How To Stay Motivated

Keep going when the going gets tough

It’s the beginning of the second half of the year and I know that you must have set goals or expectations at the beginning of the year, some may have occurred as planned and others may still be in the works but we move regardless. Think about what drives you towards the goal, keeps you working through a task and pushes you to succeed when things get tough, now that’s your motivation.

Staying motivated is not easy but we need to aim at accomplishing more before the end of the year. To achieve more in this second half, here are a few ways to stay motivated;

Write Your Goals Down

When you set a goal, you may subconsciously act towards achieving it. A goal that you sincerely want to achieve is much more likely to inspire you than something others want for you. Go back to the goals that you wrote at the beginning of the year, tick the ones you’ve accomplished then write out the ones that you are yet to accomplish on a fresh sheet or Notion and prioritize them. You can decide to break down the goals into action points or objectives that will be used to arrive at the goal.

Create A Timeline

As part of your plan, including a timeframe to help envision tasks and deadlines to achieve your goal would be helpful. Try to stick to those dates as closely as possible after you’ve set them. When you have a timeline, you realize that you have a deadline to meet, which motivates you to stay on track and complete your task on time. Do not mount pressure on yourself.

Track Your Progress

When you have evidence that you are making progress towards achieving your goal, it can be motivating. Create a visual representation of how you are attaining your goals. If one of your goals is to get a job, you can create an Excel spreadsheet to track the progress of your applications.

Find A Community, An Accountability Partner Or A Mentor

Talking to someone you trust might help you because taking on a big task can be difficult without a good support system. An accountability partner may be your friend or family member who is also in your shoes or who has passed through a similar experience and whom you can share your goals with to help you keep to your commitment. She Code Africa is one of the communities where you can find people of like — minds to communicate with. Oluchi ‘Lulu’ Nwenyi wrote an article on how you can find a mentor, read here and Olamide 'Pearl' Makinde wrote a piece on how to grow in a tech community, read here.

Celebrate your Wins

Whether it is a big or small win, celebrate it. You can treat yourself to your favourite meal or share it on social media [you might motivate someone else]. Acknowledging the win helps you to keep track of how far you’ve come, “small wins” serve as a reminder of the incremental steps involved in accomplishing more ambitious goals.

Move Forward

This might be the most difficult part but try to move forward. Things may not always work out as planned but that should not be the reason to lose focus. There are going to be lapses, bad days, and situations that may swerve you off the path, but moving forward is all about getting back on the right path as quickly as possible.

Have a Contingency Plan

Simply put; have a Plan B. If this fails, try that.

I hope that the tips outlined in this article will pave the way for a better second half of 2022.

Cheers to our Wins 🥂 🎊