Self improvement and motivational speaking seem to be all the rage these days. And whilst reading a list of clichéd quotes about comfort zones and blue sky thinking may help inspire you momentarily, it can be tough to keep grinding away day after day when pursuing your own new online start-up idea. After the initial enthusiasm has evaporated and you’re left with a lot of hard work and uncertainty ahead of you, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain motivation. We thought we’d share our list of practical tips for staying motivated, which you can incorporate into your daily life to help give you that slight edge when it comes to remaining energised and inspired.
Build Good Habits
The measure of a person’s success can often depend largely on habits, whether they be good or bad. Habits can be surprisingly easy to develop, sometimes without you even noticing. Bad habits can keep you stuck and grounded whilst maintaining and nurturing positive habits such as exercise and healthy eating can do wonders for your frame of mind, creativity and motivation. The key here is to make small changes – don’t rush towards impossible goals straight away. Continually make small daily improvements with achievable goals.
Break Bigger Tasks Down
We’re all familiar with that daunting feeling of facing what feels like an insurmountable challenge. It’s very easy to procrastinate and put off making a start on a job which feels overwhelmingly large. But once you break it down into smaller jobs, you’ll be surprised at how much quicker and easier it can seem.
Love What You Do
Passion is a term that’s bandied around a lot these days, so much so that it almost makes us feel guilty if we aren’t gushing with complete enthusiasm and joy on a daily basis. There is a lot of truth to the wisdom that being passionate about what you do will lead to a richer life, both financially and spiritually. Passion can be that all important catalyst that drives ideas and encourages tireless persistence to give you that all important edge in the modern business landscape.
Maintain an Uncluttered Workspace
This one is easy to forget about and neglect, especially on a hectic day. But taking just a few minutes to de-clutter your workspace will vastly improve your frame of mind and clear your head. As well as papers, post-its and coffee cups on your physical workspace that need to be organised and tidied away, it’s also a good idea to keep your computer desktop tidy and organised as well – it gives you that small feeling of control and staying on top of things that will seep through into other jobs you are undertaking during the workday.
Take Breaks
This one can also be easy to forget about if you have a big workload before you. But the truth of the matter is that your focus, motivation, concentration and performance will all suffer if you work away too long without giving yourself a proper break. Short, regular breaks such as 15 minutes for every hour will keep you fully energised and motivated so that you can accomplish more when you get back to the grindstone!
Have we forgotten anything? If we’ve missed any tips for staying motivated, leave a comment below!