What can you do to stop procrastinating and get down to work? How do you find motivation, self-discipline and perseverance? Here are 9 powerful levers to motivate you to work productively and regularly.

1 – Create a work routine to stop procrastinating

To get and stay motivated, we need to use our minds as little as possible. The more decisions we make, the more we deplete our willpower and self-discipline. And that’s why we procrastinate so much.

In other words, to motivate yourself to work, it’s essential to create a work routine.

To do this, take something to write on and think about fixed, regular working hours for specific tasks.

For example: in the morning, when I arrive at 8 a.m., I switch on the computer and spend 20 minutes sorting, reading and replying to urgent and important e-mails.

At 2 p.m., on returning from lunch, I make my most important and urgent phone calls.

In fact, creating routines will enable you to do the most important tasks, which are unfortunately often the most difficult, without having to argue with your motivation.

You know that every day at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., you have this task and that other task to do. So you won’t need to call on mountains of motivation. You’ll know what you have to do and when to do it. And even if you drag your feet, you’ll do it, because it’ll have become a habit.

2 – Do the hard stuff first to motivate yourself to work

Just thinking about the most difficult tasks is physically and mentally exhausting.

That’s why, rather than exhausting ourselves finding false excuses to put them off, we might as well do them once and for all, right?

It sounds logical, but for all that, we find ourselves procrastinating on the most difficult tasks day after day.

So it’s time you applied a powerful rule: always do the hardest thing first.

In other words, on Monday, you’ve got this task to do and it’s difficult, do it first. In fact, in quotes, get rid of it.

Yes, at the time it’s unpleasant, but afterwards you’ll feel such relief and even a sense of pride. So do the hard part first, it’s worth it.

Because, quite often, the most difficult is also the most important, the thing that makes us progress the most in our projects or work. So go for it!

3 – Provide a reward

In fact, the harder things seem to us, the more important they are to us.

It’s incredible when you think about it. Indeed, we’re never short of motivation to get on social networks, for example. Why is that? Because it’s a reward in itself.

So, to motivate ourselves to work, we need to reward ourselves. And not just any rewards.

In fact, find rewards that you particularly enjoy and that usually make you feel guilty when you give them to yourself. Because they’re the best.

Take some writing implements and list at least 15 reward ideas. Then draw from the list to motivate you to work.

4 – Make tasks as pleasant as possible to boost motivation

Just because it’s work doesn’t mean we can’t make sure we have a good time.

In fact, it’s certainly possible to make certain tasks in your job a lot more enjoyable.

Put on some background music, have a cup of tea. You can also make your working environment more pleasant with a few plants or decorative objects.

Perhaps you can also surround yourself with pleasant, positive people.

I invite you to list at least 3 ideas for making your work more pleasant and to apply them as quickly as possible, because the more pleasant work seems to you, the more motivated you’ll be.

5 – Giving meaning back to your work to motivate yourself to work

Procrastination sets in when we lose sight of the meaning of what we do.

That’s why it might be time to give meaning back to your work. Why do you do what you do? Why do you love what you do?

Take some writing materials and write it all down. Then reread it every morning to motivate yourself to work.

6 – Be physically and mentally fit to motivate yourself to work

Our level of motivation depends on how fit we are, both physically and mentally. The problem is that we don’t know how to take care of ourselves.

We don’t eat healthily, we don’t exercise enough, and we let stress creep into our daily lives.

So, when you want to motivate yourself to work, it’s important to have better lifestyle habits.

In other words, eat a little better, move a little more and do things that relax you.

7 – Set small goals

To motivate yourself to work, and even in general, it’s essential to have a sense of progress.

That’s why it’s a good idea to set yourself small goals to be reached regularly.

So take some writing materials and set yourself a daily, a weekly and a monthly goal.

Make sure they’re neither too easy nor too hard to reach. Try, try and adjust as needed.

8 – Challenge each other

The energy of those around us has a huge impact on our own energy levels.

That’s why it’s important to have productive, positive people in your close circle. You don’t need twenty. In fact, one or two is enough.

And if you don’t have any right now, then make sure you see fewer people who are negative and inactive. It’ll do you a world of good.

9 – Take weekends off to motivate yourself to work

It may sound illogical, but it makes perfect sense. Motivation isn’t an unlimited resource, so taking time off can help to boost our motivation levels.

So, when you’ve got work to do, make sure you keep at least one day in the week when you’re not working at all!

It’ll do you a world of good, and you’ll see that the next day you’ll be as motivated as the day you started.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How do you get out of bed? 10 positive thoughts to motivate you to get up
Discover ʟᴏꜱꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴏᴛɪᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: 5 ᴛɪᴘꜱ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀ ʙᴏᴏꜱᴛ!

In addition, I recommend this inspiring book:

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
The author shares useful tips and techniques for overcoming procrastination and improving time management.
This book is for everyone. If you feel swallowed up by your workload, or if you’re looking to get more done with the little time you have, this book is certainly for you.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself.