how to get & stay o motivated · to take consistent action, those goals won’t ever be...
TRANSCRIPT
We are Jessica and Joelle, co-founders of Extraordinary Ordinary Project — a Toronto-based blog dedicated to providing parents who are entrepreneurs with inspiration, support, resources and a sense of community.
How to Get & Stay Motivated6 tips to help you stay engaged with your work
So you’ve come up with a kickass idea, the ball
is rolling, and things have been coming along
nicely. But how badly do you want to achieve your
goals? Are you willing to sacrifice in the short term
to gain in the long term? Are you motivated enough
to keep on moving forward, through the (inevitable)
rough and tumble waters of entrepreneurship—made
even more challenging by being a parent?
You’re here because you’re navigating the unique
path of being an entrepreneur while raising a family.
So while the typical motivational tools and tips may
work for most - when you belong to the XO gang,
you kinda have to eke out that little bit extra or
tweak your strategies a bit.
Why is motivation important? You need that push
to achieve your goals, or stagnation will become
your best friend.
No matter what goals we set or how detailed our
plans might be, if we can’t find the motivation
to take consistent action, those goals won’t ever
be achieved. But if we stay motivated and push
through, breaking the bad habits that tend to hold
us back, we open a world of possibilities.
We’ve absolutely struggled with motivation. As
working-from-home parents, our biggest sapper of
motivation in the past has been using the kids as an
excuse. “He’s sick and he’s been home for a few days
so now I just need a day or so to get back on track.”
“I’m so stressed with the kids that I can’t even think
about work right now.”
Sound familiar?
But we remained committed, even though it was
difficult and we wanted to give up sometimes.
Our journey is one of ups and downs, valleys and
peaks. So for those times when you’re stuck
in a deep valley - we have developed a two-part
resource, including some strategies that we’ve found
helpful in various stages of our entrepreneurial/
parenting journey, to get your ass in gear!
www.extraordinaryordinaryproject.com
We’ve all done it before. Uttered the
deadly phrases “Tomorrow”, “Next
time” or “Maybe later”. As tempting as it is to
tune out and watch reality TV/have a coffee/
do anything else instead of tackling that next
big task, procrastination is the number one
killer of motivation. If you want to achieve
all those big dreams of yours (or even just
scratch a bunch of items off your ‘To-Do’
list) then you have to squelch this habit and
quick.
One popular time-management technique
we’ve found that works for us is the 15
minute rule. It’s an awesome technique that
you can incorporate into almost any aspect
of your life. Don’t feel like doing the dishes?
Set the 15 minute timer on your cell and once
you’ve started, you’ll more than likely end
up finishing. Pushing off putting together
that big proposal for a client? Just work on it
for 15 minutes and again, you’ll find that the
momentum will likely end up carrying you
through to a longer span of time.
The worst case scenario is you’ve knocked
off 15 minutes worth of work on something
you were going to otherwise push off. The big solution to procrastination is pretty simple—just find a way to START.
1.0 - DO IT NOW/TODAY
How to Get & Stay Motivated
If you’re serious about your goals, then get
serious about your time. Create blocks
of time where you decide to limit your
distractions - this can coincide with those 15
minutes we talked about. What distractions
are we talking about? Email notifications, TV,
newsfeeds.
If you’re working out of an office/co-
working/shared studio space - try signalling
to your crew that you’re in deep goal-
crushing mode by slipping on headphones,
or closing your door if you have one.
The key to cutting distractions? Guard your time.
2.0 - BE A HORSE AKA PUT BLINDERS ON AKA CUT OUT DISTRACTIONS
“The big solution to procrastination ispretty simple—just find a way to START.”
www.extraordinaryordinaryproject.com
A change of scenery can be a breath of
fresh air (literally). Typically people are
creatures of habit and we like our routine,
but sometimes moving to a different location
can actually aid in our productivity and help
us stay motivated.
Find a productive place you can work from
in your hood. It can be a coffee shop, a
restaurant, a public park, or any other place
that will help foster your creativity, eliminate
some distractions, and motivate you to get
your work done. The key is, and it ties into tips #1 and #2 - choose a place that will inspire you and motivate you versus a space that will lead to either procrastination or distraction.
3.0 - SWITCH UP YOUR SPACE
When our bodies aren’t moving, it can
be tough to get the minds on track
and focused.
If running isn’t your thing, find some other
short burst of exercise you can do for at least
15 minutes. We like to use Peloton because it
has a ton of different options. Or make it to
one of the local gym classes. The point? Get
active. Get the blood flowing through your
body.
Yoga is the perfect way to flood positive
endorphins into the body that help to
stimulate the mind, helping to battle the
stress hormones (cortisol) that can build up.
Sometimes we can lose motivation because we have so much going on in our lives that we become completely overwhelmed. Physical activity can work to eliminate
stress and at the same time, clear our minds,
improving focus.
4.0 - MOVE THAT BODY
Speaking of clearing your mind,
meditation is a powerful tool.
Let’s face it, our lives are chaotic af - but
meditation centers us, helping to remove the
clutter in our minds, and renewing our sense
of spirit and motivation.
Staying motivated is work, and meditation can pave the way for our minds to accept the other motivational tools and efficiently leverage them.
5.0 - ZEN OUT
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DYK we have around 60,000 thoughts
that run through our minds in a given
day?
A large portion of our thoughts are fear-
based. You know, the “What If”s?
We ask ourselves fear-based questions
without even consciously being aware of it.
For that reason, if we want to get and stay
motivated, we have to squash our fears.
Try this. Write down (or, let’s be real, type
out) your fears. Then, write down why you’re
afraid of those things. Finally, write down a
reason why the fear should not control you.
Think about experiences where you’ve pulled
through or accomplished something you
didn’t think was possible at the time.
There is power in facing your fears and then being able to banish them.
6.0 - BANISH YOUR FEARS
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Working Out // Peloton app
Meditation // Calm app
Time Tracker // Timely app
Head Phones // Beats Solo
RESOURCES WE LOVE
www.extraordinaryordinaryproject.com