Motivation is one of those things that come and go, frequently. I may feel motivated during the day, for a couple of hours or, maybe even days. On the other hand, lack of motivation may also manifest during the day, for a couple of hours, or maybe even days.
Better yet, I would describe motivation as a positive mindset, the desire to be able to achieve a goal. Motivation is a vehicle that can be used to drive the bumpy road that leads to the goal, the end result. Of course, you can walk down the road, but that in itself is quite an achievement.
What you find is that motivation often comes after starting the task, not before.
Take for example, my working out routine. I get out of bed, I do some stretches, and I hit the floor and do at least five pushups. That’s it. Most of the time, even when I wasn’t motivated to work out, I manage to gain some motivation while exercising. It may take a few seconds, couple of minutes, or some time. If I still feel not motivated or feel tired, I stop… but at least I managed to work out a little bit that day and not break the habit.
As James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits” says:
We often think that motivation is something that we are supposed to have before we do work, but motivation will come as a result of doing some small bit of work and then we can trust that the rest of the process will flow easily
This is a good thought to have when you feel like procrastinating. He has called this process “The two-minutes rule”, because a habit shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
And this is how I get back my motivation… Just spend two minutes doing a task, and try to see if you energy level improves. If not, take a break and try again later. If it does, give it time, until you get into the flow state. This is where time passes fast, you are having fun doing the task, and break free from procrastinating. This happens a lot while coding.
Remember, you got this! Have a nice day.
