How to make yourself self-motivated–these 5 easy tricks will help you do work even when you don’t want to. Learn how to make yourself self-motivated, stay self-motivated, and get more things done so you can finally stop procrastinating and feeling guilty.

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Here’s what Wednesdays used to look like for me:

1. Get to work; plant butt in cubicle.
2. Stare at my to-do list, read some things online, daydream.
3. Get a few things done.
4. Go home and start over again the next day.

I was working at a small publisher at the time, and the pace was s-l-o-w. I had just come from another editor gig that was relentlessly fast-paced–each day was chockfull of meetings, paperwork, and dozens of things only I could do each day.

Now suddenly I was plopped in a quiet office, with almost no meetings or urgent to-dos. The 8-hour day stretched endlessly, and I couldn’t figure out how to structure my time, keep up momentum, or get things done when it was just so much easier to put things off until tomorrow.

I was bored, unproductive, and definitely not living the How to Get Sh*t Done life. I realized I would have to teach myself a key skill: how to make yourself self-motivated.

Now my Wednesdays look like this:

1. Wake up, grab laptop and coffee, and write a blog post before 9 am.
2. Reward myself with a shower and getting ready for the day.
3. 8 hours of emails, proposal editing, contract review, calls, etc.
4. Shut my laptop promptly around 6-7, make dinner, relax.

It took a long time, but I finally learned how crucial it is to do the most important thing first in the day. So now, every weekday, I start the day by proposal editing, pitch letter writing, blog post writing, or whatever else is going to take the most brain power and concentration.

That was so game-changing for me. I finally (mostly) beat back my lifelong habit of procrastinating and avoiding tough projects. I’m not perfect and definitely still fritter away time, but now I know a bit more about how to make yourself self-motivated.

But that was just one of a few productivity tips that have completely changed how I work and stay self-motivated. So today I’m sharing one of the essential articles that has changed my life–it’s from one of my all-time favorite writers, Leo Babuata of Zen Habits.

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How to make yourself self-motivated: the Zen Habits way

Zen Habits is amazing because it’s different–just look at the main page, and you’re instantly struck by how it doesn’t look like anything else online. No ads, no images, no lists of posts, very few links, and no social media icons. It’s quiet in a noisy world. And it’s a great reminder that, yes, the design of your author website matters, but it also has to fit you. Different can be powerful.

Leo is the bestselling writer of The Power of Less and many other books. He also has a unique business model as a writer. He tried the growth and monetization strategies others were using but found they weren’t jibing with his minimalist values. So he uncopyrighted his blog posts (more on that here), pulled all his ads, and refocused on helping his readers, rather than only growing traffic.

He moved his business model to one of building value for his readers, so that now they directly support his business by buying his books and classes. And now he doesn’t have to rely on third parties, like advertisers, to support his business. (Here’s a closer look at how to build an engaged readership for your writing.)

It’s a great business model for any writer who wants to a build a small but mighty audience and make a living as a writer. But first–before you can get to all that–we have to figure out how to make ourselves put our butts in our chairs and work, right?

Once you learn how to make yourself self-motivated, new projects will feel less intimidating and more exciting, and you’ll be surprised how much you can get done in one day.

How to Make Yourself Self-Motivated

Originally titled How To Make Yourself Do Work; written by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

“One of the biggest problems you need to solve if you work for yourself is how to make yourself do work.

The best entrepreneurs have figured it out and just pound out the work they need to do.

But many others put off their dream careers, or stay in jobs they like, because they’re afraid to figure this out. Being in a job, or staying in college, means that you have someone else imposing work and deadlines on you, and you’ll get fired (or dropped from school) if you don’t do the work. So you put off doing the work until you can’t anymore because of the fear of being fired.

What does this say about us? It’s saying that we can’t trust ourselves enough to figure out how to motivate ourselves. I know, because I was in this boat for many years. It wasn’t until I started to learn to solve this problem that I found the courage to work for myself.

It’s solvable. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. And you can do it just as much as I can — I’m no superman, trust me. I feel lazy, I procrastinate, I fear failure, just like anyone else. But I’ve learned a few things that work for me.

