[rei]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Set goals you can archive for your week.
When you have success with archiving those goals that motivates you for the next week and you might take on bigger goals.

yes this is a good idea Brutha. being able to set the goals and make the lists is not as much of a problem. i can do the planning piece. it's overcoming my desire to just play that is more of an issue.

Originally Posted by Rockchick26

I'm in the same boat, Rei. Ever since I've been unemployed 8 months ago, I've gotten increasingly lazier. Working out doesn't happen as much anymore, and I have all these big cool ideas but all I do is think about them and plan to do them, while I sit on the computer or watch tv.

What has worked for me, a few times, were:

Like other people have said, making lists. I learned this from listening to the Tony Robbins' cd's, he's a great motivator! One day it was just to write down 2 goals, not to do the, just to write them down. The next day was to do them. The next day was to write 4 down. The next day was to do those 4. It really worked, I just got lazy and quit listening to the cd's

What has also worked for me, a few times, was hearing a song that made me want to dance, so I changed into my workout clothes just "in case" I felt like dancing, I'd be already ready. Well, I never even sat down cuz I went straight to my iPod and my trampoline and danced for 2 hours! I am not saying you need to dance, but maybe some kind of music will motivate you to move somehow.

I think that when people have no structure in their daily lives, it will happen to almost anyone, they'll get increasingly more lazy. When you have all the time in the world to do something, why would you hurry and do it right away? That's how humans think. But if you have a limited time to do something, that gets you right on it right away. It takes a hell of a lot of something we must not have, in order to get something done when it is up to us when we do it.

Good luck, and I'll keep and eye on this thread for more suggestions, I need them too!

making lists and dancing around are both great ideas Rockchick26 (but see my above response about planning). as you said it's probably partly coming from having less structure, and the deadlines that i do have are not good motivators (i tend to think of deadlines as having relative, not absolute importance. maybe i tend to apply an expansive, all-happening-now principle to these very mundane ways of marking time. or maybe that's an excuse.) so perhaps if i create more daily structure i can find more motivation.

Originally Posted by Manomanman

The only proven way to find motivation is to do what you love. It really is that simple. As your skill in this area increases, you'll make more money.

Pay others to do what you do not love. Money will motivate them to do these undesirable things

actually, doing what i love is part of the issue. instead of all work and no play, i've been engaging in all play and almost no work. even when we find our passion, there will still be unpleasant tasks to handle in relation to it. if the passion is making art, then there's still going to the store to buy supplies or trying to network with galleries to display the work or parting with the children (products of creation) - an artist would likely find at least one of those unpleasant.

my passion is helping people, which is something i really enjoy. but to avoid any legal snags, i need to get licensed, and taking classes is part of it (since the licensure exam uses some jargon, and the one-right-answer will often be pulled from the teachings parroted in those classes). would i love to forego the classes and just get a counseling job? definitely. is that feasible in my current environment? not so much. thankfully i'm almost done with the classes though.

Originally Posted by stripysweatergirl

A fabulous idea, with one major flaw. I, and most other people, do not have enough money for this to work. I would pay someone to do all my ironing for me, but I can't afford to. Sometimes we just have to do things we don't like and this idea of 'only do the things you like' is unhelpful. So is trying to learn to love the things you hate doing- I will never enjoy unclogging my sink, no matter how hard I try.

Can you use other people to give you motivation? I commute for 3 hours every day, leaving at 6.30am. As winter settled in, it was becoming harder and harder to get up on time, and the snooze button was getting worn down. It didn't help that I work flexi-time and could easily catch a later train.

Then my friend started the same commute. I offered to pick her up every morning and we could drive to the station together. Now, I have an obligation and a responsibility to get up on time because if I didn't I would let her down. It's become easier and easier to do as a result, and I now get up automatically, even on days when I don't need to pick her up.

Can you schedule something early every morning that needs you to take responsibility? Something like volunteer work, where people depend on you?

i agree with what you said about paying people. a lovely idea and when i have oodles of money, making the Guinness book of World Records for the largest amount of money accumulated in a service job (and making the daily news shows for maintaining integrity in the face of large sums of money), i'll hire someone to pay the bills and do the laundry.

i was able to use accountability to others earlier this week. i met some classmates to work on a group project. i will think about ways i could apply this to more regular tasks, thanks.

Originally Posted by ar81

Leave pleasant tasks for later, as reward for completing unpleasant ones.

this is what i've started doing. well, sort of. i've been making deals with myself, like do x assignment and then i can watch an episode of my favorite show. but i haven't been consistent with this. probably good to revisit it.

in the last few days, i've become aware of a spiritual reason that my motivation has been affected (i've needed to be relatively still and quiet to tackle some behind-the-scenes objectives). hopefully those tasks are close to complete and i'll regain some motivation automatically. i'm still open to any other suggestions you folks may have. thanks again to all who've posted so far!