How to Get Motivated

Co-authored by Allison Broennimann, PhD and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: July 19, 2021 References

Getting started on a project, dream, or task can seem scary and daunting at first if you don’t feel like you have a reason for doing it. Don’t worry—there are plenty of people who share in the very same worries and struggles. By taking steps to get motivated, you’ll be able to reach your goals, tackle new projects, and understand what gives you purpose and happiness!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Amping Yourself Up

1
Reward yourself as you tackle a project. Give yourself a small reward to look forward to as you start a new task, whether it’s a household chore or a project at work. Make this reward something really enticing, so you’re inspired to push through whatever you’re currently working on. If you’re working on a long-term project, use incentives as milestones to help encourage you as you go along.^{[1]
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- For instance, if you’re cleaning your room, you can enjoy a small handful of your favorite candy.
- If you’re working on a long-term project for work, you can create a reward jar for yourself. After every hour of work, put a dollar into the jar.
2
Get support from your friends and family. You can always turn to others to help you with motivation. Tell your loved ones about what you hope to accomplish and what you are struggling with.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Allison Broennimann, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Expert Interview. 29 January 2021.} Talking it out with them can help you stay motivated and keep negative feelings that sap motivation at bay. ^{[3]
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- For instance, if you’re studying for a big test, ask your friends and family for encouragement.
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3
Compete with others to feel motivated. You may just need a spark of friendly competition to feel motivated. Create a friendly competition with your friends or coworkers to inspire yourself to be your very best. As you compete, you can see how well you shape up with your competitors!^{[4]
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- For instance, you can create a contest with your work peers to see who can accomplish a task first.
4
Make a playlist for yourself if you’re working on something boring. Music can really help push you from point A to point B, especially if you’re working on a long-term task, like studying for a test. Put together some of your favorite songs in a playlist so you feel more motivated and encouraged as you work. You can also listen to a premade playlist if you don’t feel like assembling a playlist yourself!^{[5]
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- You can find some great playlists here: https://asuonline.asu.edu/newsroom/online-learning-tips/4-study-playlists-help-you-survive-final-exams/
5
Start a task even if you aren’t motivated. If you can’t summon any motivation, try pushing yourself anyway. Think about the aspects of the task that you really enjoy, and use these elements to push you through to the end. If you can find a little bit of enjoyment in what you’re doing, you may have an easier time accomplishing your goals.^{[6]
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Harvard Business Review
Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices
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- For example, if you are having trouble getting motivated to write a book, open the keyboard and just start typing. Tell yourself that you will type for 5 minutes, and that if you still aren't motivated, you will stop. You may find that by tricking yourself into starting, you will gain motivation and continue to write for much longer than 5 minutes.^{[7]
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6
Remove any distractions from your workspace. Part of the battle with motivation is finding a lot of interesting things in your environment. You can help become motivated to do something by removing the possibility to engage in other actions.^{[8]
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- For example, if you are trying to get motivated to do your homework but you keep getting distracted by texts, then turn your phone off. Once your phone is off, place it somewhere that you cannot see it, such as deep in your bag. Make it difficult to get to; move your bag so that it is out of your reach.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Setting and Achieving Goals

1
Create a list of goals. Motivation requires a target. You may not find a lot of success reaching your goals if they’re vague. You can be more motivated if you define your goals and break them down into smaller, bite-sized tasks that you can work towards on a daily basis. Focus on small goals that match your interests and desires and are easy to achieve on a regular basis.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Guy Reichard
Life Coach
Expert Interview. 19 March 2020.}
- For example, if you are struggling with motivation to get into law school, remember that this goal is the overall goal. However, to keep motivated, you can break down this large goal down into smaller tasks, like taking a practice LSAT, creating a list of schools you’d like to apply to, and writing a personal essay.
- You can break down some of your tasks even further, if you’d like! For instance, you can divide “taking the LSAT” into researching LSAT prep-books, looking up the costs of taking the LSAT, and finding locations to take the LSAT.
- It may help if you hang a paper consisting of all the goals of your life. Before going to bed and right after you wake up, read that paper and be motivated by your goals.
2
Organize your goals so they’re easier to accomplish. Figure out which goals are most important to you. Narrow down which goals you’d like to accomplish first, along with which goals are most attainable based on your current time, finances, and other resources. Focusing on improving one or two areas will help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, which may dampen your motivation.^{[10]
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- When you feel overwhelmed, you may be tempted to abandon pursuing your goals because you think they can’t be achieved.
- In some cases, some goals are necessary to learn before you can tackle the others. For instance, if you want to be a concert pianist, you’ll need to learn difficult pieces of piano music first.
- It helps to begin with a goal that is easily attainable so you can have an early success, which will keep you motivated as you go forward.
3
Make a list of actionable tasks. Once you have organized your goals by importance, choose the first two or three most important goals and create a to-do list of daily tasks or objectives that will help you to accomplish, over time, these broader goals. Sort through your list and decide if any of your tasks are time-sensitive, or if certain tasks need to be prioritized over others.^{[11]
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- For example, if you want to become an established artist, 1 of your goals could be getting a degree, while another could be taking time to practice drawing every day. In this case, practicing art every day may be more manageable than enrolling in school.
4
Break your objectives down into smaller tasks. It’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed when viewing a large task. Instead of making a to-do list with large, unreasonable tasks, focus on making small, bite-sized tasks that you can accomplish more easily. You’ll feel a lot more positive and motivated if you’re accomplishing realistic goals!^{[12]
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- For instance, instead of saying “I need to clean out the yard,” break that task into smaller steps like mowing, raking the leaves, and cleaning out your compost pile.
5
Limit your to-do list to 5 items. It can be easy to get ahead of yourself, especially when it comes to accomplishing a goal. Choose 5 actionable tasks that are easy to accomplish with a reasonable amount of time, like a work day. Once you’ve finished this list, you can start again with a new to-do list!^{[13]
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- For instance, a to-do list for cleaning your desk could include tasks like “sorting papers,” “discarding junk,” “dusting the surface,” and “organizing pens and pencils.”