What works for you will be different, but here are some ideas I use that might help:

1. Show up. If you need to write, the main thing you need to do is just to sit down in front of your text editor. If you start cleaning the house, or watch some videos, or read stuff online, to put off the moment when you have to start to write, then you’re never going to write. Instead, show up. The rest will come.
2. Think about who you’re helping. Sure, there’s a lot of fear involved in doing hard work. But when you look at the fear you’re only looking at the downside. What about the upside? By showing up and working, you’re going to help someone. I think about readers who might need what I have learned. But sometimes you’re just helping yourself, building a new career or business. And that’s OK — you’re a person deserving of that help, and that’s a worthy endeavor.
3. Ruthlessly carve out the space. You’re too busy? Bullshit. Make the time if it’s important. Stop watching TV, reading news, browsing things online, looking at social media, saying yes to other people’s requests, going to lunches, get out of being the head of those committees, whatever. Carve out the time. Put it on your calendar daily and make it happen. Make that time sacred, and don’t let anything interfere. You have to be incredibly ruthless to make this happen, but you can do it.
4. Do the smallest possible step. Yes, I mean smallest possible. That doesn’t mean, “Write the first section of that report” … it means, “Go to your computer and open a document”. Or “Get up off the couch”. Or “Write one word”. Call that a success. Trust me, if you can take that first tiny step, the next step is a little easier. Get over the initial hurdle by making that hurdle as low as possible, and then keep clearing really easy hurdles until you’re an unstoppable force of nature. [add my link here]
5. Let yourself feel the fear. We tend to not want to be afraid, and so we think about anything else. We don’t admit the fear to ourselves until we have to. Well, it’s time — you have to. Admit that you’re afraid, and see that that’s OK. We’re all afraid. I certainly am, all the time. It’s perfectly OK to be afraid — let yourself feel it. Be open to the feeling of fear, be present with it, really experience it. See where it’s coming from. What scenarios have you imagined that cause you to be afraid? Are those scenarios real? What would you do if they happened? Could you survive? I bet you could.
6. Commit to others. Social motivation is probably the most powerful motivation there is. If you’re having trouble, ask a friend for help. Ask for some accountability. Give yourself a consequence if you fail. Don’t fail.

You can do this.

You can make yourself work even if you’re afraid.

You can ruthlessly make the time, take the smallest step, feel the fear and overcome it, find inspiration in the people you’re going to help. You can show up.

I believe in you.”

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Read this piece on how to make yourself self-motivated on Zen Habits here, and check out Leo’s books and courses here!

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What I’m Reading This Week

7 Ways I’m Minimizing Decision Fatigue in My Daily Life (Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy): The best thing I ever did to minimize decision fatigue was adopt a capsule wardrobe. And since we’re talking about how to make yourself self-motivated, here’s a bonus tip: try to think less about what matters least. Save that brain power for The Big Things That Matter.

13 Common, Clunky Sentence Structures That Weaken Your Writing (Dana Sitar for The Write Life): Oh, I hear these all the time. And I’m hopelessly guilty of many of them.

It’s Dinner, Put Down Your Phone. Yes, You. (Mari Uyehara for Bon Appetit): As Uyehara writes, “Something has got to change in the way we bring phones to the dinner table.” Amen. Most of us already spend 1/3 of our existence (an 8-hour workday) face-first to a computer screen and phone. So lately I’ve been trying hard not to automatically reach for my phone when I’m bored or have a Google-able question, and instead, try to focus on being in one place at a time. “Try” is the key word there.

What about you–are you for or against phone use at the table? You all loved my read-more, scroll-less post on Instagram this week, so maybe you’re feeling just as screen-weary as I am?

Meet the Designers Behind Your Favorite Book Covers (Alexxa Gotthardt for Artsy): There are stunning covers in this piece, and it’s always fun to see a shoutout to John Gall of Abrams Books.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Gives Out 100 Millionth Free Book (Jenna Amatulli for The Huffington Post): “Parton established Imagination Library in honor of her illiterate father in 1995 in Sevier Country, Tennessee, where she grew up. The program donates books to families once a month, and will do so from a child’s birth to age 5.” This makes my heart happy.

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What We’re Eating This Week

I shared this on Instagram last week (follow me there!) but I just got a copy of Shaya by Alon Shaya and am thinking about one thing, and one thing only: his Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Whipped Goat Cheese. We had it when we went to Shaya in New Orleans a few years ago, and now it is a thing of lore and legend and creamy, creamy goat cheese. Mmm.

Here’s what else is happening (please calibrate expectations):

Sunday: Burrito bowls, because I needed something that didn’t require using my brain. New cookbook idea: Brain-less Recipes: For Those Nights When You Can’t Think.

Monday: Fried Chicken with Za’atar and Schmaltzy Potatoes from Shaya. My crowning achievement; I shall now retire to a quiet country life.

Tuesday: I’m in NYC, so wiping my hands clean of this whole dinner thing.

Wednesday: Amtrak food. God help us all.

Thursday: I did say I was retired, right?

Friday: Taking ourselves out to eat, because we earned it after all our healthy home-cooking this week. Ha.

Cheers!