Top 20 Motivation Hacks - An Overview

For the last two weeks I’ve been posting the Top 20 Motivation Hacks, one by one. These are the tips and tricks that, if used in combination, are a nearly sure way to achieve your goals.

Achieving goals is not a matter of having “discipline”. It’s a matter of motivating yourself, and keeping your focus on your goal. Follow these hacks, or any combination of them that works for you, and you should have the motivation and focus you need.

Here they are, in reverse order (links take you to more on each):

#20: Chart Your Progress. Recently I posted about how I created a chart to track my progress with each of my goals. This chart is not just for information purposes, for me to look back and see how I’m doing. It’s to motivate me to keep up with my goals. If I’m diligent about checking my chart every day, and marking dots or “x”s, then I will want to make sure I fill it with dots. I will think to myself, “I better do this today if I want to mark a dot.” Well, that’s a small motivation, but it helps, trust me. Some people prefer to use gold stars. Others have a training log, which works just as well. Or try Joe’s Goals. However you do it, track your progress, and allow yourself a bit of pride each time you give yourself a good mark.

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

#19: Hold Yourself Back. When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin’ to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It’s not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I’ve learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don’t let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I’m doing that mile, I’ll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don’t let myself. After that workout, I’ll be looking forward to the next workout, when I’ll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

#18: Join an online (or off-line) group to help keep you focused and motivated. When I started to run, more than a year ago, I joined a few different forums, at different times, on different sites, such as Men’s Health (the Belly-Off Runner’s Club), Runner’s World, Cool Running, and the running group at About.com. I did the same when I was quitting smoking.

Each time I joined a forum, it helped keep me on track. Not only did I meet a bunch of other people who were either going through what I was going through or who had already been through it, I would report my progress (and failures) as I went along. They were there for great advice, for moral support, to help keep me going when I wanted to stop.

#17: Post a picture of your goal someplace visible — near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals like traveling to Rome or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.

Find a magazine photo or a picture online and post it somewhere where you can see it not only daily, but hourly if possible. Put it as your desktop photo, or your home page. Use the power of your visual sense to keep you focused on your goal. Because that focus is what will keep you motivated over the long term — once you lose focus, you lose motivation, so having something to keep bringing your focus back to your goal will help keep that motivation.

#16: Get a workout partner or goal buddy. Staying motivated on your own is tough. But if you find someone with similar goals (running, dieting, finances, etc.), see if they’d like to partner with you. Or partner with your spouse, sibling or best friend on whatever goals they’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to be going after the same goals — as long as you are both pushing and encouraging each other to succeed.

#15: Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.

I have a rule (not an original one) that I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me. After that, it all flows naturally. It’s when you’re sitting in your house, thinking about running and feeling tired, that it seems hard. Once you start, it is never as hard as you thought it would be. This tip works for me every time.

#14: Make it a pleasure. One reason we might put off something that will help us achieve our goal, such as exercise for example, is because it seems like hard work. Well, this might be true, but the key is to find a way to make it fun or pleasurable. If your goal activity becomes a treat, you actually look forward to it. And that’s a good thing.

#13: Give it time, be patient. I know, this is easier said than done. But the problem with many of us is that we expect quick results. When you think about your goals, think long term. If you want to lose weight, you may see some quick initial losses, but it will take a long time to lose the rest. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to do it overnight. If you don’t see the results you want soon, don’t give up … give it time. In the meantime, be happy with your progress so far, and with your ability to stick with your goals. The results will come if you give it time.

#12: Break it into smaller, mini goals. Sometimes large or longer-term goals can be overwhelming. After a couple weeks, we may lose motivation, because we still have several months or a year or more left to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to maintain motivation for a single goal for such a long time. Solution: have smaller goals along the way.

#11: Reward yourself. Often. And not just for longer-term goals, either. In Hack #12, I talked about breaking larger goals into smaller, mini goals. Well, each of those mini goals should have a reward attached to it. Make a list of your goals, with mini goals, and next to each, write down an appropriate reward. By appropriate, I mean 1) it’s proportionate to the size of the goal (don’t reward going on a 1-mile run with a luxury cruise in the Bahamas); and 2) it doesn’t ruin your goal — if you are trying to lose weight, don’t reward a day of healthy eating with a dessert binge. It’s self-defeating.

#10: Find inspiration, on a daily basis. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.

#9: Get a coach or take a class. These will motivate you to at least show up, and to take action. It can be applied to any goal. This might be one of the more expensive ways of motivating yourself, but it works. And if you do some research, you might find some cheap classes in your area, or you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.

#8: Have powerful reasons. Write them down. Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you REALLY REALLY want to happen, for really good reasons.

#7: Become aware of your urges to quit, and be prepared for them. We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start being more conscious of those urges. A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge. It simply makes you aware of the urges. Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan.

#6: Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row.This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. So, you missed one day … now the second day is upon you and you are feeling lazy … tell yourself NO! You will not miss two days in a row! Zen Habits says so! And just get started. You’ll thank yourself later.

#5: Visualize your goal clearly, on a daily basis, for at least 5-10 minutes. Visualize your successful outcome in great detail. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome will look, will feel, will smell and taste and sound like. Where are you when you become successful? How do you look? What are you wearing? Form as clear a mental picture as possible. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.

