Self-motivation.

[Naph]

How is it achieved. How are you able to do what you necessarily don't want to but have to do.
I've been trying to get myself to do things that would become foreign to my current lifestyle and routine. My first step was to drink at least 1.25L of water per day with regular glasses of water through out. But I flat out forget, or when I do remember, I can't be arsed. I believe that being hydrated would solve a few number of problems and get me ready for some routine exercise.
How do you motivate yourself to do something, I need to learn a few techniques.

 

[Zephos]

Well i can solve the water issue. Just get a massive 1.5L bottle and swig it throughout the day.

 

[Stigmata]

Any time you're not being productive, just say to yourself, "You know what? **** it. I'm not using this energy anyway." