Want to know the secrets to how to get motivated and get things done? Well, before that, we have to acknowledge that we all have those moments—days when the to-do list seems miles long, and even getting out of bed feels like a Herculean effort.
Sometimes, the sheer thought of starting a task makes you tired.
However, achieving your goals—from simple everyday tasks to bigger life dreams—requires a certain spark: motivation. But what is motivation, and more importantly, how do we get it when it feels like it’s gone missing?
Learning how to get motivated and get things done isn’t about some magic formula, though. It’s about understanding the psychology of motivation, the unique factors that influence your personal drive, and adopting practical strategies that fit your life and goals.
Think about it like this: Motivation isn’t a constant state of being. It comes and goes.
Understanding Motivation: Why We Get Stuck and How to Break Free
Let’s start understanding why we can’t stay motivated at all times. Or, why is it so hard sometimes to get moving? You’ve set goals, you have dreams, and you logically know that taking action is the way to achieve them.
However, you just can’t seem to muster the energy to start, or maybe you start strong and then lose motivation halfway through. It’s like being stuck in a swamp and trying to pull yourself out by your own hair. So, how do we break free from this feeling?
1. Fear of Failure: The Silent Motivation Killer
Fear of failure can make a promising opportunity feel too risky to pursue. This hesitation appeared in a 2024 global survey, where 47% of people who recognized a good business opportunity still said fear of failure could prevent them from acting, nearly 12% higher than the 42% recorded in 2019. Put simply, out of 100 people who spot a worthwhile opportunity, about 47 may hold back because they worry it will fail.
Similarly, we start to question our abilities, overthink the challenges, and hesitate to take those first steps. Instead of focusing on what we want to achieve, we worry about what might go wrong.
To combat fear-induced demotivation, practice self-compassion. Remind yourself that mistakes and setbacks are part of any journey worth pursuing. Instead of seeing failure as an endpoint, reframe it as a learning opportunity, a chance to course-correct and try again.
Goal setting can help you get back on track.
Everyone makes mistakes, including highly successful people – what separates those who achieve their goals from those who don’t is resilience.
2. Wrong Goals, Wrong Direction: When What You Want Doesn’t Inspire You
Setting goals may sound obvious, but a major factor in losing motivation is working toward the wrong goals.
Goals set by others—whether family, society, or your employer—don’t necessarily align with your values and aspirations. Maybe you’re trying to be someone you’re not—chasing dreams that aren’t actually yours.
Take a deep breath and reassess. Are you chasing achievements that align with what truly matters to you, or are you striving for something that ultimately doesn’t make you feel good?
Don’t be afraid to pivot, adjust your goals, and realign your efforts with your true passions. When you work toward meaningful goals, the journey becomes rewarding and helps with staying motivated.
On the other hand, social influence can sometimes steer you in the wrong direction, but your intrinsic motivation is key to long-term success.
3. Overwhelm: When the Goal Feels Too Big, Break It Down
Ambitious goals can create direction and motivation, but their size may make the first step feel difficult. This is why dividing a large project into shorter targets can make progress easier to manage.
Small steps in your daily routine are crucial for staying on course. This can also help overcome laziness. In a field experiment involving 9,108 volunteers, breaking a 200-hour annual commitment into weekly or two-week goals increased completed volunteer hours by 8% over 12 weeks.
For example, an 8% improvement on 100 hours of planned work would equal eight extra hours of progress.
If you want to complete a big task, try using the Pomodoro technique—working in intervals, setting a timer, focusing for 25 minutes, and then taking a five-minute break.
Instead of staring at a giant task and feeling like a mouse facing a mountain, you’re facing a series of small hills—the small steps or tasks—you can easily climb, boosting your motivation with each completed task.
4. Lack of Control: Reclaim Your Autonomy and Ownership
In environments where we feel micromanaged or like our actions have no impact, our motivation naturally plummets. Humans thrive on autonomy—a sense of ownership over what they do and how they do it.
To keep feeling motivated, find ways to inject more freedom into your process, even in a structured workplace.
If you feel micro-managed at work, talk to your boss. Explore options for greater flexibility— working remotely one day a week, having more input in project planning, or even re-prioritizing tasks on your to-do list.
Look at what you’re doing from a larger perspective—understand why what you do is important to your job or business and its impact on others, especially customers.
Seeing that impact keeps us intrinsically motivated, turning monotonous tasks into opportunities to add value and achieve goals as part of something bigger than ourselves.
5. Neglecting Your Well-being: Motivation Needs a Healthy Foundation
It’s a mistake to think about motivation solely as a mental game. Physical and mental health are deeply intertwined. Neglecting one sabotages the other.
