Gaining Motivation One Hair Curler at a Time

People talk about motivation as if it is something that happens to them. “I’ll do xyz when I get the motivation” is a common phrase that I’m sure you’ve heard - and said - a hundred times over. And trust me, we’ve all said it. I am a classical procrastinator; if there is some what to put it off, trust me, I will find it, even if avoiding it creates... more work for me. (It cannot be explained). But! Here are a few tips I have learned to help “create” motivation in your daily life.

Step One: Set The Scene
A big mistake that people make is assuming motivation will come to them from nowhere. That is a lie. You and your environment play a huge part in feeding that feeling of motivation. Writing a blog post once a week (heh) might seem impossible if you have a hundred other distractions such as

• A post you want to make on social media
• Laundry that needs to be done
• That shelf needs dusting!

This may come as a shock, but creative and productive people do not live in piles of laundry. So clean that ish up. “But I won’t have the energy to do anything else afterwards-” STEP TWO.


Step Two: Stop Beating Yourself Up (life does that enough for you)
So you’ve made sure your environment is clean and your chores are done. The bare minimum has been achieved, and now it’s time to tackle that project... but you’re tired. You’re just tired.

Think of motivation as a muscle. It has to be worked out. You can’t lift a 200 lb weight straight off the bat; you have to start with the 20 lb weight first. Sometimes, you won’t have the energy/motivation to complete something, and that’s okay. Try to set little goals. If there’s a shelf you want to install, collect the supplies that you’ll need to install it so the task won’t seem so daunting tomorrow. If there’s an essay to be written, figure out what chapters contain the information you need. Little steps are still steps. Standing still is not failure; you haven’t gone backwards. Work that muscle out.


Step Three: Psychoanalyze Yourself
But in a healthy way! Instead of beating yourself up, figure out what motivates you. If a flash of motivation does come by, I would quite literally suggest writing down the circumstances and what you think might have caused it. Figure out what makes you more inclined to be lazy. You are your own experiment, so use that scientific method that your teachers drilled into your brain (the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell) and control group your life.

Some examples from my life that might help you:

• I find being dressed + doing a full face of makeup helps me to be more productive in the mornings
• Leaving the overhead light on at night instead of switching on the dimmer bedside lamp keeps me awake and feeling like it’s still day time
• Having a 2-hour music compilation playing on Youtube instead of a playlist of shorter songs means less checking to see what the song is or trying to skip it, hence more work done
• I associate laying down with sketching and doing a lot of nothing, so I sit up when I’m writing, at all times
• I give myself reasons to stand up every half an hour or so, such as deliberately not getting enough paper towels when I paint or leaving my closet door open while I write. I tend to keep it closed and tell myself “when this chapter is done, I can go close it.”
• If I want to get something done AND have the energy to do it, I do it then, almost without fail. Want to clean my room even though it’s one in the morning? Well heck, I ain’t gonna want to do it tomorrow, better get going! Don’t deny yourself like that, you’re fighting a useless battle. ‘The heart wants what it wants’ applies.

Step Four: Watch Your Language!
Positive self talk is key. This sort of overlaps with step two, but I made it its own step for a number of reasons.

Reason #1: ‘Self talk’ isn’t just looking in the mirror and reaffirming yourself. Affirming yourself does nothing, especially if you subconsciously know that you’re doing your best. You’re not even doing well. So look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself the truth.

• Example: “[Name], you procrastinated on the essay like a little sh*t. But there’s still three days to the deadline, so let’s break it up into parts and start working on the first part. We will get better at this if we can just tackle the first part."

Reason #2: The language you use affects your mindset. Watch what words you use even when just thinking. Here are some examples!

• “I’ll get it done when I have the motivation,” makes motivation sound like a separate entity that comes and goes. You control your motivation. You control yourself. So instead of this excuse that you subconsciously know is wimpy, say, “I don’t have the energy to start now, but I have a plan.”
• “Ugh, I should have done better on this” can easily become, “I will do better on this next time.”

Step Five: Set Goals
Hi! Meet #goals. It’s a hashtag all about your life, because you are about to achieve victory like you would not believe. That is... if you stick to your goals - or wait, hold up. Did you skip step four? Let’s try again.

You are about to achieve victory like you would not believe, because you are going to set goals that will eventually be achieved, one by one. If you want to clean your room, decide what you’re going to do first and do it then, right then, not later and not tomorrow. Pick up that hair curler that’s been sitting on the floor for weeks. Start small, work your way up. You can do this.

I believe in you :)

P.S.
I know preaching about motivation is really ironic, considering the fact that I’ve abandoned this blog for months. Feel free to laugh about it. I did.



P.P.S.
If you’re struggling with mental health, I know you literally might not have the energy to do any of these steps. Please remember that these were meant to be guidelines and not rules!