I recently stumbled across an article about procrastination. The article lays out five easy steps for trying to motivate yourself to reach a goal:

• Choose a goal. The article recommends starting with one goal, and trying something that is relatively simple. If you go through this process with an easily attainable goal, you’re more likely to try it again with more complicated goals. The article also advocates setting aside time that is to be used only for thinking of your goals. You are not to take any actions towards those goals at this time; this is “thinking time” only. Finally, try writing your goal in strong, “affirmative” language, like “I WILL do ….” rather than “I want to do ….”

• Research what you need to accomplish your goal. Try to write down all of the materials or resources you will need and steps you will take.

• Create deadlines for yourself and enforce them. Divide your overall goal up into manageable steps and set mini-deadlines for each of them. It’s important to find ways to make the steps towards your goals concrete. Some people find it useful to share their goals with family, friends or on a blog. You can also set reminders for yourself on a calendar or smartphone. Experiment with ways to hold yourself accountable for your deadlines. If you chose to share them with a friend or family member, you could ask that person to either reward or punish you for meeting or not meeting the deadline. You can see if you respond better to the threat of a punishment or the joy of a reward. You might also want to think about different types of punishments or rewards, based on your own personal preferences.

• Make time for yourself. Map out specific times during every day that you will work on reaching your goal, and don’t schedule anything else during that time. Again, using a calendar or smartphone app might be useful. The article suggests that even fifteen minutes per day is enough.

• Get started. Simple enough, right? While all of the planning mentioned in the aforementioned steps is important, make sure you don’t get so burned out thinking about your goals that you don’t actually start working towards them.

These steps are delightfully straightforward, but as a therapist I know that motivation isn’t always a rational, linear process. If you find yourself struggling to reach a certain goal, there may be reasons other than a lack of planning behind the difficulty. If you find yourself resisting setting or reaching goals, you may want to consider some of the following questions: Are you being honest with yourself about why you want – or don’t want – to fulfill this goal? Are there any potential downfalls to reaching this goal? What do you think would change if you achieved this goal? Do any memories get triggered when you think about this goal? Do you feel pressured to reach this goal by your spouse, your culture, your parents, or another loved one?

Interested in working on your goals, or taking a look at your resistance to reaching them? Call (415) 658-5738 or visit my Appointments page to schedule a consultation.