11 Simple Tricks to Stay Motivated That Actually Work

Sometimes we all just need a little push to light that fire back up inside each of us. No one is motivated 24/7 – and we all just need to rest and reset our minds from time to time. So, below are some helpful ways to jumpstart things and get your energy back on track.

1. Start A Morning Routine

Start by doing 1 thing you can do every morning when you wake up. Don’t write-out a full morning schedule, that will just become counterproductive and most likely not be followed. So just focus on 1 thing and do it every morning and stay consistent.

This will add a bit of structure to your day, make you feel better and get the engine moving.

2. Clean Your Workspace

Ever heard of the saying “Cluttered space, cluttered mind”? Well, try cleaning and organizing your space to see the kind of psychological effect a clean environment has on your mood and productivity.

3. Listen To A Song That Motivates You

What song makes you feel something? Something that you can redirect and turn it into energy you can use. A song that gets you focused – whether it motivates you to work out or it gets you thinking about someone you care about. Whatever gets the job done.

4. Put A Timeline On It

Try adding urgency to what you want to get done by putting a timeline on it. Remember not to set it too far out as this may just prolong and justify the lack of motivation. Sometimes you just need to trick yourself into staying motivated – so, the sooner the better.

5. Focus On The Big Picture And Remember Your “Why”

Why is staying motivated important to you? What’re you working toward? Remember your end goal and where you want to be – soak it in and remember why you started.

6. Break Your Goals Up Into Smaller Tasks

Often times goals feel too overwhelming to tackle and we don’t know where to start. So, try breaking them up into smaller sections and tackle them one at a time.

7. Watch A Movie That Inspires You

Turn something on that’ll inspire you enough to pause it and get some work done, whether it’s a feature film or documentary – it doesn’t matter. Watch it until you feel motivated, then pause it, then get some work done, after that watch some more and pause it, then get some more work done, etc..etc. Use it like you’re refilling a cup and you keep going back for more.

[ Related Article: 11 Inspiring Movies Every Entrepreneur Should Watch ]

8. Try The 52/17 Rule

52 minutes to focus on work, 17 minutes of rest, repeat.

There may be a bit of sensationalism in these numbers, but their’s something productive about setting blocks of time of how long to work and rest for. So, even if 52 and 17 doesn’t work for you. Play around with it until it does.

There are a lot of free apps out there, like Focus Keeper, that are great with helping your time management.

9. Write Down Your Goals And Create To-Do List’s

This is an obvious one, but some people just don’t write down their goals enough. And, if you don’t write them, you can’t track them. And if you can’t track your progress, then, you don’t know where to start – which leads to feeling overwhelmed.

10. Listen To Motivational Speakers

Go on Youtube and search for motivational speakers. Listen to those like Jim Rohn, Eric Thomas, Les Brown and Tony Robbins. Have them talk in your ear while you take a walk, do things around the house or workout.

11. Don’t Wait For Inspiration To Strike

At the end of the day, sometimes all you need to do is just get to it. As they say, “Don’t wait for the bread to rise, just eat the matzah”. Well, take what you have and don’t wait around for something that may never come. Sometimes it’s about reminding yourself that the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll arrive and the sooner you’ll thank yourself for it.