Motivated Mindset

Recently I hosted a session on sassy motivation as part of International Women’s day for Rockin Ur Teens. One of the questions I was asked was how to motivate yourself to do something you don’t want to do. No matter how motivated we are we all have those tasks we avoid or delay doing because we don’t want to do them. The trick is to change your mindset as to how you view the task.

Focus on the results.

Focus on the why and the results it will bring. e.g “I don’t want to do _______. But if I make progress on ________, then I will have so much less stress next week and be prepared for ________.”

Also, we all know we feel good when we get tasks ticked off our to-do list so the sooner you get something done the sooner you will feel a weight lifted off your shoulders.

Break the task down into achievable chunks.

Look at the tasks you have to do and then see where you can slot them into your week to ensure they get done:

• Do tasks you don’t want to do first, then they are out of the way and you can focus on the things you enjoy doing.
• Block out a set time to do the tasks e.g every Wednesday at 11:00 – try and set the time aside for a time and day that you know you won’t already feel demotivated.
• Link tasks together e.g. you can’t watch your favourite TV show until you have done the set task. This one will require you to actually do what you said and not cheat!
• Pair the tasks you like with the ones you are not too keen on. e.g let’s say you are not a fan of cleaning then listen to your favourite podcast or music while you are cleaning.

Consistency is Key.

The more you do something the more it will become a habit and the better you will become at it. Consistency will make you enjoy tasks that you perhaps didn’t enjoy before or at least you won’t resist them. e.g waking up early to workout; it may seem like a no-go, but once you do it you will get into the habit – you will notice on days you don’t work out your body clock will be in the habit so you will wake up at the earlier time. Side note, exercise will make you feel good so just do it!

Overall, mindset is so important as it helps you cope with challenges and it can open up the doors to things you didn’t even think were possible. The more you think you can do something and you do enjoy things, the more you will. Making slight tweaks to how you approach things can turn tasks you thought you didn’t like into tasks you enjoy!