It's a new day, and yet, doesn't feel like one. Everything seems monotonous, and the colours seem grey around you. You could say it's boring, but that ship has probably sailed. It's positively depressing at this point. And I know that because we are not so different, you and I.
So what exactly is missing? I'm sure you ask yourself this question all the time, and you get no answer in return. I happen to stumble across a vague answer in the recent couple of years of total procrastination. I have spent the better part of the last few years looking for ways to earn easy money and lead a better life. I'm nowhere close to my goal right now, but the picture keeps getting clearer everyday, and I can see what lies ahead if I work towards it.
I'm not qualified to give you expert advice on how to steer your life into money and happiness, but what I have is personal experience, and I intend to share it with you so that we can walk together into a new colour in life. Without further ado, lets dive into the real stuff.
Changing my perspective on life required me to make some alterations to how I function everyday, and I'm sure you will benefit if you try to follow the three most biggest changes I took on. Let's have a look!
Stop procrastinating!
This is a no-brainer. A huge chunk of the problems in your life would instantly disappear if you stopped procrastinating. Procrastinating means the action of delaying or postponing something, and we are no strangers to that right? We start putting off things when we associate them with boredom, anxiety, sadness and practically anything that does not feel good to us.
Another type of procrastination you might be familiar with is when we start putting off something because we think it's not going to take as much time as it does, and that we actually have more time to finish the job. More often than not, that is not the case, and we end up doing it at the last minute, or worse, skip it altogether.
A little self-motivation goes a long way
I could write a book on how this affects your whole functioning life, but I'm guessing you're bearing the brunt of that already. These are some tips I can give you from my personal experience which will help you stop this mess -
Chunk it down - So you have 11 chapters to complete for the test, but it seems daunting and you feel so comfortable lying on the bed watching random videos on the internet. Is that getting any work done? No. But are you going to study later? Also, no. It's a feeling we all get when we have a huge amount of work to do but can't put ourselves to do any of it. It's kind of the same feeling when sometimes there's so much food on our plate, it makes us nauseous instead of hungry. A simple way to work past this is to divide the amount of work into smaller chunks and work through them one-by-one. Your work-load gets substantially reduced here and you will get a sense of accomplishment as you go on completing each chunk.
Make the most out of the small amount of time you spend working
Turn it up - Let's say you divided up your work to work for 2 hours each day, an hour in the morning, and another one in the evening. That seems like a good system, but what about productivity? You have to make the most out of the small amount of time you actually spend working. Luckily, boosting your productivity for short periods of time isn't as tough as when you have to do it for longer periods at a time. That being said, a little self motivation goes a long way. Put all your effort into that one hour and take a break and do something else. When you come back to it later, you'd have a refreshed spur to work at a high level of productivity.
Self-Motivation - The key to everything!
Remember the last time when you said to yourself, "This is it! I'll be a better version of myself starting tomorrow!", after watching a couple of motivational videos on YouTube? Yeah, we have all done that. And we go back to our same old selves the the next morning. Have you wondered why? Why does a perfectly great piece of motivation just seems to bounce off us, leaving us with our same old battered self?
True motivation comes from within
It's the end of the second decade of the millennium, and the number of distractions are only increasing with each passing day. Multiple social media platforms, a plethora of entertainment portals, and the endless world of the internet brings us distractions in huge amounts, leaving us with no room for a motivated self. But it's not the end of the world, because true motivation comes from within.
One thing I have realised in the past few years is that the will power to do something largely depends upon you, and it cannot be drawn from other sources with that amount of effectiveness. You have the power to make you, or break you. The only question is are you willing to take the reigns in your hands and steer yourself towards the best self you can be? Here are a two very important tips on how to get started :
Surround yourself with inspired people - Not a lot of people realise this, but the people you hang out with affect the way you function everyday, in either a positive or a negative way. Hanging out with people who are inspired and motivated themselves will have a positive effect on you and the way you approach life. Weed out people that give off negative vibes. Always remember that it is better being alone than to surround yourself with people that make you dull and spiritless.
You have the power to make you, or break you
Reward yourself - Set rewards for yourself when you complete a specific target. Watch an episode of your favourite sitcom when you complete a chapter. Order a pizza when you finish that long-due report for your workplace. Rewards are the best when it comes to motivating someone, and in this case you would be rewarding yourself for completing the milestones you have set, so it can be flexible while also maintaining a level of productivity. Just keep in mind not to skip work to get to the reward. Self-discipline is the key. Practice it!
Get organised!
Let's face it. You live in a monotonous environment. The same unmade bed. The same baggy comfortable clothes. And probably in a semi-dark room where you only turn on the lights when you can't find the phone charger. If you can relate to any of this, STOP. Habits like these make you lazy and suck your enthusiasm dry, not to mention an almost non-existent level of motivation to actually get up and do something better. The physical confines of your living situation also affects your mental and physical health to a great extent. Coming out of such a situation will require a combination of the above two points we discussed -you need to stop procrastinating and motivate yourself to get up and get your life organised. A couple of things that would help you get on the track are -
- Roll up those curtains, open those windows and let the sun shine into your room. The warmth and fresh air will do wonders for your mood!
- Organise your work/study table. Get everything in place, pencils sharpened and notebooks stacked. A clean looking desk looks more inviting and you are more likely to spend working on it instead of using it to dump your clothes.
- Stop using the bed for anything else other than sleeping. Sit on a comfortable chair with your back straight and take regular breaks when you're working.
- Re-do your room. A fresh environment will help you get past your unproductive phase and allow you to work towards something new and better. Make changes that have a positive effect, like moving your bed to the window side, where you can wake up each morning to a refreshing dose of sunshine.
I'm wrapping this up before I get lost here, because there are so many things to talk about and I don't wanna take much of your time. I hope you gained something from this and I'll make sure to follow up with more articles like this to help you be the best version of yourself you can be. Thanks for reading!
