This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Maine chapter.
One Goal
The first step is to figure out that one goal you want to focus on. A lot of times people lose motivation because they feel overwhelmed with so many tasks and have no idea where to start. Pick the most important thing you want to accomplish and devote yourself to that single goal.
Go Public
Let everyone know what you plan on doing! Tell your roommates, friends and parents… any one that will listen. You’ll feel more motivated to get it done since the important people around you will be checking in on your progress. You won’t want to disappoint them by not following through, and they’ll provide plenty of encouragement once you’ve started.
Partner Up
Find someone to do it with you. Whether it’s going to the gym daily or finding a graduate school you want to go to, convince someone else to join in. Doing this will remind you why you wanted to do it in the first place (since they might take some convincing), and the two of you can make sure the other one stays on track.
Work On It Daily – No Matter What
It doesn’t matter how busy you are any given day, don’t make excuses for why you can’t make time to work towards your goal. Even if you can only rearrange your schedule around enough to give you five extra minutes, use that time to do something small. The more you work on it daily, the more you’ll feel motivated to do it the next simply by habit. The hardest part is getting yourself going and usually if you start actually doing it you’ll find it’s not as bad as you think. You might even spend a little extra time on it that you didn’t know you had.
Plan A Prize
Whatever that item is you’ve been eyeing recently, wait to buy it until you’ve finished. It will push you to stay on track and once you’ve hit the finish line you’ll actually have two prizes – the feeling that you’ve succeeded and that new pair of shoes.
The first step is to figure out that one goal you want to focus on. A lot of times people lose motivation because they feel overwhelmed with so many tasks and have no idea where to start. Pick the most important thing you want to accomplish and devote yourself to that single goal.
Go Public
Let everyone know what you plan on doing! Tell your roommates, friends and parents… any one that will listen. You’ll feel more motivated to get it done since the important people around you will be checking in on your progress. You won’t want to disappoint them by not following through, and they’ll provide plenty of encouragement once you’ve started.
Partner Up
Find someone to do it with you. Whether it’s going to the gym daily or finding a graduate school you want to go to, convince someone else to join in. Doing this will remind you why you wanted to do it in the first place (since they might take some convincing), and the two of you can make sure the other one stays on track.
Work On It Daily – No Matter What
It doesn’t matter how busy you are any given day, don’t make excuses for why you can’t make time to work towards your goal. Even if you can only rearrange your schedule around enough to give you five extra minutes, use that time to do something small. The more you work on it daily, the more you’ll feel motivated to do it the next simply by habit. The hardest part is getting yourself going and usually if you start actually doing it you’ll find it’s not as bad as you think. You might even spend a little extra time on it that you didn’t know you had.
Plan A Prize
Whatever that item is you’ve been eyeing recently, wait to buy it until you’ve finished. It will push you to stay on track and once you’ve hit the finish line you’ll actually have two prizes – the feeling that you’ve succeeded and that new pair of shoes.
Photo: http://minuet.dance.ohio-state.edu/~vetrano4/assig_02.html