23 Ways to Motivate Yourself

1. Put your plans on paper. Spell out your goals and ways to reach them.
2. Be Specific. The advice you give yourself must be such that you can put it into practice.
3. Break the task down into small pieces so that you can handle them easily.
4. Establish checkpoints on your progress as well as rewards.
5. Remind yourself of the benefits you expect from your tasks completion.
6. Avoid temptations and circumstances that might sidetrack you.
7. Recognise your limitations. Dont set unrealistic goals.
8. Take Advantage of your own energy peaks!
9. Use negative motivation. Remind yourself of the consequences of inaction.
10. Keep a time-control budget. Dont let one task take control over others.
11. Set Deadlines and hold yourself to them.
12. Make an honest distinction between "i cant" and "i dont want to"
13. Get Started now. Dont Stall.
14. Improve your self persuasion ability. Learn the difference between reasoning and rationalizing.
15. Be Optimistic. Your Chances of success will increase.
16. Decide how you want to start, what needs to be done first.
17. Read, especially litterature related to your situation.
18. Use self-signaling devices - notes, signs, cues, reminders.
19. Promise yourself rewards.
20. Use the stimulation provided by good news to do extra work
21. Recognize conflicts and make a choice.
22. Give yourself the right to make mistakes. No one is perfect.
23. Exercise your sense of humor. Laughter indicates a realistic point of view.

The Leadership Center at Washington State University