Tweet

Kick-Start Your Motivation!

Guest post by: Carole Hodges

Article Overview: Procrastination and wasting time are common ailments. Avoid procrastination and make profound improvements in your business by asking yourself a few questions about your motivations.

Kick-Start Your Motivation!

Procrastination and wasting time Procrastination and wasting time are common ailments. Even if you lose only a few hours a week to them, it can be annoying. Why? Because you may realize that you didn’t really ENJOY the wasted time. If you had actually planned to take that time off, you might have done something much more enjoyable and relaxing. And if you had been more intentional, you might be seeing profound improvements in your business.

If you are ready to rev up your motivation, here is the place to start:

1. What do you stand to gain? Before you look at your to-do list, take the time to consider what you really want in life. Be honest. There is far more to life than paying bills and avoiding aches and pains. What life do you REALLY want? For the moment, put aside any need to understand HOW you will create it, and simply visualize a perfect day or week. The only actions worth taking are those that move you toward your ideal.
2. Where are you now? What have you accomplished? Where have you fallen short of your expectations? You may find this step unsettling. I encourage you be brave. Underneath any disappointment is your unconscious knowledge and belief that you CAN do so much more. Awareness is the first step of change.
3. Notice what you are resisting. Are there things on your to-do list that you simply dread? Stop and notice why. Are you afraid you will fail? Are the tasks boring? Are they outside your comfort zone? Consider for a moment whether any of these things are truly necessary. Eliminate or delegate whenever possible.
4. Be grateful. Search around you for the talents, resources and circumstances you may be overlooking. Consider your health, your friends, your intelligence, your family and the moments of beauty. Be grateful that you have the choice to waste time – even that is a gift!
5. Make a decision. You can decide your future from this moment forward. Are you willing to consider the possibility that your life can be as ideal as you wish to make it? Are you willing to simplify and make some changes? To decide—to de-cide—means to “kill off” any other options. Once you make a decision, of any kind, you will find yourself acting upon your new choice. Choose, then, only what moves you forward to a fulfilled life worthy of your talents.
6. Be kind to yourself. Honor yourself in each moment. Give yourself time to rest and recuperate. Give yourself planned breaks. Set a timer for 50 minutes of focused work without distraction. Then give yourself 10 minutes to refresh before you start a new task. If you find that you have fallen back into an old habit, be willing to shake off the old and begin fresh again.
7. Get a support system. Make it easy to stay on track. Set appointments with deadlines. Have friends call to schedule time off. Get a coach or mastermind group. Make the process automatic.

Look for the fun in staying on track to accomplish your goals. .If you make your work area pleasant and include recreation in every day, you will accomplish more…and be happier in the process.

Related Articles
  Social entrepreneurship in Kenya
  Goal Setting: The First Step in Money Management
  Why Motivation Malfunctions at Midlife
  5 Ways to Motivate Your Salespeople
  Motivation with consequences

Article Tags: belief that, comfort zone, common ailments, disappointment, improvements, li li, motivation, nbsp, perfect day, procrastination, span style, style font, time off, unconscious knowledge, wasting time



Related Forum Posts
Re: How To Stay Motivated In Your Business - Motivation spurs people into actions every time. When there is no motivation the reason to move forward seems lost. Thanks so much for this post Evan
Re: Finding AND Keeping Good People - Employee retention or as you mention “Keeping the Good People” is one of the biggest challenges for any growing business. It takes a huge effort from the entrepreneur’s end. I can come up with the following when it comes to KEEPing the good people- 1. Motivation of the employees 2. Recognition of the needs of the employees 3. Activities to make the employees feel valuable towards the organization 4. Make benefits more accessible 5. Offer profit sharing incentives 6. Create clear career paths at the company 7. Consider telecommuting, job sharing and other flexible working arrangements 8. Incentives are essential and they don't have to be huge 9. Have other managers praise an employee's work 10. Be sensitive to the balance between work and private life
Re: What Franchisors Want From Franchisees - Kevin - Here's a rough summary of your questions. Your credit score - below 600's and you're considered high risk. Best if you are in the high 600's and above... if you're in 700's you're golden. Franchisers want to see people who can relate to other people. If you are very shy or you dislike working with the public, then this can count against you. Even if you can fake it... why would you bother? Great customer service is a benchmark any business owner should strive for... Financing arrangements will vary - if you can show that you have 20% above all of your start-up costs, this would help. The more assets you own the better. Motivation can be expressed in HOW you plan the start-up. It's all in the details. Are you taking the opportunity seriously? Are you learning and studying business attributes like marketing, salesmanship, and customer service? Demonstrate that you are motivated. Subscribing to their system would be about following their rules. If you have a maverick mentality... then consider starting your own business where you make the rules... not a franchise. Franchisers have different ways in how they evaluate their prospects. Your professional background or history can play an important role in the final evaluation. This is really about common sense...


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What should your free giveaway be?

Fear Factors in Small Business: Sales & Marketing

Intro to Search Engine Optimization

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.