Google defines motivation as “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” There is a link between motivation and procrastination; when procrastination lingers it becomes a habit! Why do we lose our motivation?
- Values mismatch between what we care about and what we are doing
- Evaluate what you care about and identify small tasks to jump start action
- Lack of self-efficacy – “I don’t think I can” mindset
- Build your resilience, confidence, and competence – take online courses
- Disruptive emotions – “I am too upset to do this”
- Break the cycle of being upset – go for a walk, listen to music, call a friend
To get things done, we need the power of motivation. It is critical to your personal success. Knowing that a lack of motivation can lead to creating a habit of procrastination is a ?‘hair on fire’? moment and cause for immediate action. During my life, I have experienced elevated levels of motivation and then at other times periods of no motivation. I always link it to a values mismatch. It is normal for there to be things we love to do and things we must do even though we are not charged up to do those things.
Gabriele Oettingen wrote a book about motivation titled “Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation.” Key points include:
- We dream and fantasize about future outcomes to the point of distraction – our own positive thinking works against us.
- Confront the realities of what is standing in your way.
- Use an ‘if/then’ statement to develop subconscious habits to change behavior.
- Follow the simple process of WOOP (wish, outcome, obstacle, plan).
Gabrielle Oettingen has developed an app for this available on Apple and Android. It is free, and I use it to help me get things done on my to-do list (to avoid being distracted and attack procrastination).
Below is a real example from my app:
W – Wish: Manage my inbox to zero consistently
O – Outcome: Less stress, easy to find critical data
O – Obstacle: Too many useless emails daily
P – Plan: IF “too many useless emails daily,” THEN I will, “if my inbox fills up and I am unable to clear it quickly, stop what I am doing at 4 pm and clear out my inbox”
Next time you are feeling less motivated, try this approach to derail procrastination from becoming a habit. It works well for me and is one of the ideas we share with our clients to keep their momentum at a reasonable pace.