditate. Put your phone down, turn off the TV, stop whatever you are doing and let your mind rest. It will give you peace and a chance to clear your mind. Meditation increases stress resilience.
2. Listen to Podcasts – Listen to at least one Podcast every day. There is an unlimited library of content to listen to. Find an interesting podcast that teaches you something or keeps you up with current events. It will stretch your mind in many different directions and help you become diverse in many interesting topics.
3. The Power of Short To-Do Lists – By creating short tangible tasks organized in a list, you have a clear picture of what you want to get done for the day. Write down 3-5 things you want to accomplish every day and keep yourself accountable to that. You will feel satisfied and more productive when you start to cross things off the list.
4. Do More Research – Take 30 minutes to 1 hour of your day researching and reading new topics instead of scrolling through social media. Make it a habit of learning something new every day. Focus your research on things you need to get done and how to go about achieving those tasks. It will help make the big tasks feel less daunting and more manageable.
5. Power Stance – If you start to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or even depressed take a moment and look at yourself in a mirror. This might feel silly or uncomfortable, but trust me it works. Get yourself in a wide stance with your arms stretched out with your fist in the air. Hold that poses for about 2 minutes. This gives you a small moment of vulnerability and awkwardness, but it also gives you a chance to become confident and comfortable in yourself. Take a deep breath and attack the rest of your day.
6. Share your Goals – Share your short-term and long-term goals with others. Tell people what you plan on achieving. Speak your success into existence. It will help you brainstorm your ideas and also keeps you accountable to those people. If you tell someone you are going to do something, you are more likely to do that in order to maintain your reputation.
Make strides to make these tip and tricks become habits in your everyday life. Avoid the couch. Avoid telling yourself that you are tired. Tell yourself the things you want to get done and do them. Don’t wait for tomorrow. You can be tired when you are retired!
– Jake Beman