Motivating yourself can be hard, especially when the weather has turned cold and all you want to do is lie under your covers for the extra five minutes you have to spare. However, when our lives seem unendurable, like there is not enough hours in a day, we have to remember: time stops for no one. Whether you want to stay in bed today or not, life will go on and your responsibilities will still have deadlines. Finding effective ways to motivate yourself can be stressful, nonetheless, it is a must if you want to stay on top of the world. Below are some tips and tricks I use to help me stay on track each day.

Take Care of Your Health

This includes getting enough sleep at night, exercising, eating right and drinking enough water in the day. This will help your body replenish itself to keep you refreshed and energized. Health is not only an important for your day to day living, it helps with concentration and motivation.

Make a To-Do List

This may seem silly, however, writing down what you need to do throughout the day will help you stay on track. And if you’re like me, being able to cross each item of the list will make you feel like you’re on top of your game.

Do it Now, Not in Five

I have a tendency to say “I’m going to do this at four and this at five, so I can take a nap now.” But, if I continue to push things off so I can lay around and be cozy like a bug in a rug, I will never get anything accomplished. It’s better to get your tasks done first so you can mozy around the rest of the evening.

Pep Talks, Breathing, & Rewards

Give yourself a pep talk and you’ll be able to conquer the world..Okay, so maybe it won’t help you take over the world but it will help you today in whatever you need to accomplish. When you find yourself overwhelmed, take a step back, breathe and tell yourself you’ll get a reward if you concentrate for “x” amount of  minutes. My personal favorite is for every five pages I read, I get to play on my phone for just as long. 

It’s All About the Small Victories

I feel like as humans, we forget we aren’t programmed like robots to have all the answers. We need sleep, food and interaction to survive; taking breaks to do those things are definitely needed. Don’t get down on yourself because you only got six out of the ten “to-do’s.” Celebrate the six you have completed and start the next four from there.