Even the busiest worker suffers from poor motivation every once in a while. Maybe it's been too long since your last holiday or maybe that work project you poured your heart and soul into failed miserably. Whatever the reason, you need to buck up before it starts affecting your performance. This infographic explains 10 tried-and-tested methods that will help you to stay motivated.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated — in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

May the Forth is behind us, but that doesn't mean we can't take advice from Star Wars. Even with the haphazard quality of the prequels, you can find at least one quote to draw motivation from.

Finding the silver lining in rough situations can help you keep your head up. But according to a 2016 study, it can also be detrimental to your overall well-being. It all depends on the situation.

Talking about your goals publicly can be a good way to motivate yourself to do better. However, you may want to wait until you've taken the first step before making an announcement to really take advantage of the effect.

We all have goals. Some might be career orientated, others may involve learning a new hobby or reigniting an old one.

It can sometimes be hard to achieve them. Maybe you're too busy ("Down time? What's that?") or find it difficult to get started. Perhaps motivation becomes a problem after you get started.

The excuses stop now — you can find time if you really want something to happen. And we're here to help.

There's nothing inherently wrong with reading Facebook, unless you'd rather be reading a good book instead (and that whole fake news problem.) Luckily, the habit loop, which David Kadavy describes as the "habit hook" in his post, holds the key to breaking that Facebook habit and replacing it with a reading one.

Goals are easy to set but hard to reach, and maintaining your motivation is everything (which is why focusing on a system is so much better than focusing on the goal itself). A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology sheds some light on what motivates us best.

It's an understatement that learning to say no is a critical life skill. It's important both personally and professionally, and once you learn how to do it without being a jerk, you have time to focus on the things you need (and want) to do, instead of other people's priorities. Here's a quick way to master it.

Practising gratitude is one of the surefire ways to increase your happiness. But just thinking grateful thoughts might not be enough. One study suggests we should focus on the imminent end of the things we're grateful for — to boost our happiness and enhance our gratitude.

We've previously talked about how you can wake up earlier, but we don't often look at why starting your day sooner is beneficial. Beyond the obvious bonuses, there's one that's less apparent: it's literally the first step to better self-discipline.

Getting into the habit of hitting the gym a couple of times every week isn't easy, but a new report suggests there are two things that will help get you off the couch: Convenience and quality.

I started running a year ago. I had just begun a new job after leaving my own startup. I was tired of being a founder and desperately needed a break. I wanted to have a calmer lifestyle and I wanted a hobby. Running seemed like a great choice for a hobby. As a computer programmer, my brain gets a great workout but my butt sits in a computer chair all day. I thought that a little bit of exercise would balance it out.

I tend to view a good life as being one that's full of good investments. If you use your resources (money, time, energy, etc.) in a smart way, they're going to give far more value back to you in return.

How many things are vying for your attention right now? Your phone? Email? Slack? Twitter? That nagging to-do list that just seems to keep growing? Modern technology has given us so many amazing things, but one of the awkward side effects has always been its ability to get in our face whether we want it to or not.

The work week is nearly over - which means you're probably feeling properly buggered right about now. If you're anticipating a late Friday night and don't want to resort to hard drugs or caffeine, this infographic contains bunch of clever ways to keep yourself more alert, ranging from sniffing peppermint oil to various acupressure techniques.

People thrive when they're working against some kind of force — even if that force isn't real. If you're looking for a way to motivate yourself, try giving yourself an imaginary scapegoat.

I often imagine the leaning tower of Pisa to be a physical manifestation of my ebook queue. I want to finish more books, but can't seem to get through them quickly enough. As Harvard Business Review (HBR) explains, it's not about reading speed, but about creating concerted efforts to read. Here are tips to do just that.

When things don't go your way, "looking on the bright side" is a real test of your ability to show gratitude. No one is perfect at showing gratitude at first, but here's an idea that can help: Keep a "jar of awesome" in plain sight to remind you that good things — and a lot of them — have happened when life gets you down.