You can easily stay motivated by having a clear plan and a well-rested mind, making it easier to tackle situations and reach the highest peaks of success. So lets get the ball rolling, using these guidelines as a helping hand to get yourself motivated.
Write a plan of action
A plan of action is a personal document which will highlight the tasks you want to take on each day. This can help you get back on track if you feel you may be losing focus, and will help to ensure that each day is as productive as possible.
Your plan of action should include short term, easily achievable goals that will help to ensure constant progress. You may want to consider including some of the following in your own plan of action.
- Define your main business goal at the top of the page.
- Give yourself a start and end date, by doing this you will be able to accurately monitor any progress made.
- Create a savings goal seeing your goals on paper and organised into bite-sized subsections makes the work much more manageable, and easier to accomplish.
- Save small amounts of money each day by putting aside small amounts of money for expansion and growth each day you’re focusing on the smaller aspects that will make the long term goal feel more achievable.
Think small
When starting a business, you will most likely have limited resources and a conservative budget. You may have a tendency to dream big and see your business as a great profit generator, but, instead of putting strain on yourself and your business by reaching too far too soon, it may be a good idea to think small.
By having small attainable goals they will be easier to complete, therefore you will get the sense of achievement to keep you motivated and push you to your next goal. All goals you set should be SMART goals.
Specific: State exactly what you want to accomplish. (Who, What, Where, Why)
Measurable: How will you demonstrate and evaluate the extent to which the goal has been met
Achievable: Create challenging goals within your ability to accomplish them.
Relevant: How does the goals you set fit into your key responsibility.
Time-bound: Set dates for your goals to be finished by. Include deadlines, dates and frequency.
Never stop learning
Learning about starting your own business and the niche you operate within can make the process of starting up in business a lot easier. You can learn in a multitude of ways:
Read books of others who have achieved their business goals. Reading through other people’s startup business journeys can provide great inspiration and motivation.
Knowing the problems others have faced on the way to business success and seeing that they are not insurmountable can help you to keep on track in terms of confidence and motivation.
Look at online blogs that offer actionable advice. Online business blogs and forums are available all over the web; take some time to join the most relevant forums you can, and chat to other people on the same path as you. When you feel your motivation lacking, talking to others in the same boat as you is a great way to stay motivated.
Taking classes on your subject of choice is a brilliant way to keep learning. For example say your startup is a tailor shop your class would be learning new stitches and ways to create and fix clothes. You may find yourself learning new things and also you can network with similar minded people.
If you keep learning about your product you will find that your ambition and inspiration is reflected in others pushing you to keep on striving towards your end goal.
Continue reading on the next page to understand why it’s important to include congratulations and rest in your strategy.
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Congratulate yourself
Each time you tick off a goal, no matter how small, congratulate yourself. This may seem like a pointless task but in doing so you can give yourself the motivation to achieve your next task. Some ways that you can remember to give yourself kudos are:
Have a notebook of your achievements. Keeping a record of your achievements is a brilliant way to keep yourself motivated. Not only do you get to reward yourself, but also when motivation is lacking, you can take a look back at your achievement book for inspiration.
Reward yourself for completing goals by doing something you love. Whether it’s eating that last slice of cake or finishing that last chapter of your book, set time aside to reward yourself, propelling you to reach that next goal.
Give yourself time to rest
Starting your own business can be extremely time consuming. You may be working around the clock, determined to reach that goal, finish that task, etc. But stress can eat away at productivity, so take the time to rest up, recharge and start fresh.
Get eight hours sleep a night. According to The Sleep Foundation you need between seven to nine hours sleep per night. Whilst it may be hard for you to cut such a chunk out of your working day, you will most likely become much more productive and motivated if you are getting enough rest.
Get outside. Getting outside is a good way to rest your mind, step out for an hour at lunch, or go for a light stroll take your mind off work and de-stress.
Reschedule. If needs be, you can re-evaluate your to-do list and if it’s too hectic dont force yourself into finishing them all, re-schedule your to-do list and add one more thing to tomorrow’s list.
Moments of frustration and stress should lessen, and motivation levels should stay high, if you follow the above rules. Once youve overcome your obstacles and adopted a stress free, productive mindset, you may find success is easier to achieve.
After creating your motivational plan, you will be able to easily track your achievements so whenever you feel you’re lacking in the future, you can look back at where you started.
The path may seem long and winding now, but breaking objectives down into small, bite-sized chunks can make any task seem much more do-able. Just remember that being productive isnt always about relentlessly perusing your bigger goals. Its about pacing yourself, resting often and organisation.
Emily Farnan is a content producer at savings business Make It Cheaper.
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