If you’re struggling with poor sleep, constantly stressed, skipping meals, or haven’t had a proper vacation in years, your motivation will be sluggish.
Prioritize taking care of yourself—eating well, getting enough sleep, taking breaks during the day, and exercising. Incorporate stress management techniques—maybe start with a simple 10-minute meditation each morning.
Treat these things like essential appointments on your schedule, not optional afterthoughts. It’s not about pampering yourself—it’s about creating the healthy foundation needed for sustainable motivation and, of course, mental health care.
Taking baby steps, such as those suggested in this WebMD guide, can have a big impact on your mental well-being. Even short breaks spent outdoors can boost your mood and help you become extrinsically motivated.
In a 2020 Nature Neuroscience study, scientists discovered that the variety we encounter in our daily environments triggers positive emotions.
Thus, consider combining work tasks with enjoyable activities in your daily routine. For instance, working on that presentation while sitting in a cafe or brainstorming new ideas while walking may help you find motivation.
5 Practical Ways to Learn How to Get Motivated and Get Things Done
Now that we have a better understanding of the motivational pitfalls, we need strategies to get us unstuck when we feel unmotivated. Here are some practical tactics that make a real difference when you’re figuring out how to get motivated and get things done:
1. Tap Into the Power of External Rewards
Sometimes, even when our goals are intrinsically motivating, it helps to have some external “carrots” to keep us engaged. Don’t dismiss the importance of small rewards. Instead, think of these rewards as celebrations sprinkled throughout your journey.
Imagine a runner striving to complete a marathon—celebrating the 10-mile and 20-mile marks helps them stay energized and optimistic for the rest of the race. These mini-milestones build momentum, keeping us going, especially during the arduous middle part of any big project.
An uncertain reward can sometimes make pursuing a goal feel more exciting. This effect appeared in an experiment with 87 participants, in which 70% completed a difficult water-drinking task for a mystery reward of $1 or $2, compared with 43% when offered a guaranteed $2, resulting in a completion rate about 63% higher. For example, choosing one of two sealed rewards after five workouts may feel more motivating than receiving the same prize every time.
While this might seem illogical, we are wired for anticipation—those small bursts of positive feelings can outweigh the knowledge that we are guaranteed a prize. Maybe it’s that thrill of chasing an unpredictable outcome that energizes us.
2. Use Visual Reminders: Keep Your Goals Top of Mind
Out of sight, out of mind is the motto for a messy room, not for your goals. Visual cues help us stay on track.
Feeling unmotivated?
Create visual reminders to help you stay motivated and get things done. You can either print out inspiring images or motivational quotes and place them on your workspace. Or build a mood board. Positive affirmations can also help.
Seeing a physical embodiment of your goals each day keeps those ambitions fresh and rekindles your enthusiasm. Setting reminders in your digital calendar is equally valuable, especially when tackling unpleasant tasks like an exercise routine, making time for habit change, or even learning some time management strategies.
Don’t just schedule meetings and appointments—block time to work on specific, achievable goals and projects. Start small, and don’t worry if it’s not perfect. What matters is being flexible about it.
Even vaguely outlined daily schedules remind us of those intentions, ensuring they don’t get buried in the chaos of the day. This method can boost your motivation level and help maintain good life-changing habits over the long term.
3. Focus on Progress: Track Small Wins, Big Wins, and Everything in Between
Did you know that regularly reviewing progress toward our goals drastically increases our chances of success? Research has shown that monitoring progress fuels motivation by creating a sense of momentum and accomplishment, reminding you of how much you’ve already done rather than just what still needs to be done.
Tools such as Monday.com are highly beneficial for effectively tracking and measuring progress. Celebrate those small wins and those larger ones as you accomplish each task on your list – treat them as fuel for future endeavors.
The mere act of marking something off our to-do list gives us a tiny but satisfying feeling of success. For larger achievements, such as completed projects or successfully delivered big presentations, positive affirmations and self-talk can boost your motivation and help you build small routines that contribute to long-term success.
What I do to celebrate those successes meaningfully is treat myself to dinner or a short trip, and I consider it a reward for the effort I expended. Especially these days, doing so helps me maintain a healthy work-life balance and practice self-care to avoid burnout.
However, if you’re having a hard time, consider seeking a mental health professional to help manage stress and provide positive support.
4. Seek Accountability and Support: You Don’t Have to Do It
Did you know that sharing our goals increases our chances of success? You may wonder why, but accountability keeps us from backing down. What you can do is to announce your goal: Tell friends and family, post it on social media, whatever motivates you.
