I was tired. I was overwhelmed. And I had no energy.
That pretty much sums up my morning. Finding, and maintaining, motivation day-to-day is tough. It can be the devil for most of us. We know we should be doing things but how in the world can we actually do them?
So, how in the world did I motivate myself to get up and get going?
Here are my five secrets to finding, and maintaining, motivation day-to-day. These work for me. And you know what? That is actually number one on my list.
1 – Clean up the social media feed
Find mentors, role models, and inspirational people that serve a purpose for you. Ones that give you great tips, advice, and ideas. I have a social feed that leaves me feeling motivated instead of drained. How are you doing there? It is pretty simple to click unfollow…. justsayin! (Side note, did you know you can “unfollow” friends without unfriending them on Facebook? Trust me on this one when I say it is the best feature on that platform!)
About once every six months I clean things up. I delete the ones that I am finding myself in comparison mode. Those never end up giving me energy and motivation to get moving or stay accountable. I want to feel inspired and pushed a bit.
Now when I scroll my feed, I feel the pull to get going because if they can, I can. It isn’t a comparison game for me. Instead, it is a motivation game to know that I too can do hard things just like they did. I alone have the power within myself. I love following other career coaches and seeing what they are doing with their business. It leaves me inspired and focused to share more of myself with you.
2 – Write down the week
I have a planner that sits on my desk that I use as a weekly glance. I also have my whole life on a digital calendar. What I found was that I was trying hard to just have one calendar and expecting that one calendar to do it all!
Then I found notes of to-dos everywhere and things were not feeling clean and organized. I don’t really remember who, but it was definitely socially influenced, suggested I use both. My digital calendar is the master. It holds all things and can be shared with the family as well as my coaching sessions. The items that are linked in.
My printed, hand-written version is for my eyes only. I scribble quick thoughts all week long. I also keep track of my weekly goals there. It is so satisfying to write down and visually see progress; whether it is crossing things off or tallying how many days I hoped on my Peloton. For me the visual piece is motivational. I want to give myself that credit!
3 – Find your friends that give you energy
This one can be tough but not all friends give us energy. Some are givers and some are takers. I’m not suggesting you give people a cold shoulder to the takers. However, I am suggesting your surround yourself with friends that have what you might want to have as well. It is not a comparison game; it is an influenced game.
I found a new career path because I was influenced by a friend that was happy and fulfilled as a coach. She spoke in ways that I wanted to speak. Her thoughts were clean and organized and so focused. I left all our conversations feeling opportunistic instead of empty. In full honesty, I had never even really heard of coaching until I met her. But I was so overtaken by her, I went straight for google the minute she walked away.
I want 10,000 friends like that. When I find them, I engage with them in ways that are very different. I tend to give them all of me and what I have naturally, without much effort. And they reciprocate. It doesn’t feel like a ton of effort is needed.
4 – Stop tolerating mindless things
I once had a coach ask me what I was tolerating in my home physically. Was there a closet that needed to be cleaned out? Was there a lightbulb out and for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to change it? I didn’t fully understand this concept until I cleaned the closet and changed the light bulb.
It sounds so silly. But when we tolerate things in our lives, they become noise. Every time I turned on my bathroom light, I was annoyed. I still had two that worked so I was able to see but the brightness factor was way off. However, taking the five minutes to change it sounded like a complete chore! The same was true for a paint chip I needed to touch up. Every time I walked into my kitchen; I saw it.
Mindless clutter is draining. Stage one of my 5 Stages to Design Your Dream Career program is a mindset stage. We get clear on what we are tolerating in life that isn’t serving us. If the plant is dead, let’s be okay with pitching it and realizing we don’t have a green thumb. If your coworker leaves you drained after every pity conversation, stop engaging with them. Grab some headphones and pretend you can’t hear them. (This one works. I can tell you from experience.??)
I encourage you to make a list of all the things you are tolerating in your home (or job) right now and see what you can start chipping away at. And let me know if doing those tasks leads you to do other things that then lead to other things… We are motivated by our environment. Clean things up and stop tolerating mundane things.
5 – Create your life vision
In my 5 Stages to Design Your Dream Career program, we focus on motivation. I am a visual person who needs visual cues. (Remember what I said above about the weekly planner?!) Having a vision board has been an impactful game-changer for me. I am visually seeing my goals, motivations, and dreams all in one spot. I know what I am working towards.
We don’t need to overthink this one either. If you are not a visual person, I encourage you to write a letter to yourself. One that you can read a year from now. What are you hoping to have in your life a year from now? Will you have a fulfilling job that doesn’t drain you? Are you looking to start a business and maybe taking the first step feels hard?
I encourage you to write down how you want to feel a year from now when you do those things! Writing, or creatively visioning, is a huge first step to finding, and maintaining, motivation day-to-day.
I am going to stop with five but honestly, I could give you a few more. These tips didn’t happen overnight. Because I have been awake and open to new ideas and possibilities, I continually see them now.
If you read this and you are feeling unmotivated at work, I can help. You don’t need to be miserable. Finding and maintaining motivation day-to-day at work is possible. I would love to share with you more about my 5 stages to Design Your Dream Career program. It is never too late to begin again. Let’s hop on a call and chat.