Self-motivation: 5 steps to success

Ever get that feeling that your deadlines and opportunities are all flying past, and you simply can’t be bothered to do anything about it? Motivating yourself is an essential skill for a project manager. Without self-motivation you will find it difficult to reach your own objectives, let along motivate your staff to meet theirs. Self-motivation is also vital for achieving personal satisfaction, through setting and accomplishing goals that lead to your ideal end-result.

A project management course can teach you the basics of planning and controlling projects, but the focus of this article is on learning how to motivate yourself.

There are five key aspects to self-motivation:

1) The Target

You must know what you are aiming for. Defining and setting on paper your long-term goal is 50% of achievement.

Write down why this goal is important to you, and what the immediate and long-term benefits of its achievement will be.

Visualise achievement. Allow yourself to daydream. You need to establish in your own mind just how much you want to achieve this goal.

2) A workable plan

Setting yourself the goal of becoming President of America will probably not lead to instant activity and motivation. You need a plan. Large or unmanageable tasks are one of the principle reasons for procrastination, so your plan should break down the necessary process into achievable targets.

Turn each one of these targets into a milestone of your progress, a visual indicator of how much you have achieved and how far you have come.

Set up your own reward system. Even something as simple as a star chart can improve motivation. Allow yourself a cup of tea and a slice of cake when you finish that sensitive letter. Plan a trip to the beach to celebrate completing the first version of your product design. The content of the reward does not matter – soon enough the satisfaction of achieving the reward will matter more than the new handbag or the chocolate bar.

3) Schedule tasks

This is where time management skills come in handy. Plan when you will start and complete each task to discourage yourself from leaving everything until the last minute.

Don’t be too inflexible. Sometimes distractions happen or tasks take longer than you expect. Allow yourself some leeway: the important thing is that you remain motivated, active and committed to the achievement of your goal.

4) Good training

Train yourself to finish everything that you start. If you are somebody who never makes it past the third chapter before starting a new book, then force yourself to read through until the end. If you skip between tasks at work, then make yourself finish one thing before starting another.

Finishing each tasks before starting the next increases the frequency of your achievements and reduces the distraction of half-finished projects.

5) Reflect

At the end of each day give yourself a space of time in which to consider what you have achieved. You might even consider buying a diary in which to record your achievements.

This has two results: you will gain motivation through confidence that you are able to achieve your goals, and you will gain motivation through being forced to face the things you have not yet done.

Motivating yourself is the first step towards achieving your goals and motivating others. Learning to overcome procrastination, lack of sticking-power and lack of self-confidence is essential to management success.