Low effort + high reward leads to high motivation.
So how can we use these insights to increase our motivation?
1. Writing things down is a magical hack:
Remembering things requires a lot of mental effort.
It also makes it hard to focus & prioritize.
Take 5 minutes at the start of the day to write down what you'll do today.
Less effort remembering = more effort executing.
2. Do the hardest thing first:
Motivation decreases as the day goes on.
The day feels progressively harder if you leave hard things for later.
Get the hardest thing out of the way first.
Then reward yourself with easier tasks.
Your day will feel a lot easier.
3. Eliminate distractions:
It takes 1 hour to build your focus.
It takes 1 notification to break it.
Avoid having to rebuild your focus repeatedly by muting your notifications.
4. Break big tasks into smaller tasks:
Big tasks can feel intimidating.
They also require a lot of motivation.
Make things easier by breaking big tasks into smaller tasks that require less effort and motivation to complete.
5. Ask for autonomy:
We feel more motivated when we have more control over our lives.
It's hard to do something if we don't feel like we have control over how we do it.
Talk to your manager.
Ask them to give you more autonomy over how you do things.
6. Understand the why:
Lack of motivation starts with lack of clarity.
It's hard to feel motivated when we don't understand why we're doing something.
Take some time to understand why you have to do a task.
This makes the task more meaningful.
It also makes it less boring.
7. Get 8 hours of sleep:
Your brain can't focus if it's tired.
And your motivation suffers when you're having trouble focusing.
Sleep fuels focus and motivation.
Make sure you get plenty of it.
8. Make it rewarding:
Ask yourself this:
Are any of the things you enjoy doing unrewarding?
No.
What's unmotivating is often unrewarding.
Make your task more motivating by rewarding yourself at the end.
I usually reward myself with a little snack when I finish a task.
Recap: 1. Write things down in the morning 2. Do the hardest thing first 3. Break big tasks into smaller tasks 4. Eliminate distractions 5. Ask for autonomy 6. Understand the why 7. Get 8 hours of sleep 8. Make it rewarding
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