Jeff Davidson - 60 Second Solutions. Motivation

Real glory springs from the silent conquest of ourselves.

Joseph P. Thompson

In todays ultra-competitive work environment, it is the individual who is able to display initiative who will be successful. He who can motivate himself to get started on a project and remains focused to see it through to its end will advance more rapidly in his career. The good news is, that person could be you.

motivate

to be inspired to take action

If you recognize yourself in any of the statements below, then 60 Second Solutions Motivation is the book for you:

• You find it difficult to get started on projects that you know to be important
• You spend too much time on periphery tasks
• Youre late returning important forms
• Youve missed out applying for the perfect job because your CV is still waiting to be updated
• You keep putting off making a will
• You often buy your greetings cards from the belated section
• You shop for Christmas presents on Christmas Eve
• You have drawers and cupboards that you have been meaning to organize
• You actually begin some projects after the deadline has passed

the inability to get started affects business executives, entrepreneurs, homemakers, retirees, students, and everyone in between

Behaviours such as those described above are typical signs of procrastination, the act of putting off something until a later time, either by not starting a task or by not finishing one youve started.

Individuals who procrastinate often see themselves as unproductive and lazy. They may feel anxious and ineffectual, and they have a tendency to give up too easily and too soon. They can experience guilt at their lack of action and frustration at their inability to get on. All too often, they are perfectionists, with an accentuated need for autonomy and approval, and they may have an exaggerated fear of failure. Prolonged procrastination can diminish their sense of self-worth and self-esteem, and low self-confidence will dissuade them from taking on tasks that they worry they might not be able to complete.

look out for signs of procrastination and break the habits before they have a chance to form

To maximize your potential, you need to be on the lookout for signs of procrastination and break the habits before they have a chance to form. When you persistently check your email instead of completing a project, you are procrastinating; when you let progress on lower-level tasks get in the way of higher-level projects, you are procrastinating; when you put off till tomorrow or even next week, next month, next year what you could do today, you are procrastinating. If you allow it to, procrastination will diminish your experience of the present. Take as an example this scenario: you bring work home over the weekend, but you never look at it; meanwhile, knowing you intended to handle it, you decline to participate in leisure activities that would have actually contributed to a better frame of mind. Procrastination can put not only your career, but also your life, on hold.

The many distractions we face both at home and at work are often responsible for our failure to motivate ourselves to begin a task. If you own a computer, more information is available to you in a day than you could process in a week, a month or even a year. The simple act of communicating alone is diverting enough. At your workstation you face constant interruptions from email, Facebook messages and the latest excuse available to you for not getting things done instant messaging (IM). Many professionals have become addicted to IMs, which are instantaneous and persistent; an IM flashes reminders on the screen like an itch waiting to be scratched.

The modern office is not an easy place to work in, and the widespread installation of cubicles creates an environment that is rife with noisy distractions from fellow workers, which does little to help the individual whose powers of concentration are already strained. Too many office environments today actually contribute to procrastination and a decline in productivity.

whether you believe you can or believe you cant, youre probably right

When your working environment makes it so difficult for you to stay focused, it is no wonder that you may give in to your fear of failure and put off tasks that you are concerned you may not be able to complete successfully. But how do you know if you never try? Whether you believe you can or believe you cant, youre probably right, so you need to identify what obstacles could potentially interfere with your success, and plan ahead for them. Simply accomplishing one goal achieving a small win can give you the resolve to tackle others, making you more confident in your ability to succeed.

the solutions are on-the-spot strategies to get you motivated

Nearly 30 years ago, a spate of one minute this and one minute that books began appearing, the most popular being Blanchard and Johnsons The One Minute Manager. Building on the one-minute theme, this book offers 60 solid solutions (one for each minute in an hour) for becoming and remaining productive. The book is divided into six parts, with ten solutions offered in each section.

We start with the basics: adopt the right mindset, adopt more productive behaviours. These fundamentals, which have proven to be effective, build the foundation of easily initiated techniques, attitudes and actions that help keep most work and life challenges under control. From there, youll find a variety of techniques ranging from the profound to the provocative. I think youll be pleased to discover that none of the solutions are of the just do it variety. If one solution doesnt work for you, another will.

Unquestionably and necessarily, many of the solutions offered are contradictory; for example, some advise tackling the tough issues first, while others recommend getting started on the easy things. We are all different and what works for one may not motivate another. You will also find that a strategy that proves effective today may lose potency over time, and you then have to try another approach. So, depending on the task at hand, your energy on any given day and a host of other factors too numerous to mention, one strategy will work well for you, yet sometimes just the opposite may prove more effective. The common denominator of all of the techniques is that they will help you quickly break through logjams when it comes to starting on important tasks.