11 Self-Motivation Techniques for Success

Self-motivation is the main engine of our daily exploits. It helps us study, exercise, eat right, find a better job, build a career... It is the motor without which our dreams and projects will never come true.

Self-motivation techniques

Self-motivation techniques can be divided into groups: emotional, disciplinary, logical and social.

• Emotional - the methods that give rise to emotions, which make our work bright and rich, help us to cope with the emotional barriers in the work.

1. Document small victories

Document everything you do well, praise yourself, "collect" your accomplishments and victories. This allows you to get out of the feeling of "I do nothing, I turn as a squirrel in a wheel, but the result is zero. A few days of self-observation, and you'll see that your efforts are not in vain and the results really are.

You can keep a diary of victories. You can summarize the day after work or before going to bed with the mandatory allocation of at least three achievements.

2. Use an artificial deadline

This is one of the most popular self-motivation techniques. People have noticed that before the deadline task manages to get 10 times more done than during normal times. So you can set a deadline a few days before the end of the project or break the task into small steps, each with its own deadline.

3. Come up with your own rewards

This is also a popular technique that many people come naturally to - rewarding yourself for achieving a result. It can be a cup of coffee, a walk, or a ten-minute break from an activity you really enjoy.

Before you start, imagine how you will pamper yourself upon completion, what you will do, how you will feel. These visions will help you get started.

4. Be inspired

Have you ever experienced that after meeting an interesting person, article or video you feel as if your wings grow, you want to start working in that direction immediately. In every field there is a star, a charismatic leader, looking at whom you feel elated. Who can serve as such a leader for you? Where can you talk to him or hear/see him perform?

Unfortunately, the peculiarity of this methodology is that without additional steps (such as prescribing your own vision, goal, steps, etc.) inspiration quickly wears off: its effect lasts very briefly.

5. Avoid high value

Excessive motivation inhibits performance. There is such a concept in psychology as "optimum motivation." Too simple tasks are boring, and too complex tasks are scary to approach: the cost of a mistake is too high. And as a consequence, work is delayed for a long time, or excessive excitement negatively affects the result.
If the task is too important, think through several scenarios to reduce the significance of a mistake. 

• Disciplined ways to develop self-motivation - something that allows you to organize the space, to develop the right habits. Often these are techniques that actively involve willpower.

6. Walk in small steps

We are afraid of too big and complex tasks, they are like a mountain that can not be moved. The best way to deal with bulky tasks is to break them down into small subtasks. The shallower the breakdown, the easier it is to approach. A small task is easy to handle: it brings a quick win.

There are good control tools for such small tasks. For example, the "Tomidoro" technique is maximum inclusion, but for 15-20 minutes. There are several smartphone apps for this technique.

7. Introduce the beginning of the task

The first step is usually the most difficult, often a step out of your comfort zone. Imagine in advance, even on your way to work, how you will do it: for example, spend the first half an hour on the most difficult task and then reward yourself with coffee and conversation with colleagues.

8. Plan your day the day before

Planning the day is another great way to set yourself up for a task: outline small periods of work, include mandatory rest time in the plan.

9. Kill Choices

This is a great workspace organization technique that works both towards focusing on the meaningful task (it's in front of your eyes, all the necessary equipment for work is already ready and set up), and towards reducing attention to distractions (put social media away on the far screen of your smartphone, insert a news reading restriction, etc.). 

10. Focus

Work with one task in one work period - multitasking makes you nervous, pushes back the result, and lengthens the time for each task.

11. Use standard planning methods: day, week, month, year

This is another standard method of getting things in order and prioritizing. If tasks are clearly structured and broken down into steps to work with, it takes less emotional effort.

• Intelligent techniques - these allow you to do an in-depth analysis of your tasks, linking them not only to the situation here and now, but also to more distant global goals. Evaluate how current tasks influence your prospects in your career, personal development, and relationship development.

Analyze: what, why, how

Spend time alone with yourself to sort out the tasks, especially if you're feeling tangled and clogged up about your work. Do some analysis and answer yourself the questions: what do I need to do? Why do I need the results of these tasks, what can I get to by solving them in the longer term - a month, a year, several years from now?

How can I do them? Why might I not make progress, what obstacles might I encounter? How specifically will I solve the problem, what specific steps will I take and when?

By structuring my tasks, linking them to higher goals, it is possible to build more sustained self-motivation, not just to rely on techniques that give instant effect.

• Social techniques work by involving other people. Maximum effect will be achieved if you can connect the people whose opinion for you really important and whose good attitude you really cherish.

1. Find a partner

This is a person with whom you could solve a task meaningful to you. People in a team at work do more than they do individually. 

2. Start a competition

We've loved "fun starts" since we were kids. Competing in a friendly environment is no longer hard work, but fun, excitement, and a brighter feeling of victory. A bet can be made between participants or "cheerleaders." Often competitions are organized by the employer to turn routine work into an emotion-filled activity.

3. State plans publicly

Today, the easiest way to do this is through social networks. Or just tell your acquaintances and colleagues about your plans. In this case it will be harder for you not to fulfill them. Not wanting to feel the embarrassment of giving up will be an added incentive to work on the task.

4. Find a mentor

Find someone you respect and whose opinion you value. He or she will help you look at your tasks from a new angle, and besides, you'll also feel uncomfortable not keeping the promises you've made.

5. Look for examples

Your friends, colleagues, relatives, acquaintances achieve their goals, implement interesting projects. Don't hesitate to ask what motivated them, what helped them cope with difficulties, collect a personal library of self-motivation techniques.