To move forward and be productive, you also have to be in the right mindset.
Easier said than done, right?
It’s not simply following instructions or a procedure day by day. Once I figured out what helped me in areas such as focus, motivation, and positivity, I wanted to share them in case any of these methods can help you stay on track. None of these cost any money, and they are quick tweaks you can implement that can have a real impact on your momentum.
1. Start tracking when building a new habit from day 1
That way, when your motivation starts to wane (AND IT WILL!!), you can see how far you’ve come along the way.
Whether it’s trying to lose weight, starting and adopting a fitness plan, increasing your writing, starting a new business venture, it won’t happen immediately. But every little step is progress, and when you look back at where you were a month prior, you should see enough progress to keep you going.
Your mind is a powerful thing and has a tendency to make you doubt yourself or give up on a new attempt because new is change, and change is uncomfortable for it.
For example, after I suffered a severe leg injury, I had to rebuild my calf muscles and learn how to walk right again. After several months, the depression kicked in, and I began telling myself negative things like I’m never going to get better, or nothing has changed.
But- when I actually sat down and thought about what I had done, I saw that I went from being in a wheelchair, then using a walker, and now I’m walking(still with a little limp) and doing low impact exercise routines on YouTube.
Once I saw how far I’d come, I stopped the negative thinking, and I just keep pushing forward. If I had been tracking it, then I could have seen the forward momentum as I went along, and I know that the self-defeating negative talk wouldn’t have started in the first place.
2. Try some self-hypnosis videos from YouTube
They have them for pretty much any mindset you need to have, such as
These will often put me to sleep because they are so relaxing, but I really do feel better once I listen to them. I prefer to use them to fall asleep at night because during this COVID drama, I’ve had a hard time initially falling asleep.
I also suffer from tinnitus, so having someone talk me down to sleep gets me to focus on their voice instead of that damn, incessant high pitch ringing in my ears.
3. Listen to a motivating pep talk each morning from YouTube
There are so many to pick from. One of my favorite channels for this is by Evan Carmichael. You can subscribe to a morning email from topics such as Girl Boss, Confidence, and Motivation. He will email you a short video clip for 254 days in a row. They are very quick but powerful-and yes, it’s totally free.
I also routinely watch one for writing from Mike Shreve at The No Pants Project, as it has really helped me see that I’m not the only one that feels like they “suck” at what they do. Listening to him has enabled me to just rip off the bandaid and do it without second-guessing myself to death.
4. Share what you’re grateful for
When you sit down to dinner (or whichever mealtime is your family sit-down meal), share something you are grateful for.
Whether you look at it as being blessed, fortunate, or lucky-there is always something we can find. Life isn’t always negativity being poured down on you.
I know that we’ve all read to add things you are thankful for in your journal, but for me, saying them out loud with other people feels more solid to me. Plus, hearing what other people are thankful for is nice and really puts things into perspective.
For example, during Hurricane Harvey here in Houston, even though we had to evacuate (thankfully, our home did not get damaged), we still had our family, food we had planned ahead for, and our health. Things could have been so much worse.
That experience really opened my eyes to how blessed we are, and I’ve made it a point to always find something every day that I am grateful/thankful for. Being negative and feeling like life is so unfair can be exhausting and depressing.
Don’t do that to yourself.
You see what you look for, so look for the positives instead of the negatives.
5. Plan your day-but be realistic!
Don’t go listing 20 things as high priority items to get done each day. You know that won’t happen, so don’t set yourself up for failure and overwhelm.
It also helps to use eye-pleasing lists or planning pages. I always recommend using Shiningmom.com because she offers so many FREE and BEAUTIFUL planner pages of all kinds.
Now your to-do list looks a lot nicer than scribbling some things on scratch paper or a post-it!
I know I like seeing my fresh daily and weekly planners printed from her site, and I have them each on a clipboard standing up on my desk. It makes everything looks organized and planned, which immediately gets me on track when I enter my office.
Make sure you cross things off as you get them done-it gives you a feeling of accomplishment!
6. Listen to binaural beats for specific needs
YouTube has a plethora of them for things like
Make sure you use earphones for it because if you don’t, you lose the beneficial effect.
You don’t have to watch them, just plug in or pair your earphones, turn the video on, open a new tab, and get to your tasks. For me, it takes a few minutes, and then I’m totally in the zone of either writing or winding down to sleep.
I know some claims say they do or don’t work– but honestly, I don’t care about the scientific proof because I know that it helps me.
I have a tendency to flitter from task to task without finishing one, and then before I know it, the day is done, and I didn’t really finish anything.
Just me?
When I listen to a productivity one, I can get articles typed up for my content writing and any other work items in a short amount of time. And more importantly, I stay focused on one task at a time and actually finish them!
7. Listen to background music to keep you in the mood for your task
For example, if you have to read or study, there are great library sounds on YouTube; some even include wooden floor creaking, pages turning, wind blowing, etc. Or, play some classical music that has been proven to elevate brain levels to keep you deep into your task.
Here are some that I use in my office when I’m working or reading:
Music to work by with no words
8. Use this quote to change your self-talk & see what is holding you back
If you find yourself putting something off because you don’t want to do it or think you won’t be good enough. I have a quote printed out on my wall, but I cannot remember who said it, nor can I find it online.
It says:
“Change the word CAN’T to WON’T in your self talk and see how that feels.”
For me, these are powerful words because I always try to do the right thing and can’t fathom telling someone no, I won’t do that just because.
It makes me see that it’s me holding myself back-not my abilities (I’m being realistic here-it’s not like I’m holding myself back from flying a plane or teaching karate, although if I dedicated years to learning, then yes, I could).
9. Reading is always a great way to improve your mindset
Besides using the library, I recommend signing up for a free email series called Four-Minute Books. I like learning new things, and if I can get one or two takeaways from a book summary, I’m happy.
It also expands my reading list, as sometimes there are books they review that I would never have thought to read, and I have been so happy after completing it.
The email they send gives you a great summary of the main takeaways from the book for free. If you like the summary, then you can always buy the book.
One of my favorite things is that it tells you who they think the book would be a great match for at the end of each summary, and they always seem to be so spot on.
I hope something from this list catches your eye and has a positive impact on you. I really feel like each one has helped me move forward and become more well-rounded, which in turn has helped me feel better as a person.
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