How to Manage Your Motivations So That You Don’t Lose Them

Can motivation be managed? Or is it a random and natural occurrence that you have no control over?

Before we can answer the question of whether we can manage our motivations, perhaps, we should find out what motivation really is.

In short, motivation is the drive behind what you do.

For example, if you want to pursue a goal, you need motivation or the drive behind for execution.

According to McClelland and Atkinson, the duo who studied the Need Achievement Theory stated that people are motivated by 2 principles:

The motivation to achieve success and the motive to avoid failure.

These are 2 twin forces that govern our level of motivation. And depending on which force is stronger, people will act accordingly.

When your desire or motive to take action is stronger than your fear of failure, you will act. On the contrary, when your fear of failure is stronger, you will choose to avoid or withdraw from an action or situation.

And there are plenty of factors that can affect your motivation. Some may affect you intrinsically while some give an impact extrinsically. Like what I shared in one of my articles:

What is Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and How to Get More of Them

How to Manage Your Motivation

There are days when you feel totally motivated and there are also days when you feel totally no motivation and you just want to do nothing.

It is common because motivation is an emotion.

And here’s what you need to know: Successful people are successful because they know how to handle their motivation well.

They know what they need to do when they have no motivation. They stick to their goals and plans and still plunge into taking action even when they don’t feel like it.

On the other hand, unsuccessful people allow their emotions to control them. They don’t know how to control their motivations.

They choose to procrastinate or do something else whenever they lack motivation.

This is why learning how to manage your motivation is important. And here are a few great tips on how you can do so:

1. Ride on your motivation wave

Do you know when you feel the most motivated? For some, they feel most motivated in the morning. While for others, they are the most energetic in the afternoon or in the evening.

You need to understand the biological performance of your body. Find out when you feel the most motivated and ride on the wave.

Schedule to do your most important tasks when you feel the most motivated. This is like striking while the iron is hot.

For me, I choose to write content for my blog in the morning because that’s when I feel driven. And I will write articles along while enjoying a cup of coffee.

2. Replenish and recharge

It is okay to take a rest. We’re human beings, not robots. In fact, even robots need regular maintenance.

Hence, sometimes when you’re tired and you don’t feel motivated, just take a rest. Go and do something else and then come back to your work again.

For me, I will read, take a power nap, or watch a few short videos on YouTube to relax my mind. Every time when I feel exhausted, I will take a short rest.

How about you? What kind of rest or short break can you give yourself to replenish your energy?

Here’s an interesting fact: Do you know that getting an emotional support animal or ESA can improve your mental health and productivity? If you want more info, check out this page if you have questions about ESAs and mental health improvement using pets.

The point is that you need to take regular short breaks to recharge your energy and motivation. Here are some useful resources you should check out:

• The Importance of Taking a Short Break According to Research
• 13 Creative Ways How to Take Short Breaks During the Day

3. Set up an environment that motivates you

If you want to manage your motivation, learn to manage your environment.

I have written a full guide on how changing your environment can affect you and the success you want in life. You can read the article here.

Oftentimes, our moods are affected by the environment we’re in. We just don’t consciously notice it.

If you don’t believe me, try to read a book in a noisy wet market and see if you can focus on the reading.

A supportive and positive environment will help you focus better, as a result, it also boosts your level of motivation to get things done.

This is why a messy table usually slows down your work.

Therefore, you can control your motivations by creating a supportive environment and surroundings.

For instance, organize your workstation in such a way that when you get to it, you will be driven to work, not the other round.

Read: 10 Tips How to Change Your Environment for Greater Motivation

4. Commit to taking just one small step

Here’s another trick you can use to improve your motivation when you needed – scale down the size of your task.

Imagine if your goal is to exercise to lose weight. Do you think it is easier to exercise 3 hours every day or it is easier to exercise for just 30 minutes a day?

The answer is obvious, the smaller your task/action step, the more likely you are going to execute it.

The key is to lower down the resistance of the work. You want to make the task as easy as possible so that you will want to take action and do it.

For instance, writing a 2,000 words article can be difficult. And the thought of thinking about it can demoralize you. But if you commit to only write 500 words, the task suddenly becomes more achievable.

This is why you want to start small. It encourages you to work on it.

Read: Why Start Small? The 5 Important Benefits of Starting Small

5. Involve someone else and do it together

Accountability helps you get things done. So, you want more motivation? Just involve someone else and do it together with him or her.

When there is someone else checking on your progress, you will feel more motivated to do the work.

According to a study done by Dr. Gail Matthews, she discovered that people tend to accomplish goals and tasks when they shared their progress report with someone else.

That means you can manufacture the motivation you need. Whenever you find yourself having no motivation, but you need to get your work/task done, get someone else to help.

Commit to the person that you’re going to do it and by when. And better yet, send your partner your progress report so that he or she can check on you.

6. Focus and only think about the positive

Always remember this quote:

“Failure defeats losers. Failure inspires winners.”

Robert Kiyosaki

How you think determines how you will react. And how you react will decide your life and your future.

Successful people are optimistic people. They are positive about most things, especially the vision they want to achieve and their future.

Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, are pessimistic about everything. Even when they are given an opportunity, they will doubt it.

And if you want to keep your motivation going, you need to be optimistic at all times.

Read: The #1 Benefit Of Positive Thinking According To Research

We become what we think about most of the time. When you face an obstacle, a problem, or a challenge, there are 2 ways how you can approach the situation:

1. Let your negative mindset takes control and quit, or
2. Let your positive mindset kicks in and solve the problem.

You can either choose to say “why me”, or “try me”.

And if you want to manage your motivations, you can’t go around litter negativity everywhere.

Similarly, you can’t become rich by thinking poor. So, change your mindset. Change the way you think, and your life will follow suit.

7. Time block and get things done

The last tip I would like to share with you about handling your motivation is force motivation.

Meaning, you force yourself to do the work, regardless of whether you feel like it or not. Time blocking is a powerful tool where anyone can use to accomplish their work/goal/task/project.

Here’s what you can do. If you need to accomplish a task, say like writing a 2,000 words article, you just need to time block it.

For example, you can schedule to work on the article from 10AM to 12PM on Monday in a local café.

When you time block, you block off your time for the task to happen. Of course, you need to be committed to the activity.

And when it is Monday at 10AM, you start writing the article. Everything has to wait.

That’s how time blocking works.

Read: Time blocking 101: A step-by-step guide to getting the most from your daily schedule

The best part is that as you start working on your task, you will eventually build up your momentum and motivation.

Thus, if you want to get things done, time block the tasks.

Conclusion

Successful people understand how to better manage their motivation, and this is why they seem to be able to accomplish so much in life.

If you want to achieve extraordinary results in life, master these few techniques that I have shared above. Use them to manage your motivation and drive you out of the slump.