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Six Ways to Motivate Yourself Each Day

July 15, 2011 by Featured Author

There are plenty of things working against you when it comes to staying motivated.

With laptops, tablets, and smartphones, there are millions of online distractions at your fingertips. Many people feel discouraged by the economic recession, especially when it comes to career and financial goals. But, at the end of the day, staying motivated is

up to you. With these six strategies, you can keep yourself motivated to do achieve your dreams.

1. Read a list of your short-term and long-term goals daily.

It’s easy to get derailed when you lose track of your goals. To remind yourself why you want to stay motivated in the first place, make a list of your short-term and long-term goals. Then, keep it in a place you’ll see each day.

Your short-term goals cover what you want to do within the next few days, weeks, or months. Your long-term goals are what you’d like to do within the next few years or decades. For example, paying off your credit balance early this month might be your short-term goal, while earning an excellent credit score might be your long-term goal. Choosing challenging but realistic goals will give you a reason to keep on truckin’.

2. Write a to-do list with prioritized items each morning.

Writing a to-do list each morning is a classic way to keep yourself motivated. Number the items on your to-do list according to how important they are. Don’t start the items at the bottom until you finish the items at the top. If you find your to-do list is too long, crop out the least important items to keep yourself focused.

3. Split big jobs into smaller jobs.

Once you have your to-do list, you may be put off by just how hard the items at the top seem. One way to get yourself going is to break these tasks into smaller sub tasks. For example, let’s say your task is to clean up the garage. Depending on how messy it is, that could take all day!

So, split that job into bite-size chunks. Step one could be “pick up all items on the floor.” Step two could be “sort unneeded items into piles to either be donated or thrown away.” You get the idea. Often, when you have a big task, the hardest part is getting started. Once you get going, you’re more motivated to continue.

Another related way to divide up a big task is to work on it ten minutes at a time. For example, you could go to the garage, set the timer on your cell phone for ten minutes, and work on only cleaning up the garage for those 10 minutes. When the timer rings, you can work on another task. That way, instead of thinking “it’s going to take forever to fix this mess,” you can focus on doing the best you can for those ten minutes. [Read more…]

Video: The Value of Time

June 30, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

To be honest, I find this a tiny bit too saccharin, I still find it to be an incredibly profound video. It puts things in perspective about what matters most and making sure one’s priorities are in line. Your comments are welcome about what you think.

Video: This Time I Mean to Get a Parking Space!

June 24, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I am in favor of doing what it takes to get what you need – providing it doesn’t harm anyone else in the process. The question is did this guy go too far? Funny video about parallel parking and the correct (?) way to get what you need.

The New Normal: Our Economy Will Never Return to How it Was, and We Better Accept It Quickly

June 22, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I’ve had a revelation.

Since the “great recession” of 2008 (which appears to still be in process) came trampling through our economic landscape, I have been — like so many others — waiting and hoping for the rebuilding. When will things get back to how they were? Can we soon return to easier times of job security and stable wages? My ship is weary of white caps; I long to navigate calm seas. When can we be there?

While pondering such issues, it fell hard on me, like a load of gold bricks sold on many radio talk shows as a “hedge against hard times.” The economy — and our lifestyle — will NEVER return to how it was. The “good old days” (such as they were) are in the rear view mirror and we have no reverse gear. We cannot turn around and they will not come back.

That’s an upsetting — some might say “terrifying” — concept. Never again will we be able to conduct our lives and businesses like we did “back then.” What we are now experiencing is — and will continue to be — the “New Normal.” Until our last days, and those of our grandchildren, “different” will be “ordinary.” Future generations will study the heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s much the same as we picture the gay 1890s or the early 1920s; wild, excessive, booming — and only imaginable as images in history books.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but it’s time we bow to an ever-apparent reality and accept facts for what they are, not what we long for them to be. Denying the obvious delays the inevitable, which furthers great hurt and denigrates our lives. Striving to maintain an illusory status quo by rejecting reality prolongs its effects; and makes worse the pain.

Having said that, I do pride myself on being positive, while understanding that the set up of this column might appear less than optimistic. Yet, it can be. Due to this unhappy situation in which we find ourselves mired, we are becoming more resourceful, better planning our expenses, accepting gratification in that which we took for granted previously, and we are contributing more to our local communities.

These are wonderful changes.

[Read more…]

How to Change Your Habits to be Happier, Healthier and More Productive

June 8, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Most of life is done by rote.

For most of us, alarm clocks buzz the same time every morning. The average grocery store stocks over 38,000 items; yet the standard shopper goes to the same store every week, usually on the same day, and chooses from the same few dozen items every outing. We become brand loyal, eating our meals at approximately the same period every day, leave for work at a uniform time, drive a standard route, and return home at a consistent hour every night. Evenings consist of consuming one of a few “favorite” dinners. Entertainment consists of books or magazines from a few select genres and a stable of favorite authors; or maybe a regular line-up of TV shows, which we watch while sitting in “our usual place,” and snacking — or not — on the same foods we had yesterday at the same time. At day’s end, we retire at the same time, even sleeping with the same person (hopefully), only to repeat these patterns come dawn.

This is not to suggest we are unimaginative, bland, nor boring; rather to illustrate that we are creatures of habit; no if’s, and’s, or butt’s about it.

Reality is these habits make life easier. Picture the above scenario where every single day consisted of an entirely new routine. Exciting? Sure — for a little while. After that, just plain exhausting.

The downside of a life assembled on a foundation of habits are the “side effects;” those unexpected results of our patterns. Make no mistake however; they are every bit as much a part of the habit as are the results we seek. For example, if I’m bored, I eat. If I’m angry, I eat. If I’m sad, I eat. It’s a common routine. It allows me to feel better fast. After all, chips or ice cream not only alleviate boredom, but also go a long way toward holding negative feelings at bay — for the short term. The side effect is a weight gain. I get to feel good quickly, for the simple price of obesity long term.

Conversely, some people read a book when bored; when sad, call a friend; and when angry, take a brisk walk. (There is a clinical term for such folks: “Skinny.”) Whereby their habits also provide comfort, the side effects are healthier. Should I long for such results, I must also develop similar habits.

The thing is that it’s extremely difficult to “drop” habits. Since their sole purpose is to fill voids, simply abolishing them make those holes more painful. This in turn, triggers the very behavior we were trying to banish — which puts our actions at odds with our feelings. In a case like that, emotions almost always win out and the habit — and its side effects — strengthens.