How to get motivated, and stay that way is one of the most important parts of the organising process, and here are some of my best tips to help with keeping the levels of enthusiasm as high as possible.
As with anything, once the initial excitement of doing something has worn off, it’s so hard to keep going.
Motivation needs to be grown from inside you, and its only then that you will be able to reach your full potential.
Without understanding your motivation to get organised, you may have all the best intentions in the world but you won’t be able to keep going easily and with focus.
Here are 9 motivational pieces of advice – Hope you find one or two that you can easily start doing, and keep yourself motivated to continue with your organising.
As with everything, you have to put in some effort, but the results are so worth it!
1. Have A Reason
Working out the reason you are doing something can be motivation enough…
Some examples are as follows:-
If your goal is to achieve a clutter free home, then why not attach a picture of your ideal home on a cupboard door so that you can see it every day.
If you are trying to be a good role model for your children, then getting them involved should help.
If you are looking at freeing up some time that’s currently being wasted by being organised, then start a diary – write down exactly how you spend your time for a week – then look back and see how much you have wasted on things that just weren’t important – this will motivate you to change.
2. Reward Yourself For A Job Well Done
Give yourself a treat when you complete something (even if it’s just a milestone towards your final goal).
This could be as simple as an hours break with a favourite magazine and a glass of wine, a bath, or a night out with friends.
Whatever it is, make it something that will give you lots of satisfaction, as you will be more likely to want to keep going!
3. Take A Look At What You’ve Already Done
When you take a step back and actually see how much you have achieved already, simply seeing how far you have come will give you the impetus to keep going.
So many of us get bogged down for days or weeks in something – only to find that when they look up they aren’t where they had planned. It is crucial to be able to take an overview look daily at least to ensure that you are on track. If you keep a note of what you have achieved and what you want to achieve the next day, you will easily be able to flick back and see how much you have done.
It’s so easy to forget – so give yourself a break if you are having a bad day, look at what you’ve achieved, and then carry on!
TIP – If it helps, don’t cross through completed tasks on your TO DO list, tick them instead and it will subconsciously lift you. If you work on an electronic list, then create a DONE list so you can easily see!
TIP – If you are organising a room, take photos at the start and then you can visually see how far you have come. Think about interior design before and after photos and how you feel motivated after seeing those!
4. Minimise Disruptions To Your Time
It’s far too easy to get distracted, so ask family members not to bother you when you are in the middle of a task, don’t answer the phone (let it go to voice mail and they will leave a message), don’t keep checking emails etc…
You need to stay focused and that way you’ll get more done in less time.
Disruptions and distractions will only serve to demotivate you as they will stop your flow when you are working hard – and it’s simply more difficult to get going again.
5. Get A Buddy!
It is definitely worth telling someone about what you want to achieve at the start, as then you have someone to answer to about how it’s going. If you know you are going to be asked, then you are more likely to want to do things quickly and well.
If you are really struggling, then it would be worth getting a friend in to help keep you going.
Simply having someone to help you get focus again may be all you need.
6. Start Afresh Each Time
If you can keep tasks small enough to complete each time you do any project, then you can always start something new when you next come to do something.
Having something unfinished hanging over you will de-motivate really quickly as its often hard to pick something back up again, especially if its something that was hard the first time you tried it.
Try and finish the day by ticking something off the TO DO list and completing what you have started wherever possible. This will help you feel like you have accomplished something every time you do tasks, which is huge motivation for the next task.
7. Set Deadlines
When you set deadlines, you immediately create a sense of urgency about a task. You are much more likely to get things done and create the energy to do it when you have something to aim at.
TIP – Time yourself! Set a timer (the oven timer works well!) for 15 minutes and see how much you can get done in that time. Your subconscious will think 15 mins isn’t long at all and be more willing to do that extra little bit – before you know it you will have got loads done!
8. Think Positive
Always try and stay positive and focused on a task. If you need some extra inspiration, then what about trying self help books and CDs – these can really help to get you in the right frame of mind as they will make you want to enhance your life more. I use them all the time to gain perspective on life and focus.
Having great music on, adequate heating and light etc… and making your environment as comfy as possible for you to work in will really boost you too. There’s nothing worse than being cold and lonely when doing a job, and you really don’t have to make this hard work!
9. Think About Next Year
How many of us have set a new years resolution and by the end of the year have looked back and wished we had done it?
Thinking how you will feel in a few months time if something is, or isn’t done – may be all the motivation you need!
So, how do you stay motivated?
If you have something different to add to this list of tips, then please leave a comment below as I’d love to hear about it!, and if you want even more motivational inspiration then you might want to check out THIS POST next…
