How to Keep Motivated: Tips from Birmingham Members

Author: Ted Robinson, TAB Facilitator in Birmingham

“Are you mad?” – that was the reaction of my friends when I told them that, for the first time in my life, I was going to do “Dry January.” I made it (I think several of my friends lost money as a result) and physically felt better. But it started me thinking….what now? It had made me think about enjoying other things and my health in general and it had given me a slightly different focus.

It’s great to see a vaccine being rolled out and rates of infection dropping in the UK, but the tunnel is still long and it is too early to see what the light at the end of the tunnel actually looks like (other than better than now). So how do we stay focused and how do we stay motivated as we journey through the tunnel?

All my TAB Board members have now completed their plans for 2021 and presented them to their boards. They have set and agreed their Champagne Moments so are pretty focused on the plan and the strategies that will deliver the success they want.

But how do they keep their motivation high? I raised it with them in their 1-2-1’s this month and here are some of their thoughts:

TAB Members Tips

Don’t beat yourself up

It’s OK to have a bad day. We’re all going through difficult times and you should be kind to yourself, accept bad days and good days and don’t beat yourself up.

Know your productive times

We’re all trying to balance so many things……work, home-schooling, friends, staff. So, work out when you’re most effective and make sure that is when you work. You achieve more and feel better as a result.

Help someone else

You will get a great sense of achievement by taking a bit of time to help someone else. Whether that is a friend, a member of staff or a member of the family. Take the time to help and feel more motivated yourself.

Understand what you enjoy

Look at what you do in a week and focus on the things you enjoy. With the other stuff ask yourself if it needs doing. If it does then ask yourself if you need to do it? Could it be done by someone else (who may actually enjoy it and be better at it than you, or could it be done more effectively by an outsourced resource)?

Goals and rewards

Set a series of short-term goals and reward yourself for achieving them. We are all far too quick to beat ourselves up for not achieving stuff and forget to reward ourselves for getting stuff done. Rewards don’t need to be huge…..go for a walk without your phone, watch that series finale…..you deserve it!

Mix it up

Don’t get stuck in a rut by doing things in the same order every day. We are all creatures of habit, but you need (particularly right now) to create variety to keep things fresh. Do things in a different order, have a non-Zoom day (all “meetings” by phone)

Exercise

You don’t need a gym to have a great workout. Go for a walk, do some skipping (great exercise and really makes your kids laugh), do a workout from YouTube (close the curtains first)!

Don’t mix with negative people

This can be difficult……but try and avoid negative people. Their negativity is contagious and should be avoided.

Turn up the tunes

Take advantage of being at home (if you are) and reach for those tunes that really get you “pumped” or just make you smile. Create a “motivation” playlist and use it whenever you feel the negativity or the need to “dance like no-one is watching.”

Take a moment

It’s easy to get lost in our own problems and stresses. But take a moment to think about the people who do not have what we have. Be thankful for all the good things in your life….it works!