Motivation and Inspiration

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Sometimes, it can be really hard to give yourself that push to do something that needs done but you don't want to do.

How do you motivate and/or inspire yourself to get the tasks that you don't want to do done?​
 
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How do you motivate and/or inspire yourself to get the tasks that you don't want to do done?​
I just work together with future me.

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Source: Doing a TED Talk: The Full Story - Wait But Why

Or Alternatively

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Source: Why Procrastinators Procrastinate - Wait But Why
 
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If it's multiple. Set deadlines and drown the resulting self loathing in copious amounts of alcohol when barely making said deadline because god damn I can do this.

If it's one thing, it's more of a "Ugh, let's just get this over with." When I'm tired of myself being a bitch about it.

It's negative reinforcement I guess, but it works.
 
Go onto my school website list of tasks and assignments and think about how disgusting it would look if I got a red dot for the upcoming assignment in this majestic line of green.

Oh, and I just play some games if I lose motivation.

Or @Hana will drag me by the ear to do something...
 
Or @Hana will drag me by the ear to do something...
I think it's more the other way around. <_< And I think getting to spend free time more with each other is a good motivator, no?
 
I just ask myself if I am happy being too lazy and irressonsible to do the thing I need to get done. I can usually find it in myself to get things done if I frame it with self improvement or if I would be happy with other people finding things like they are or not.
 
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Just do what I need to do immediately. Otherwise, if I'm having issues focusing on what I'm doing, the same list of distractions to eliminate from my Writer's Block guide appears here.
  1. Instant Messengers: Constant visual/auditory attention grabbing. Your focus is turned from writing a story to responding to your friends. "It's just a quick question" you think to yourself as you think of a witty reply. Two hours and a few hundred messages later, the story page is still blank, and you've forgotten what you were trying to write.
  2. Music: Some say it helps, some say it hinders, but let me teach you something about the way human brains tick. Whenever the brain hears spoken words, it tries to understand them, taking valuable brain power away from whatever other things you're thinking about, like writing. Ergo, songs with lyrics, are probably your worst enemy. You want pleasant sounds, something to put in the background, something that melts away life's distractions around you while you zone in on whatever it is you're doing. So you probably want something more like this, or this. Something with minimal to no lyrics, and which is primarily a series of continuous sounds, something that'll keep you calm, and steady, and focused. If music of any kind distracts you, but you still need sound to mute out the outside world, try this. Whatever it is, ensure you don't have to constantly press "repeat" on it, that will distract you too.
  3. Video Games: Games. GAMES. Probably one of my biggest vices personally, especially if a new game has come out. Why? Because it's easy. You load a game and you think "ah I'll just play a few minutes" and before you know it, it's 3 AM and you're writing a guide about writer's block... Completely unrelated, obviously. Anyway, the best thing you can do for yourself is shut off Steam/Origin/GoG/Battle.net/et cetera, and keep those programs closed until you're done writing. If you are absolutely totally excited about a new game and can't stop thinking about it, let everyone know you have a new game you are absolutely dying to play, and then go completely ham and binge/obsess over it for a couple of days. Get it out of your system. Go ahead, do it, and then come back. Better to binge for a couple of days and work it out rather than struggling against temptation for two weeks straight and writing nothing because you can't stop thinking about it. You may also want more discipline, but we'll talk more about that later.
  4. Sugary Foods/Tons of Caffeine: Really, anything that will wire you up into an energetic state is bad for writing. Writing is a thinking man's activity. You sit in one place for a long time, and think of a scene, series of actions, lines of dialogue, et cetera. Sugar and caffeine wake you up, they make you alert, they push you to do things physically. Writing is mental. Stop drinking energy drinks, soda, eating candy, or other garbage like that a couple hours before you start writing, or you're only going to torture yourself.
  5. YouTube, Netflix, Movies, Television: These are bad for all the same reasons that instant messengers and video games are bad. It combines both of them into one category. Close your YouTube tabs, shut off Netflix, turn off the TV, and don't put in the extended blu-ray edition of Lord of the Rings.
  6. Hunger & Other Bodily Woes: Don't try to write while your bladder is full. Don't try to write while starving. Don't try to write when your body is physically giving you signals compelling you to act on its woes, deal with the woes first. The brain is only as sharp as the body allows it to be.
 
Step One:​
Find a really good, positive reason [Task X] needs done.
I need to write this assignment to show off what I learned and how well I can explain the topic and my own ideas about the topic, yay!

If this doesn't work, proceed to step two.

Step Two:
Remind myself of the consequences of [Task X] not being done.
If we don't do the assignment, we'll look bad and you'll feel like a guilty sack of poo. Plus the bad mark for it.
 
As sucky as it is, fear of ridicule is a big motivator for me. I hate being looked down upon or letting anyone down, and that usually results in me completing most tasks that I have to.

Or there's the occasional day where i feel "Oh my God, I need to buck up!"
 
I make lists. I like lists and they help keep me on task as I proceed. Whenever I'm stuck, I make a list. Also, I allow for mini-goal rewards. "Complete X get Y" type of thing. Even if it's just "My cup will not be refilled until I finish this post". Also, I've recently taken up journaling and have really lovely little habit tracker. Every time I do what I need to do that day I take a few minutes and fill up the box for that particular item with doodles.
 
honestly i listen to the top gun soundtrack
 
If I'm facing a large project, I'd look at the individual components and prioritize by importance/sequence, and build a schedule from that.

In my job I have a staff to accomplish our master planning tasks, so I'd delegate those appropriate jobs to them, providing guidance and direction as needed with a large helping of positivity and gratitude.

In general though, to motivate myself I think of those I care about and remind myself my work/efforts are for their good, which they are to varying degrees.
 
If I don't do this now I will fail.

. . . .

My brain is not my friend >>
 
"What would my kids think of me?"

Alternatively:

"Do I want to get fired today?"
 
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I think of the positive outcome if I do them. That's usually enough to get my fire going. Better to do it now rather than wait.
 
As sucky as it is, fear of ridicule is a big motivator for me. I hate being looked down upon or letting anyone down, and that usually results in me completing most tasks that I have to.

Or there's the occasional day where i feel "Oh my God, I need to buck up!"
I have that too, but it hurts my non-real life motivation more than anything. I was able to go through the entirey of school/college because I was motivated to not fail, partially so I wouldn't have to listen to my parents and partially so I wouldn't have to pay for anything more than I already was!

But then in creative/fun pursuits, fears like that usually make me give up and play video games I'm more confident in instead. It's taken years to entirely work past that habit, actually.

So, now my motivation is just the assertion that things will always end up better if I keep looking and don't give up when things look down xD
 
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