How to Get Motivated!

What is procrastination? It is the avoidance of action towards the start of or completion of a task and/or project. The reason that you procrastinate is not important, because it has become habitual and an automatic response for you.

What is motivation? It is the focus or energy necessary to create action towards goal completion! Being motivated is essential for you to not only start, but to complete projects. This is where the reason becomes important! The reason a project needs completed, will help you to prioritize your to do list and once prioritized you can implement this quick easy motivational technique.

Prioritize:
- Deadline
- Details
- Time and energy

In order to properly prioritize your projects you will need to have a deadline, understand how much time and energy it will take to complete the project, as well as understand the details of the project. The deadline is key, because if it's due in a few days and another project is due in a month then the project due in a few days needs taken care of first. The details of the project are important, because they will determine the amount of time and energy related to completing the project. If the project due in a month is going to take a lot of your time and energy to complete, then the project due in a month may need to be dealt with while completing or immediately after completing the first project.

Even if the task or project doesn't have a deadline, give it one! Tell other people about the deadline, like your friends, family, or significant others; "You know what honey?" "I am going to paint the shed by the end of next week." If it already has an exte
al deadline, then make a personal one that is a day or two before! This will give you time to complete the process and review it, as well as enjoy the fact that you met your personal deadline.

Get motivated:
- Prepare yourself
- Commit
- Follow through

In order for you to be motivated you will need to be mentally prepared. The night before, go to bed and tell yourself that you need to complete a, b, and c. Then when you wake up, tell yourself that you are going to complete a, b, and c. Now, your commitment is key! You need to tell yourself, that you will not participate in a preferred activity until a, b, and c is accomplished. You need to focus and force yourself to commit to this, by promising you will follow through and realizing you will be too guilty to enjoy your preferred activity if not followed through with. Now, following through means that you remain conscious of the entire process. You will need to coach and coax yourself through the experience. Tell yourself, "Okay, lets get too it!" and "Alright, one down, two to go!" or "No, I promised I would paint the shed before going golfing and I'm following through!" This type of mental commitment and encouragement will ensure you follow through! Once completed you will enjoy your preferred activity more and feel good about accomplishing what you set out to.

Helpful hints:
- Start small
- Remain flexible

Since this will be new for you, I suggest you start small and build up to larger tasks. You may want to break a task into smaller steps, then rewarding yourself with a preferred activity and then back to the task, until completion. By using this method on the smaller tasks or in smaller steps, you will be practicing the process as it becomes easier. You will want to remain flexible, so that you continue to prioritize based on what is happening in the present moment. You also want to remain flexible and open to the fact that this is new to you, allowing for things to not always go as planned, learning each time and implementing this knowledge into future experiences.