How to stay focussed and motivated all day?
My personal mantra to manage energy
Consistency!! It is a common word which we all use while talking about success. We all know consistency is the key to success.
We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day. -Richard G. Scott
We understand the concept of consistency and we have heard a ton of quotes related to it. Okay, just kidding!! I only know one and I had to google the other one.
We know the key to success, but implementing it is not an easy task. We set the goals. We also make a strategy to follow to reach the set goal. During the honeymoon period, we are 100% engaged and excited. But then after a while, the newness starts to wear off. Our focus and motivation tend to fade. Unfortunately, this honeymoon period, in some cases is only for 2–3 days.
I saw this pattern happening with me. Sometimes even if I reached the goal, I did not enjoy the process as I was not able to manage the energy and be consistent. When you are not consistent, it takes more energy to restart a task to overcome the inertia, which makes the experience unenjoyable. It becomes more like a cycle. You expend more energy and you do not enjoy it, so you stop doing it. Then you realise that it is important for you and to start it again you have to spend more energy.
We already know the solution to this problem but we are just not aware of it or given a thought about it. People who are aware of this are leading a world-class life. When I read the book The 5 AM Club, I started following some rituals. Then bam!! I had the solution. The key to managing energies is to follow rituals. The rituals can be daily, weekly, or monthly.
Here are my top 3 favourite rituals which help me in managing my energy and staying focused:
Reading books
This is my most favourite daily ritual. Helps me boost my day. It recharges my brain for the day. I enjoy reading both fiction and non-fiction. No matter which book, it is one of the best habits to cultivate. Do not forget that Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.
Weekly planning
This one is my favourite weekly ritual. It gives a sense of accomplishment to look at the tasks completed during the previous week and come up with a plan for the upcoming week. I generally do it on a Sunday night. I feel weekly planning is a must as it gives a big picture of what is happening and also makes it possible to schedule things that are important to you and not only urgent. There are a ton of tools that we could use for weekly planning but I am a little old school on this and I prefer writing it in a book and on a board so it is always in front of my eyes and also keeps me motivated.
I try to put in tasks from all the different areas of life which I feel are important to me. For example to learn something new in finance, personality development, learning a skill, self-care, Netflix and chill, etc. There is a saying, Either you run the day or the day runs you. This way I am not letting my day rule me and I am consciously making decisions on how and where to spend my time.
Self-Care
This is my favourite bi-weekly ritual. Giving time to yourself is extremely important. It is good to pause and do nothing. You could list out all the activities that make you happy and start doing them as a part of self-care. My personal favourite is to just light a candle, sit in peace and reflect. And sometimes if I feel fancy, I switch on some music.
Tip: To keep yourself motivated all through the day, keep something visual related to your goals, vision, or purpose that motivates you, in front of you. For me, it is a tattoo that is my mantra and my source of motivation.
Disclaimer: Please do not expect your life to change after doing the rituals for 1–2 days. Just start doing them religiously. And then when you least expect it, you start to see your life improving.
Thank you for reading!! If you haven’t already done it, plan your rituals. I would love to hear about your journey or your rituals. Feel free to leave a comment below.
