Blogging on a regular basis takes motivation (and discipline).
By SHelley Widhalm
I fell off the blogging bandwagon last month, skipping my blog for three weeks and feeling guilty about it.
I wrote a blog about this experience but lost it through some stupid copy-and-paste move. I’d written about how I’d failed to blog and also was excited about spring, but got too busy to actually write my blog. I said I thought about my blog late at night but was too tired to pop out of bed to write.
Finding time to blog in the busyness of everything, especially with that lost hour with the transition out of winter, can be difficult. I wrote something about finding the motivation to blog and the steps to go about it.
I wrote how motivation’s opposite is frustration, the result of encountering obstacles to a goal or project—like losing your work. It can be a feeling of being stuck, of not getting anywhere no matter what you try to do. Motivation, on the other hand, is the desire to do something and the drive to carry out a goal. It is what causes you to act.
Finding Motivation
Here are some other thing to do to keep up the motivation to blog, write or do something you feel like you should (or want to) do.
- Remember your original goal or what you want to accomplish.
- Set aside time each day or week, even five minutes at a time, to help you reach the goal.
- Keep track of the steps you take and time you put in toward the goal.
- Realize that setbacks will happen (I wanted to cry when I accidentally deleted what I wrote, but instead I rewrote my blog, even if it might not be the greatest piece of writing).
- Take credit for each accomplishment toward the goal.
- Don’t allow for excuses, at least most of the time.
- Forgive yourself if you get sidetracked or frustrated.
- No matter what, retain the commitment.
What Exactly is Motivation?
I looked it up and found that motivation, which can be intrinsic or extrinsic, has three components, that of:
- Activation, or the decision to initiate a behavior.
- Persistence, the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist.
- Intensity, or the degree of concentration.
The key is to remember the goals and the eventual rewards and that, even with setbacks, things can get crossed off of that to-do list. And maybe you’ll get a like or two or a comment, like the old days of putting things on the fridge.
This is awesome! Glad you didn’t let the loss of your work defeat you. This is great advice on motivation. Something I’ve been searching for to get back in shape. Thank you, Shelley!
Thank you, Cherie. I felt a little frustrated, that is for certain, but then figured I could rewrite it. I hope you get back to writing! –Shelley