When you’re motivated, the energy can tempt you to try and run through your task list and do everything. Instead, complete one difficult task that will make your life easier when you aren’t motivated, says Home Office Hero.
Photo by geralt
The idea is based on psychologist B. J. Fogg’s talk where he says motivation works in waves; it’s usually pretty low, but sometimes it spikes. During that spike, do the hard things that structure your future behaviour.
Do this now: think of one really hard thing that you can do that will make your job or life easier to do moving forward.
Next time you’re at the top of a motivation wave, you’ll have the “to-do” that will keep you productive long after the drive goes away.
The trick is to think of that hard thing to do when your motivation isn’t high. You can repurpose Smitten Kitchen’s wishlist trick to figure out what that difficult task is. In the middle of a low-motivation phase, when you wish you had done some other task already, write it down. Put a tick next to it every time this happens. You’ll soon have prioritised your “difficult tasks” list.
The overall idea is simple and follows your natural motivation patterns. You can try to recharge your motivation through other tips too.
The Psychology of Motivation: How To Get Stuff Done, Even When You’re Not “On” [Home Office Hero]
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