#4: Keep a daily journal of your goal. If you are consistent about keeping a journal, it can be a great motivator. A journal should have not only what you did for the day, but your thoughts about how it went, how you felt, what mistakes you made, what you could do to improve. To be consistent about keeping a journal, do it right after you do your goal task each day. Make keeping a journal a sensory pleasure.

#3: Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition.We are all competitive in nature, at least a little. Some more than others. Take advantage of this part of our human nature by using it to fuel your goals. If you have a workout partner or goal buddy, you’ve got all you need for a friendly competition. See who can log more miles, or save more dollars, each week or month. See who can do more pushups or pullups. See who can lose the most weight or have the best abs or lose the most inches on their waist. Make sure the goals are weighted so that the competition is fairly equal. And mutually support each other in your goals.

#2: Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed. This will do the trick every time. Create a blog and announce to the world that you are going to achieve a certain goal by a certain date. Commit yourself to the hilt.

#1: Always think positive. Squash all negative thoughts. Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful.

Top 20 Motivation Hacks - An Overview

For the last two weeks I’ve been posting the Top 20 Motivation Hacks, one by one. These are the tips and tricks that, if used in combination, are a nearly sure way to achieve your goals.

Here they are, in reverse order (links take you to more on each):

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

Comments (32)

Alex Shalman Says:

February 18th, 2007, 18:36 pm

Hey Leo,

I’m surprised I haven’t run into you blog earlier. This post sums up a lot of useful information, I like.

I think you may find my personal development blog of interest. You’re welcome to visit at http://www.alexshalman.com/blog

Leo Says:

February 18th, 2007, 19:15 pm

Hi Alex … thanks for the comment. I’m glad you enjoy the site. I looked at your blog briefly and will mention it in my Nifty Links for today. Thanks!

WrightHandBlogger Says:

February 20th, 2007, 7:22 am

Leo,
These are PRICELESS!

I’m thankful that one of your readers and one of my friends named Bill Vick brought this to our attention -

Love what you’re doing with your motivation hacks, Leo.

Thanks!

Leo Says:

February 20th, 2007, 12:29 pm

@writehand: thanks for the nice comment. I’m glad you’re enjoying the site. If I’ve been helpful in motivating someone to achieve their goal, I am a happy person.

sportcrazy Says:

February 20th, 2007, 13:09 pm

Leo, great post. I’m a fantastic procrastinator and need to take these onboard. I’ll start tomorrow!

Leo Says:

February 20th, 2007, 14:02 pm

@sportscrazy: lol. I hope you really do! Thanks for the nice comment.

rbm411 Says:

February 28th, 2007, 18:23 pm

Leo:

Great post. I run too and your rules, just start and never miss two days in a row are crucial to continuing to run day in and day out. Excellent advice.

Andrew "Duff" Says:

March 15th, 2007, 20:26 pm

Leo,

Great post! It gave me a little of #3, because
I recently got some mild del.icio.us fame for my GTD Mastery 100 checklist and I’m considering blogging about the exact stuff you are–but now I’ll have to step it up and figure out how to compete!

Thanks for raising the bar,
~Duff

Leo Says:

March 15th, 2007, 22:23 pm

Hi Duff … I’m glad if this post has inspired you to new heights! I liked your post on GTD Mastery (I linked to it about a month ago) … you should definitely write more along those lines. Keep up the great work!

morganusvitus Says:

April 5th, 2007, 21:27 pm

The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)

Howtolife.com Says:

April 8th, 2007, 16:56 pm

I have used my past as a motivation hack for the present. We all have achievements and success stories. Why not using them as motivator?

Joanna Says:

April 11th, 2007, 6:23 am

My mom just phoned me telling - I’m quitting chocolate, can you give me any tips on how to go through it? And I just clicked, had a glimpse on your article and knew what to advise her :) thanks, it’s a really great list of important things one can do.

Glenn Says:

April 18th, 2007, 16:04 pm

Where do you get the nice graphics that typically appear at the beginning of each article?

Leo Says:

April 18th, 2007, 18:37 pm

Hi Glenn … I usually either do an advanced search in Flickr, with Creative Commons for commercial uses checked, or look in free photo sites like stock.xchg (http://www.sxc.hu/).

Dustin Brewer Says:

May 8th, 2007, 22:15 pm

This is a great set of ways to get motivated and stay motivated, just at a time when i find myself not working on what I need to work on and reading a blog. Hopefully I will motivate myself towards the right objective now.

Odile Says:

May 13th, 2007, 17:46 pm

Just a reminder that success and effort are strongly related. :D

رضا Says:

May 30th, 2007, 10:22 am

Great advices, I try to do them, thanks

شادمانی بی سبب من و رضا

Harveen Says:

August 4th, 2007, 15:13 pm

This is the first time I’ve read any of your article-I’ll definitely be back. I really enjoyed your insight.

Thanks.

O.K. Says:

August 23rd, 2007, 1:32 am

Leo - thanks for this post, it is great and structured.

