Action leads to motivation, this is one of the tricks I've always advised clients to use.
If you're willing to do just 5 minutes of the work, regardless of how you feel at any moment, you can ignite the hidden power of commitment and consistency which gives you more fuel to continue the task for another 30 minutes.
Instead of "trying to get motivated", taking action and just doing the first small action step will bring you motivation.
However, I've recently heard about this interesting integrative motivational theory called Temporal Motivation Theory.
Basically, it's a theoretical equation that purports to explain everything about motivation.
The formula is that motivation equals to (Expectancy times Value), divided by (Impulsiveness times Delay).
Put it simply, there are 4 factors that we can use to increase our motivation.
#1 Expectancy
Expectancy, or self-efficacy, is how likely you think you will succeed in a particular goal.
The easier you think you can handle something, the more you expect to succeed, the more confidence you are, the higher the motivation you have.
#2 Value
Value is the reward associated with the outcome, it's how much the result means to you.
The more valuable we perceive the result to be (maybe because of the pleasure or meaning you're going to get out of it), the higher the motivation we do the thing.
#3 Impulsiveness
Impulsiveness is how good we are at withstanding distractions, disruptions or interruptions which get us off track.
The better we can "say no" to these temptations using our willpower and habits, the higher the motivation we have to follow through the action.
#4 Delay
Delay is the amount of time until the outcome realizes (i.e. the deadline). It means how far into the future will the reward or outcome lies.
For example, at the beginning of a school term, students' motivations are not high because there's a long delay before the deadline (aka. exam) comes, therefore the reward of studying is not immediate and it has low value.
But when students have only a few days to prepare the exams, because of the short delay and the higher perceived value, the motivation will shoot up to the roof.
Assuming this equation is correct, how can we apply it in our lives?
To put it in a simple sentence, you'll want to set easy achievable short-term goals with a deadline to it, cut off all distractions possible, dominate it and then nicely reward yourself when completed.
The key is to have an imminent deadline so that you have that "last-minute rush" feeling like the students so that you are compelled to focus intensely during that short period.
With that said, do you feel an urge to stop reading so much about motivation and start doing just 5 minutes of the work you've been procrastinating on? (Yes, I do mind read.)
Anyhow, go crush that thing and I'll see you in a bit!
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