How do you motivate yourself?

I do the same ladymuck
Bravo H1954 ... I too have no time for the whinging "Woe is Me" brigade.

I’ve just cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, my reward is a mug of milky coffee, a look at GN, and maybe a chapter or two of my book.

Trouble is, the book reading and GN can stretch out somewhat, so must restrict myself.

Heinz cream of chicken soup.

I pretend that I have been dead for many years and have now been allowed one day back on earth. So I appreciate every single moment. Should I worry for my mental health?

Doing al the jobs before relaxing is the habit of a lifetime for me I dont feel comfortable doing it any other way. When I was at work and when studying for something I always beat the deadlines by a good margin. Then you can have fun with your free time.

My best tip, and I use it at work and for everything else,is to break things down into smaller goals.

Little and often is my motto. Little bit of ironing, little bit of vacuuming. Do the least liked task first. Before you know it, you're back on the patio with a little glass of whatever. Jobs a good'un. ?

I don't need too much motivation for starting a new project such as some sewing but stuff like vacuuming or changing the bedclothes - well, that's another matter.

For the latter I tell myself that the job will only take ten minutes - what's ten minutes out of a day, a week, a year? Nothing. And I also remind myself that I'm grateful to have the wit that it needs to be done. It works well with the bedding but not so good with the vacuuming.

I thank my lucky stars that I actually woke up in the mornings, many don't! I try to do something constructive every day, a bit of gardening, the ironing, some baking, sorting through drawers; that way I can look back on the day and think "job well done" rather than mooching around watching bloody daytime tv!

I also acknowledge, however much pain I'm in or how low I feel, that there's ALWAYS someone else far worse off than me although I have NO sympathy for " Mr & Mrs Woe is me "!

Yes, CorneliaStreet, I used a bunch of old Vogue and Cover Girl from my DD's bookshelf, but it was quite some time ago, and I bet you can use a special program for that, not some glued thin paper fragments. I know there is a Photo collage maker you can use and maybe there are some others. Or use Paint!

I do the same thing Pantglas2 a small treat for a job completed. Delayed gratification also works for me, I don't allow myself to read the next chapter of my book until I have done the job I dislike. Silly things but they help me along the day.

Ask yourself what was the reason for starting in the first place and plod on because it will be worth a job well done. I did however, get enough wool to make a cardigan, it became obvious half way through it would fit an elephant and I would never wear it as I now disliked the colour. I unpicked it and parcelled all the wool up and it's going to the charity shop. I could not be bothered if it's not useful or attractive. I once painstakingly removed a whole room of wood chip, it was a horrible job and took weeks, I felt like giving in but kept on because I knew it would be worth it and it was, but I wouldn't do it again.

CathTheWise, wow! I'm so happy for you!! You daughter gave you a very good advice! I didn't understand the collage part thoughm was it madeout of the pictures from the magazines?

Same with me, ladymuck, I also have my interests runnin circles but sometimes you just need to finish something and you have to time to wait when you ave interest for it again, you know?

My DD reads lots of psychological books and she once gave me a good advice: if you want to achieve something, visualize it first. At that time I was about to leave my workplace but I wasn't sure whether I really had to do it so I postponed it again and again. After discussing it with her, I did a photo collage with pictured of lady who looked like me in some ways sitting in the good office and being very busy with her work, I added a picture of money and a picture of friendly colleagues, etc. Then I looked at it every day and that's how I got the courage to leave my previous job and look for another one. Funny enough, I had a very good office and my colleagues were very nice and friendly! And the salary also was good, so yes, maybe these psychological things do work.

I find my interest goes in cycles. I have periods of knitting, sewing or doing cross stitch. If I lose interest in something, I simply put it aside until the urge to finish it returns.

I’m a rewards kinda girl, so if I’ve got something horrible to do/finish I promise myself a treat, doesn’t have to be big or expensive.