There’s something about making a public commitment that makes us want to keep our word. And especially if we have positive people around us, cheering or simply knowing what we’re aiming for, gives a sense of shared responsibility.
The result? It prevents us from quitting at the first sign of trouble!
Also, consider finding a mentor. However, it’d be best to have someone who has walked a similar path and understands those challenges. Thus, seek out individuals with a history of setting and achieving challenging goals.
It could be a colleague who has risen through the ranks at your company, an entrepreneur who has built a successful business, or even a friend who has managed to transform their lifestyle.
A conversation with someone you admire can uncover practical ideas and give you a clearer standard to work toward. That influence also appears among coworkers, as a 2022 call-center study found that every 10% rise in colleagues’ current productivity was associated with a 5.3% increase in an employee’s own output. For example, someone completing 100 tasks might finish about five more after working with a stronger-performing group.
5. Focus: One Thing at a Time is Better Than Many Things Poorly Done
Handling several demanding tasks at once may feel efficient, but your attention often shifts between them rather than staying fully engaged with all of them. That hidden cost appeared in a 2024 experiment with 108 adults, where changing problem-solving methods slowed responses by about 103 milliseconds, roughly 3% of the average response time.
For example, 100 similar switches would add about 10 seconds of delay before counting mistakes or the time needed to rebuild focus. Complete one meaningful task at a time and handle messages, emails, and smaller requests in separate blocks.
Think of this concept in terms of muscle groups—you can’t do bicep curls, tricep extensions, squats, and lunges simultaneously without sacrificing good form and compromising your overall results.
By giving a single task your full focus, you do it better and quicker and complete those tasks sooner, leaving more time for other endeavors.
FAQs
This sounds silly, but how do I make more time?
You don’t. There are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We all get the same amount of time.
What you can do is to look at how you spend your time. You probably spend a lot of time scrolling through social media or watching videos. That’s time you could be using to work on your side hustle. Evenings and weekends are great for this. This is how you make “more” time.
I’m not motivated. How do I get motivated to work on my side hustle?
Motivation follows action. You won’t feel like doing anything until you actually start doing it. Just pick one thing to work on and do it. Once you get started, you’ll find it’s easier to keep going.
Or think about your “why.” Why did you start a side hustle? What are your goals? Write them down and put them where you can see them every day.
What if I fail?
Everyone fails sometimes. It’s part of the process. Failure is how we learn and grow. Thus, don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying. Learn from it, adjust your approach, and keep going.
Conclusion
If I could offer one overarching insight on how to get motivated and get things done, it’s this: motivation is personal and fluid. What works for you today might be useless next month or utterly different from what works for a close friend facing a similar challenge.
Moreover, don’t get stuck in a rut. If we let motivational roadblocks define our journey, they’ll feel like dead ends.
Instead, view low motivation not as a personality flaw but rather as feedback—a sign that we need to adjust, change course, and look at our goals from a fresh perspective. And this approach allows you to turn challenges into learning opportunities.
Most importantly, the rewards are real—more extraordinary accomplishments and deeper satisfaction, both in the journey and the destination we eventually reach. This is the true power of unlocking our potential: to become people who achieve what we truly set our hearts on.
Sources
- Photos: Unsplash: Sovannkiry Sim
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. (2025). GEM 2024/2025 global report: Entrepreneurship reality check. https://gemconsortium.org/report/gem-20242025-global-report-entrepreneurship-reality-check-4
- Harvard Business School. (2022). A field experiment on subgoal framing to boost volunteering: The trade-off between goal granularity and flexibility. https://www.hbs.edu/ris/download.aspx?name=A+field+experiment+on+subgoal+framing+to+boost+volunteering.pdf
- Mental Health Foundation. (2022). Physical health and mental health. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/physical-health-and-mental-health
- WebMD. (2024). Make big changes with small steps. https://www.webmd.com/balance/big-changes-small-steps
- Nature Neuroscience. (2020). Association between real-world experiential diversity and positive affect relates to hippocampal–striatal functional connectivity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-0636-4
- Chicago Booth Review. (2015). Uncertainty can improve motivation. https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/uncertainty-can-improve-motivation
- The Decision Lab. (n.d.). Motivating-uncertainty effect. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/motivating-uncertainty-effect
- IZA Institute of Labor Economics. (2022). Peer effects in the workplace: A network approach. https://www.iza.org/en/publications/dp/15131/peer-effects-in-the-workplace-a-network-approach
- Scientific Reports. (2024). Switching between different cognitive strategies induces switch costs as evidenced by switches between manual and mental object rotation. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-56836-2