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Changing Your Mindset

1
Maintain a positive attitude. Resist the temptation to give up, or to view your mistakes as failures. Instead, remind yourself that your efforts are important, and aren’t a waste of time.^{[14]
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Research source} Believe or not, negative attitudes can affect the way you view things—in one set of studies, sad individuals found physical hills to be steeper than they actually were.^{[15]
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PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
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- For example, if you are struggling with motivation to write and have the negative thought “I’ll never finish my book,” try replacing the thought with a more positive spin, like, “If I continue to write, I’ll be one step closer to finishing!”^{[16]
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- Research shows that smiling may help you feel more positive.^{[17]
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- Uplifting music can also help you feel more positive, and put you in a happier mindset while increasing your positive feelings.^{[18]
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2
Be proud of who you are and what you’re capable of. If you are currently struggling with motivation but have had some success with your goals in the past, take a moment to feel pride about your past accomplishments on that goal. If you haven’t had any success in your current field, think about your past accomplishments instead. By feeling proud of yourself you will be more likely to remain motivated, especially when times get tough.^{[19]
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Trustworthy Source
PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
Go to source}
- Be proud of everything that you’ve accomplished! There’s no need to dwell on any negative feelings or doubts you’ve experienced in the past.
3
Work towards something that you feel passionately about. Maintain a steady, positive energy about your goals—this will act as a fire that will help keep you energized and motivated. Passion about your goals will also help you persevere when times get tough and when you feel like giving up. If you don’t feel passionate about something, you likely won’t feel motivated to work on it.^{[20]
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- If you are losing your passion and struggling with motivation, remind yourself why what you are motivating yourself about is important to you and why you were initially passionate about it in the first place. Ask yourself what positive outcomes accomplishing your dream will have on yourself and others.
- For example, maybe you wanted to attend law school so that you could help those in need or achieve financial independence. Visualize what it would mean to you to accomplish your dream of being a lawyer and use that vision to re-ignite your passion!
4
Focus on your end goal. Think about what you want to accomplish in the long-run, even if it seems unreasonable at the moment. Accept the fact that you’ll likely run into bumps on the road. Instead of dwelling on the potential negativity, focus on what you’re hoping to accomplish overall.^{[21]
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- For example, if you want to gain weight to be healthier or to look thinner but it is not necessarily something you are passionate about, keep in mind the end goal. Think about what it would mean to be healthy: you would feel better, likely live longer, and could feel proud of your accomplishment.
5
Fight against your fears and doubts. Refrain from worrying too much about failure. When you think about “failure,” you may assume that your failure is permanent. This is not true—instead, embrace the idea that you can learn from your mistakes.^{[22]
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- Fear can be really scary, and it can hold you back from doing things that you’re capable of.
- Ultimately, success often requires many failed attempts. You may not achieve your goals on the tenth, twentieth, or even fiftieth try. Keep in mind that failure is often a part of the recipe for success, which can help to get you motivated.

Expert Q&A
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Question

How do I stop being lazy?

Allison Broennimann, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Allison Broennimann is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a private practice based in the San Francisco Bay Area providing psychotherapy and neuropsychology services. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Broennimann specializes in in-depth psychotherapy to provide solution-focused treatments for anxiety, depression, relationship problems, grief, adjustment problems, traumatic stress, and phase-of-life transitions. And as part of her neuropsychology practice, she integrates depth psychotherapy and cognitive rehabilitation for those recovering after traumatic brain injury. Dr. Broennimann holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. She is licensed by the California Board of Psychology and is a member of the American Psychological Association.

Allison Broennimann, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

Look for motivation from your friends and family. Be honest with them about how you're feeling so they can help support you.
Question

What if I'm not motivated to exercise?

Allison Broennimann, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Allison Broennimann is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a private practice based in the San Francisco Bay Area providing psychotherapy and neuropsychology services. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Broennimann specializes in in-depth psychotherapy to provide solution-focused treatments for anxiety, depression, relationship problems, grief, adjustment problems, traumatic stress, and phase-of-life transitions. And as part of her neuropsychology practice, she integrates depth psychotherapy and cognitive rehabilitation for those recovering after traumatic brain injury. Dr. Broennimann holds a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. She is licensed by the California Board of Psychology and is a member of the American Psychological Association.

Allison Broennimann, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

We put all this pressure on ourselves in this culture to exercise, but it's really just about being active. For example, if you don't even want to get out of your pajamas and that is stopping you, just exercise in your pajamas. Really think about what things are stopping you from working out and how you can remove those barriers because a lot of times, it doesn't take a lot to get motivated once you start.