Comments on: How do you motivate yourself?

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:04:59 +0000

When it comes to goals or planning, I’ve always been partial to scribbling things out longhand. I use a Moleskine for brainstorming, which I find much more productive than using the computer.

Along those lines, a great company called Knock Knock (a .biz, not a .com) used to make something called a Resolution Tracker, and it looked perfect for this kind of thing. I don’t think they carry it now, but there are a few other interesting takes on this (e.g. an Idea Log) on the Knock Knock website.

Does anyone know of another writing-based tool that might accomplish the same thing?

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:11:09 +0000

I get motivated when I get positive feedback (sometimes money, sometimes just positive recognition).

I’ve also found that the more organized I am the more motivated I am. The addition of a daily planner increased my productivity significantly.

Finally, if I can convince myself that what I’m doing is going to result in something good, I just focus my attention on that end result and plow into the work.

By: Bassman

Bassman — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:08:06 +0000

Money is a fine motivator. But I use lists less as motivation than a visual means of showing myself what I’ve accomplished. Kind of a reward.
Lately, I’ve had no motivation to play music. My hands are particularly achy, lately, though.
I’ve had a few negative motivations. When I quit smoking I told myself that to go back to itwould be a loss of accomplishment. I was motivated not to be a loser/failure, but it’s worked for 27 years.

By: sandburr

sandburr — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:58:28 +0000

I have a lot of bills, so at work, money and keeping my job motivate me. Away from work I ride Off-road motorcycles and use that as a reward for doing a good job at home.

By: donner

donner — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:09:29 +0000

My situation might be slightly different than most…I work from home and what motivates me to get to work, instead of farting around the house all day watching Gimore Girls, is MONEY…if you work for yourself, and are the only person who can pay your bills, then that’s plenty of motivation my friend…

but when I worked for a company, I found it easy to get complacent and just walk thru the work day…

By: Marina @ Sufficient Thrust

Marina @ Sufficient Thrust — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:37:36 +0000

I have chasmophilia too!! You have just opened up new worlds of possibility with that inadvertent vocabulary lesson. Thanks!

Ways I motivate myself:

(1) I keep a copy of the Maxim cover with Kelly Monaco taped above my alarm clock to motivate me to go running.

(2) I love checking things off lists, so I have a regularly-updated Next Actions list per David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system.

(3) I read motivational quotations, particularly Abraham Lincoln’s “Good things come to those who wait, but only those things left behind by those who hustle” and the money speech from Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.”

(4) I totally agree with RandomEsq that pre-paying for a personal trainer is hugely motivational, especially when you develop a relationship with them over time and have the added guilt factor of disappointing them in some way. I miss my last trainer like crazy, but I travel too much to have figured out how to best incorporate multiple trainers in multiple cities. For now I keep a bikram yoga unlimited pass at two studios in the cities I’m in most often, which is also pre-paid and also loses value the less often I go.

By: Lalita

Lalita — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 06:22:19 +0000

I motivate myself by meticulously writing down my lists, creating exacting calendar (including entries for travel time) and then I ignore it all and just rock. There’s something about having everything blocked out (in case I need that kind of rigid structure) and then not needing it.

By: RandomEsq

RandomEsq — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:38:49 +0000

Enjoying something is real motivation.

I just hired a personal trainer because I want to tighten up for a vacation overseas and that vacation and being in tip top shape for it is my motivation – and it is a long term one because I’m probably going to hate the working out.

Of course, I pre-paid for the sessions and that’s some damn motivation right there, too. But mainly, I want to be really healthy.

For all other things, stress is a big motivator and knowing how good I’ll feel when it is over.

By: Vip

Vip — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:23:50 +0000

I find myself motivated by a vision of the future and what things will be like if I do a particular thing. The nicer the future looks, the more motivated I am …

By: Amuseal

Amuseal — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:59:44 +0000

The following things motivate me occasionally:

Call of duty
Interested motives (if job wage)
Contemplation as a result (if creative activity)