Sometimes you sit in front of your computer and stare at it blankly. Your brain has turned to mush and you can't remember even one of the million things you want or need to get done. You'll just get on Facebook or Twitter, or play a game Spider Solitaire first and then maybe your brain will kick into gear. Poof, your two hour window to work just went out the virtual window.
And sometimes you sit in front of your computer and stare at it with hatred. If you have to work one more minute your brain is going to explode or you're sure you're going to say something snarky on a forum that you'll later regret.
So what do you do? In either case you could be suffering from a serious lack of focus and motivation.
It's time to motivate yourself. Now, everyone is different and what motivates me might not motivate you, and indeed, what motivates you right now, might not motivate you in three months.
Here are some suggestions to help light a fire under your rearend when you need it.
Set a big 30 day goal for yourself that requires daily or weekly mini-goals.
Success at the end means more income for you and/or lessons learned on how to achieve the goal in an easier or more direct route. You will most likely be able to accomplish what you did originally in 30 days in a lot less time next time because you will figure out shortcuts and build templates so you don't have to do it again from scratch.
Examples are -
* Starting one new niche site a week.
* Adding content to your blog daily for a month.
* Writing a guest blog post twice a week.
Create a contest for you and others.
- This is the same as above, but you bring others in to share the goal with you. The big benefits are being held accountable by others and building your name recognition.
- Ideas for this are -
- Write one article per day x 30 days and post any increases in your opt-ins, sales, and ad revenue.
- Create a product from scratch by interviewing others in your niche.
- Create a page where all new products can be shown upon completion after the 30 days.
- You can watch this special every time you find yourself straying from the path. The show will remind you that to get "c", you need to do "a" and "b" first.
- Put pictures on your dream board of what you'd like to be surrounded with in your life. You could have pictures of a tropical beach or a beautiful home, or pictures of a stay-at-home dad and a person who works with kids or a charity. Whatever pictures get you dreaming and your motor running should go on the board.
- Sometimes we get so busy we never take a step back and look at the big picture. Take an afternoon off and grab your notepad and your dog and go for a hike. Think about your plan, what's working and what's not, what's giving you a headache, etc., while you're walking and you'll be amazed with what comes to mind. Take some notes when you stop for a break.
