How To Stay Motivated: 20 Hardworking Women Share Their Secrets
Our biggest obstacle in reaching any goal is motivation. Or even better, lack of motivation. We start off motivated to change our habits, create a self-care routine, or even change our lives. And then, somewhere along the way, our motivation simply vanishes and day by day, we quit. It happens to all of us.
There actually isn’t one answer to your question “How to stay motivated?”. We are all different. We function differently, our days are different, some of us have children and others don’t. All of those things have a big impact on our motivation.
Related: How To Be Consistent in Anything in Life, Every Time
That’s why we gathered 20 women that lead different lives, but the one thing they have in common is that they know how to keep themselves motivated to achieve their goals and to move forward in their lives.
Keep reading to find a way that would work for you to stay motivated. Maybe this is the day you’ll find what you’ve been looking for.:)
At the beginning of each month, plan out the individual tasks for that month and assign them to a specific week so that you know what you need to be working on every step of the way. This may seem obvious, but we often stop our planning process at annual or quarterly goals. We need to remain aware of the work involved daily or weekly to achieve those goals.
To help hold yourself accountable, use your goals as your personal business manager. Conduct monthly reviews and create weekly task breakdowns to give yourself clarity on what you need to focus on each day. This will increase the likelihood of actually accomplishing your objective for the month and give you the satisfaction of knowing you actually finished what you set out to do.
Whenever I have a goal in mind I spend time defining it, creating milestones and thinking about what I can do every day to bring me closer to my goals. Knowing exactly what I need to do and having milestones to measure my progress keeps me motivated.
You get disciplined. You are not going to be motivated every day. You are not even going to be motivated a majority of the time. Being disciplined is the difference between current you and future you. Strive to be someone who keeps promises to themselves. Work on being someone that doesn’t make excuses
My number one tip for keeping motivated is to write down your ‘whys’ for wanting to do something. Think carefully about this and spend some time brainstorming your ideas. It’s important to feel driven by your whys. You need to feel a certain level of passion for your goal. Once you have them, write your whys down and refer to them often.
I keep myself motivated by reducing the amount of decisions that I have to make on a daily basis, which helps me avoid decision fatigue. The easiest way to do this is to simply remove choice from the equation. If I know that I need to do something, I’ll just do it rather than asking myself if I want to do it (and giving myself the option to say no). By not giving myself the option to say no, it’s much easier to stay motivated to get stuff done.
There are two big things that usually keep me motivated. First is my kids, or my “why”. I want to stay at home with my kids so making my business grow is a must. I wrote down the reasons I want to reach my goals, and I look at them when I’m feeling unmotivated. Second, my end goal. I try to keep my end goals in mind when I’m feeling discouraged. I have a vision board that I look at every day.
The easiest way for me to stay motivated is to complete a task, especially first thing in the morning. Completing tasks early in the day provides a sense of accomplishment and gives me momentum, which makes it easier to complete more tasks throughout the day. I’ve learned, the more I think about it, the more I’m likely to procrastinate or talk myself out of it! So, it helps me stay motivated when I jump right in and complete something from my to-do list first thing in the morning!
Related: The Best Morning Routines That Increase Your Productivity
I write our daily to-do list and events of the day on our whiteboard in the kitchen. The kids and I check it off as we go throughout the day. We celebrate each evening that we are able to check off everything. Sometimes it’s an extra bedtime story or a small special treat after dinner. The kids want to have that, so they help encourage me to get everything checked off.
I workout from home first thing in the morning to keep myself motivated. Starting my day with a workout gets me out of bed, my body moving and my brain on track for the day. Working out is the only thing I have found that consistently keeps me motivated. I can tell a huge difference with my motivation levels when I workout versus when I don’t.
Staying motivated can be challenging. When you are faced with adversity or you don’t see any progress it is easy to let go of your dreams and goals. What helps keep me going and motivated is my vision board. I look at it every morning. It serves as a reminder of why I am waking up early every morning and working when I would rather sleep in.
I have set big goals, but my vision board helps me to see the end result of my goals and keeps me motivated. Now my vision board isn’t anything extravagant. I put together images and words on a piece of paper (from magazines) and put it in a frame. If you don’t have a vision board, don’t overthink it. Put some images together that speak to you and put it in an area that you see daily.
I stay motivated by writing down my goals and writing down small steps on how to reach these goals in the long run. I also write down why I want to reach these goals. Whenever I feel that I’m losing motivation I read my goals again and motivate myself to stay on track.
My favourite way to stay motivated is by breaking tasks down into multiple points so I can check things off my list. Some tasks can take days to truly be finished and they feel endless if you’re just obsessed with getting it done. It might not be “finished” today, but at least I can have the satisfaction that I made progress.
I am the most motivated when I feel like my life is organized and the best way for me to do that is to keep a planner. That way I can see everything I have going on, I can plan ahead, and know what I need to get done.
I stay motivated by reminding myself that I’m responsible for my own success. I set a positive mind frame to help me kickstart all my goals each day. I believe that your thoughts have a lot of control over the outcome. If you’re in a negative headspace, you’re more likely to have a negative experience. If you’re in a positive headspace, you will probably stay motivated along with doing and feeling better. You have to make it a habit like the coffee or tea you drink when you wake up every day. A healthy mind means a healthier and happier life.
I’m a very visual person, so I keep a vision board front and center in front of my desk. On it, I pin things that are important to me and the reasons why I work. For instance, right now I have some motivating quotes, pictures of my family, and a number representing my monthly income goal. Just seeing these things every time I sit down to work keeps me motivated to keep going!
Practicing gratitude! I start each day with ONE THING I’m thankful for like waking up next to my loving husband, having a supportive family, and being healthy. It can be something small also, such as, a good night’s rest, a comfortable bed, or having a roof over my head. I have found that starting my day with being grateful sets for a positive day full of motivation.
I am a naturally motivated go-get-’em kind of person. But, I have found associating with like-minded people is my biggest inspiration. By chatting with other people that are in the space where I am, the activity keeps my brain whirring at top speed. I am also a believer in motivational quotes and affirmations. “Success is not about being smarter. It’s getting up and doing it.”
I stay motivated by setting goals and tracking my progress. My husband and I are debt-free and we are currently working towards a goal of financial freedom. We use a budget to create and track our financial goals each month. Tracking our progress keeps us motivated to keep going even when we don’t feel like it.
To stay motivated, I remember my why. My “why” gives me the motivation I need each day to get up and take one step closer to living my dreams. By keeping my “why” at the front of my mind, it reminds me that the power to change my life is in my hands, however, the only way to achieve true transformation is to show up and do the work. When you know the “why” behind the “what” it makes it easier to press forward each day and stay motivated.
As of right now, I am a full-time blogger managing 3 different blogs in 3 completely different niches. And I will admit that some days, things tend to feel overwhelming as I stare at my forever long to-do list. With this in mind, I tend to get really unmotivated to keep blogging because I feel like I have too much on my plate.
The best way to stay motivated is to focus on the end goal of what you want to achieve in whatever you are doing. I have a list of things I need to achieve for each blog as well as where I want them to take me financially. By focusing on what I want to eventually get out of my blogs and business, keeps me going every day. Writing your goals down before the start of each day is also highly effective in keeping you motivated.