How To Get Motivated in 2018?

As it is 2018 it's the time to start a fresh and make some changes. One of those changes might be to make yourself more productive on a daily or weekly basis. However, the secret to being productive is of course having the motivation to be productive. Now finding the motivation and actually staying motivated can be quite tricky sometimes but I am here to help you.

Here are my top tips on how to get motivated in 2018:

Sometimes just thinking about the end goal can help you to get motivated. What is the reason you need to be productive? Whether it's doing an assignment, studying for an exam, cleaning the entire house, doing your job etc. Whatever it is that you need to find motivation for. Just think about the end result. Say you're like me at university and have a assignments to do. Obviously my end goal is actually getting a grade on my degree that I know I've worked to the best of my abilities for. The only I can do that is if I do well in my assingments and to do well in them I actually have to do some work. Something like thinking of the end result of being productive can give you that extra bit of motivation you need to do your work.

Whether it's doing the dishes, laundry or tidying a room or even a section of a room. Cleaning can be the key to finding that motivation. Sometimes doing something productive like cleaning can boost my motivation and make me want to do more productive things. Even if all you do is spend some of your time cleaning a room or washing the dishes or doing laundry you're still ticking off a job that you need to do. Cleaning is a daily chore so make it a part of your routine. Wash the dishes three times a day. Hoover and polish every week. Tidy your bedroom everyday (I don't mean full on clean the entire bedroom but organise a section of your room). Just make cleaning a part of your daily routine if it's not already. You will find that motivation to be more productive if you just start cleaning.

These days everyone has their laptops and their phones so sometimes the biggest distraction is going on social media or watching YouTube videos or even just browsing the internet or messaging people. It can be a big distraction so my biggest tip is to go offline. Take your work if you can (even if it's just making notes on a pen and paper for now) offline. Put your phone in aeroplane mode or switch it off so you're not distracted by notifications and hide it away somewhere. Not having the distraction of social media or YouTube or messages can be a big help to actually getting your work done. Just think once you've done plenty of work that day then you can reward yourself with some quality phone time or YouTube time or however it is you like to spend your free time.

This tip is probably more useful for anyone who has assignments or studying to do. If you normally work in your bedroom on your bed or desk and are struggling to find the motivation to do work or get easily distracted then it's probably a good idea to take your work somewhere else. Whether it's to your local library or a cafe somewhere. Just taking it somewhere where you are less likely to get distracted and the only thing you can really do to pass the time is your work then it's perfect. Finding a suitable place to do your work is the key to motivation. Make a day of it. Make yourself some lunch and drink. Get yourself a coffee and pack a backpack of everything you need and just leave your house. It'll get you that motivation you need to get some work done.

I don't mean after doing five minutes of work to give yourself a half an hour break. What I mean is doing say two hours of full blown work then give yourself ten minutes away from your work station to get yourself a drink or eat a snack. Just a moment for your mind to refresh a little then after those ten minutes you can get on with another two hours work. It's also that little bit of motivation knowing after two hours I can just relax for ten minutes. You'll be surprised how the thought of getting a break can motivate you to do more work.

This tip was giving to me by one of my lecturers at uni and it is actually a useful tip when you have work to do because it gives you eight hours to do your work in so you have plenty of time to do. Obviously give yourself some regular breaks every two houts but it will really help you. I know working flat out can be quite daunting or stressful but if you work in a suitable place with barely any distractions then you can do it if you really put your mind to it. Just think afterwards you'll have the whole evening to relax and unwind with no stress or worries knowing you've spent the day being productive.

For me, making to do lists just helps me to organise the work I have to do that day and it's also kind of a forced motivation where I have to force myself to do all the things on the list then I can just relax afterwards. It's also a great feeling when you cross something off your list then once you've crossed the final thing off your list you can be free from your work for the day. Also when making a to do list don't put down loads of things for you to do that day. Make an achievable list with at least three things at the most five things that you know you can do. It also will seem less daunting for you when you see that you can achieve all the things on your list.

Finally, give yourself a decent reward whether it's making your favourite meal for dinner or hanging out with your friends or doing an activity you enjoy like reading a book or playing video games or having a full blown movie night. Just give yourself a reward for doing your work. Just thinking about the treat you'll get once you've done your work is sometimes the perfect motivation to get it done because afterwards you can really enjoy yourself knowing you've earnt it.

So that is all my tips on how to get motivated in 2018. I hope this was helpful to any of you out there lacking motivation. If you have any tips of your own which I have not yet mentioned or if any of these tips were useful to you then let me know in the comments below.

I'll be back again with another post for you soon so I will see you then.

Bye!

Megan x