I was wondering if you would share your thoughts on something regarding #4 and #5 - in fact, if anyone else have any ideas that would be cool too.

What if one has, (like me) a goal that is to be employed in the career of one`s dreams, but that there is in fact two options equally enticing, that are related but not quite the same?

For example, say you study to become a photo journalist but that the thought of doing fashion photography is on your mind half the time - would you say this is detrimental to motivation or that having a bigger playing field is good?

I simply cannot pick one over the other as they sort of compliment each other (although not quite) but having two careers as a goal seems to cloud my vision of the goal.

That was messy, but still. Any thoughts?

Leo Says:

August 23rd, 2007, 18:17 pm

@O.K.: Great question … my suggestion would be to focus on one for now (and choosing one over the other will be difficult, I know) but not to forget about the other one. Keep one in sharp focus, while still practicing or looking for opportunities in the other when you get a chance.

Focusing on two goals at once is difficult, if not impossible. I’m not saying to give up on one, but just pick one to focus on for now, and then focus on the other next.

mathew johnson Says:

September 27th, 2007, 18:38 pm

a) work for someone smarter than you
b) work for someone who has a great sense of humor
c) work for someone who posts photos of don johnson on their blog

http://mattishness.blogspot.com/2007/09/any-post-that-leads-with-don-johnson.html

dlasiebie.pl Says:

October 23rd, 2007, 13:51 pm

[...] http://www.zenhabits.net/2007/02/top-20-motivation-hacks-overview/ [...]

Nxqd3051990 Says:

October 29th, 2007, 20:53 pm

Thank you so much, you’re helping me change my life :) I’m still a student, these entries are a really helpful.
Thank you again :)
nXqd

Nathbongsa Says:

February 8th, 2008, 23:41 pm

I like your rule “I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me”, I just put on my shoes and close my door, just do it. Thanks.

Nxqd3051990 Says:

April 2nd, 2008, 1:20 am

I’ve found great app, todoist.com with chain function ( check at what’s news ) . I used to be a huge fan of RTM but now Todoist is my fav. I’m transfering my task to todoist :)

Iris Says:

April 5th, 2008, 3:57 am

That “think positiv” is very important. Because, when you start something with negative thougts, it will end negative.

Valery Says:

June 22nd, 2008, 11:10 am

Hi Leo! Your post is just wonderful, inspiring and positive as usually!!! I really admire your work! Thank you! You do it with all your passion and all your soul - that is how every job should be done!
I’ve added few tips with a link to your post to my self motivation lens, I think that the post like yours should be shared along the web:)
Thank you!
Warmly,
Valery

James W. Plotnik Says:

July 1st, 2008, 19:02 pm

Thank you for this inspirational and directional post. It is often hard to stay on track when working towards a goal, but putting these into practice will help lead to success. I will post a summary and link to your post on my blog.

Thank you,
James W. Plotnik

Vern at AimforAwesome Says:

July 14th, 2008, 23:30 pm

#19 is right on. In America we have everything, right? Well, a lot. We satiate ourselves and then the desire goes. I use #19 a lot… maybe all areas of my life because keeping the motivation strong is imperative to continue enjoying whatever subject it is. I use this with meditation - I might be skipping off into jhana - but if I planned to sit for 25 minutes and it’s been that long, I get up and go. Jhana is like pure ecstasy once you come out of it - but you know, by sticking to my schedule and not becoming a jhana junkie or experience junkie I keep the motivation and enjoyment for it - very high. Sex is another area. One time in Miami I met this young couple- she 19, he 23. He told me that he doesn’t ‘give’ his g/f sex but once a week, sometimes 2 weeks. I said, WHY? He said, it keeps it amazing. We’re always wanting it. It’s always building up. We’re never tired of it. It keeps us desiring each other all the time. I didn’t understand back then - being 25 and hormones raging… but now - I get it! Another area I use this is with running and all exercising really. I don’t do everything I want to do… I always keep something there to do later. I use it when I travel. You know I STILL haven’t seen the entire northwest section of Thailand? Saving it. I’ve seen the northeast and south - but not the gulf region (much) and not north of Bangkok at all. Don’t give yourself everything - you’ll tire of it. Remember Midas?

Tom Says:

July 18th, 2008, 23:45 pm

Great list…besides writing down your goals, starting out slow is one of the most powerful tools you can use. By starting a project with only 75% of your energy, you ensure you have enough energy to complete the whole project. Otherwise, there is a good chance you may burn yourself out before you finish the task.

saratela Says:

July 21st, 2008, 5:41 am

I think that most difficult is number 15 “Just get started” usually we are fried to starting something new. So we have to make a great effort for starting a new campaign.

Michael@ Awareness * Connection Says:

August 10th, 2008, 20:35 pm

Wow! I am a parent coach and family therapist, and I can attest to all of these being very helpful motivation hacks. Many of them are strongly supported by loads of research as well. Leo clearly has a very strong grasp of what is helpful in motivating behavioral change and follow through. This is a fantastic resource.

I really like the counter intuitive “Hold yourself back” and “Make it a rule to never skip two days in a row”. Motivational genius that appropriately nods to how our brains actually work. This is the secret to motivation that actually takes root.