My top 10 motivational tips - Meera Sharma

Set goals: Goals are super important and no, I’m not just talking about when it comes to football! Setting goals will help you find your focus, measure your success, keep you motivated and hold you accountable. So, if there is something you want from life, figure out what it is and set a goal to make it happen. Remember you can set goals at any time, it’s not just a new year, new me thing. You can also adapt them as circumstances change. Most importantly, have fun with them and make the most of tools such as vision boards to plan out your goals – keep it somewhere you will see it. This will work as a visual motivation and reminder as to what you want from life, and why you should work to achieve it.

Plan it: Procrastination is not your friend when it comes to staying motivated. Having a plan will limit those chances for you to procrastinate. Let’s say you want to eat healthier – if you plan your meals for the week, you will buy the food you need and can then cook accordingly. Not only will this save you time, but it will also ensure that you don’t find yourself eating something you should be avoiding. When it comes to staying motivated to do tasks at hand, writing down a plan and blocking out specific times in the day to do it is a good idea.

Routine is key: If you wake up and know what you want to accomplish, you’re going to get it done. Routine will allow you to turn things into habits, as the more you do something consistently the more it becomes second nature. Routine can also set the tone for the day – for example, a good morning routine will keep you motivated to tackle the day ahead of you.

Break it down into achievable chunks: If you tend to get overwhelmed by tasks then the best way to overcome this is to write them all down and then break them down into achievable chunks. Writing things down will also help you see the tasks at hand and how much you need to do. Another plus point to this is, as you get through the list and tick things off, it will further motivate you to make your way down your to-do list.

Remember the why and how far you’ve come: Reminding yourself of the why and focusing on how far you’ve come is so important to keep you motivated. Let’s say you are feeling unmotivated to exercise, then remind yourself of how good you will feel after the workout and all the health benefits that come with it. Also, giving yourself a pep talk as to how much you have already achieved will keep you on track.

Be grateful: We often get so caught up in our lives that we don’t take the time out to just be grateful. Being grateful for things, no matter how small they may seem, is a great way to boost your mood and motivate you to keep going. I recommend keeping a gratitude journal and every day before you go to sleep, writing down five things you are grateful for.

Keep your surroundings positive: This applies to the things you can control, like social media and content consumption. Follow positive accounts and limit the amount of negative news you are consuming. When I say this, I’m not saying to ignore what is going on in the world, but limit how many times you listen or read it in a day. Don’t start your day consuming negative news as this will leave you in a funk.

Quotes: These are great way to give us that burst of motivation when we need it. Start your day with a positive quote and affirmation and it will set the tone for the day ahead. Keep your favourite quotes to hand (perhaps find a quote from someone you admire), so when you start to feel demotivated it will remind you that you’re brilliant and can achieve whatever you set your mind to do.

Limit distractions: How many times have you been in the middle of something and then a notification will pop up on your phone and bam, before you know it, you have been scrolling through Instagram for the past 10 minutes. These are some of the distractions you can control and limit by keeping your phone on mute, and turning off social media notifications. If all else fails, just put your phone in a drawer, in another room, while you tackle the task at hand.

Breathe and take a walk: Sometimes taking a step away from something, especially if you are feeling demotivated is key. Going for a walk and focusing on your breathing will allow you to centre yourself. You will then come back to the task at hand feeling refreshed. Walking things out really does help!

Meera Sharma is a British media personality and writer who first came to prominence on ITV show Take Me Out. Sharma is the author of The Little Book of Sass, founder of motivational platform The School of Sass, and host of radio show The Sass Life, which airs Mondays at 7pm on Rukus Avenue Radio. 

Visit Twitter & Instagram: @meerasharm & www.theschoolofsass.com