by Dr. R. Kay Green
January has hardly begun, but already people are forgetting or giving up on their resolutions and goals. This is a process that happens every year, and it happens because once the “shine” is off the new year, it can be incredibly hard to stay motivated.
However, “hard” does not mean impossible, and with a bit of effort you can stay excited and engaged with your goals all year long. Here are 20 ways to keep your motivation up in 2020.
- Break your goals into chunks. If you try to tackle a large goal, you might wind up discouraged by just how much work there is to do. But splitting your goals into smaller parts will help sustain a feeling of accomplishment across a span of weeks or months.
- Set an intention for each day. This intention can be big, like starting on a project that you have been putting off, or small, like waking up five minutes earlier. But having at least one “win” every day can keep you feeling motivated and excited!
- Practice positive thinking. Optimism is learned. And people who think positively often have more positive experiences in life. How you approach things will often attract the sort of results you want to see, so try your best to catch your self in negative self-talk and replace that with more positive thoughts.
- Stay grateful. Practicing gratitude is an important part of motivation. At the end of the day, go over the things that happened that you are grateful for. This will help you to start the next day with motivation and excitement!
- Make sure each goal has a “why.” Nothing kills motivation faster than not having a clear reason for your goal. After all, if you do not know why you are doing something, what is the point of doing it? Put your “why” somewhere you can see.
- Get friends to hold you accountable. It is a lot harder to “slack off” on goals when you know that someone else is counting on you to do them. Make it reciprocal, too — help your friends stay on track with their goals, and you can get motivated by their success as much as your own.
- Reread your goals regularly. As we get into the day-to-day grind of life, it can be easy to lose sight of our larger goals. So take some time to read your goals weekly, or even daily. Keeping them top of mind will help you stay motivated to achieve them.
- Start slowly. When we set our goals, it can be tempted to jump into them all at once. But this can often lead to burnout and a lack of motivation. Instead, find a place to start small with your goals, and build your way up from there.
- Track your progress. If we cannot see the strides we are making, we run the risk of giving up entirely because it feels like it is not making a difference. Finding a way to track your progress can help motivation. Daily trackers are a great way to do this, because it encourages you not to “break the chain.”
- Schedule in time to work on your goals. It is easy to say that you will work on a goal “when you have the time.” But if you follow that train of thought, it will be easy to find excuses to never start. Set yourself clear deadlines and then schedule in time to work before your deadlines, too.
- Schedule days off, too. As important as it is to work on your goals, constant work is not sustainable. Make sure that you are taking regular breaks in order to keep your mind and your motivation sharp. You will find yourself returning to your goals with renewed excitement.
- Be sure to “unplug.” We live in a world with more distractions than ever before. It makes keeping up with goals very difficult, and motivation is hard to keep when it feels like there are a thousand more interesting things we could be doing. Schedule time to eliminate distractions like phone and internet.
- Identify your procrastination triggers. Some people procrastinate when they are stressed, others procrastinate when things feel like they will take too long or go too slow. Realize what your procrastination triggers are and come up with a plan to combat them, to keep motivation.
- Have a five and ten year plan. Where do you want to be in five and ten years? Identify that, and then take the time to consider how this year’s goals will help you reach the person you want to be in the future. This will make it much easier to stay motivated.
- Mix professional goals with fun goals. Having “fun” goals is a great way to stay motivated. Make it a goal to take a trip somewhere you have always wanted to go, or to try something new that you have always wanted to try. Working on these goals will make it easier to work on your more professional goals.
- Do nightly reviews. Take some time at the end of your day to review what you did to work on your goals, how it made you feel, and what you want to do next. Keeping track this way will help you stay motivated to take next steps.
- Reward yourself for completing goals. Rewards and incentives are powerful motivators. Do not be afraid to give yourself some when you finish a goal! This will help you stay motivated for the next ones, as you will be excited for the next reward!
- Help others set goals and intentions. Helping other people set their goals can be incredibly motivating. Seeing other people succeed gives you the drive and excitement that you need to succeed, as well!
- Celebrate your successes. Celebrating and simply giving yourself a “pat on the back” feels good. So while it can be tempting to simply check off one goal on your list and move onto the next one, take some time to recognize that you did well.
- Learn new things. Learning is a powerful motivator. When we educate ourselves, it empowers us and makes us want to take that new knowledge into the world. Employees are more motivated by custom classes, which is why more businesses are investing in them.
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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.
Dr. R. Kay Green is the CEO/President of RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. With over 190,000+ Twitter followers, 35,000+ Facebook Likes, and the Top 1% LinkedIn profile designation, Dr. Kay, a self-motivated trailblazer, is the Quintessential “New-Age” Professional Woman, and PhD Marketing Pro. She earned a Doctorate of Business Administration in Marketing, and has completed PhD coursework in Leadership and Organization Change. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Management, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, and an Associate of Arts in Marketing Management.
She is affiliated with several prestigious universities and has instructed over 350 courses online. A popular speaker on Marketing and Business topics, Dr. Green is currently featured on Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Black News, The Network Journal, Business Review USA, Digital Journal, College View, Business New Hampshire Magazine, Bay State Banner, Reader’s Circle, North Dallas Gazette, Harlem News, Top News Today, One News Page, NE Informer, Women in Business PR News, Consumer News Today, Women PR News, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Daily Herald, The Miami Herald, and Book News Articles.
Dr. R. Kay Green is the CEO/President of RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. With over 190,000+ Twitter followers, 35,000+ Facebook Likes, and the Top 1% LinkedIn profile designation, Dr. Kay, a self-motivated trailblazer, is the Quintessential “New-Age” Professional Woman, and PhD Marketing Pro. She earned a Doctorate of Business Administration in Marketing, and has completed PhD coursework in Leadership and Organization Change. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Management, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, and an Associate of Arts in Marketing Management.
She is affiliated with several prestigious universities and has instructed over 350 courses online. A popular speaker on Marketing and Business topics, Dr. Green is currently featured on Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Black News, The Network Journal, Business Review USA, Digital Journal, College View, Business New Hampshire Magazine, Bay State Banner, Reader’s Circle, North Dallas Gazette, Harlem News, Top News Today, One News Page, NE Informer, Women in Business PR News, Consumer News Today, Women PR News, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Daily Herald, The Miami Herald, and Book News Articles.
One Reply to “20 Ways to Stay Motivated in 2020”
WETA
Hey Kay,
These are really great ways to stay motivated. Definitely every one should read and follow these ways!
Thanks
Comments are closed.