1. Know your Why. 

The more challenging the task, the more resolve it will require. Carefully answering the following questions is the first step to a strong determination:  

• What’s in it for you? What is the belief that makes you want to commit to it? What is the value behind it? 

• For example, you may choose to commit to a doctorate because you value education and believe that this will help you get the job you want.

2. Know your motivation type. 

Roughly speaking, there are four types of people: 

• People who are motivated by their own resolve;

• People who are motivated by making arrangements and promises to other people (social pacts)

• Those who need to understand precisely why they are doing it and what is the meaning of this action

• Those who will rebel against every attack on personal freedom.

Most of us are a mixture of a couple of types. To know which strategy to use, analyse your past commitments and the way you handled yourself. Then use this knowledge to help you in your pursuit. 

For example, if you are motivated by social pacts (type 2), make public announcements about your decision (let’s say, becoming a runner) and then make arrangements with others (say, agree with your neighbour to have a run-date at 8 am on Thursdays). 

If you are the rebel type, give yourself choices and pose the commitment as contributing to your freedom of choice instead of taking from it: “From 8 am to 10 am tomorrow, I can spend my time running, doing yoga, meditating or reading”. The trick here is not to use the schedule to take away the freedom but to give yourself time to do things you find valuable.

3. Discipline.

Motivation is not required at all times during pursuit. After finding your Why, and using motivation that is right for you, it is time to discipline yourself. Create habits, make goals and milestones to know your direction, and review your progress time after time. 

4. If you have trouble beginning a task, here are a few tricks:

• “5-minute task”: If you really don’t want to do something, agree with yourself to do it only for 5 minutes. After the time is up, you are allowed to stop. Chances are, by that time, you’ll be in the groove and won’t even notice the time. 

• “3 Steps”: Similarly, if you struggle to begin a difficult task, break it down into the first three steps. For example, you need to write a book, and you can’t even sit down at the table. Write down your steps: 1) open your computer; 2) open a Word Document; 3) Write down the first sentence. 

• Use the count down method: count 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 and then begin the task.

• Tell yourself that you will be doing the task not seriously. Make it a game and “pretend” like you are doing it. 

5. Make time for rest

We are all built differently, so know how much energy you have, spend it wisely and then allow yourself time to restore it. There is nothing good in trying to beat everybody in productivity because it may lead to burnout. 

Good luck!

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