Friday 15 June 2012

Motivation (Part 4)

Turn up the pressure. Sometimes motivation is a luxury. Pretend that the due date for your project has moved up one month, one week, or one day. Raising the stress level slightly can spur you into action. Then the issue of motivation seems beside the point, and meeting the due date moves to the forefront.

Turn down the pressure. The mere thought of starting a huge task can induce anxiety. To get past this feeling, turn down the pressure by taking “baby steps.” Divide a large project into small tasks. In 30 minutes or less you could preview a book, create a rough outline for a paper, or solve two or three math problems. Careful planning can help you discover many such steps to make a big job doable.  

Ask for support. Other people can become your allies in overcoming procrastination. For example, form a support group and declare what you intend to accomplish before each meeting. Then ask members to hold you accountable. If you want to begin exercising regularly, ask another person to walk with you three times weekly. People in support groups ranging from Alcoholics Anonymous to Weight Watchers know the power of strategy.

2 comments:

  1. Wholeheartedly agree with you about breaking up a large project into small tasks. I teach this to anyone I mentor. People often try to tackle too much at once. That's a huge "No, no." Doing that only often leads to stagnation which of course leads to procrastination.

    In regards to motivation, this may sound a bit cheesy, but I like to recommend a book that helped me. Tony Robbins, "Unleash the Power Within" is a great read for those who want to gain some more insight about taking action immediately. Good stuff there.

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  2. Turning up the pressure is sometimes effective. I totally agree with you! The pressure can be a good thing and it can really help achieve your goals. Though it may not apply to everyone, it's a technique one can try if other methods don't work.

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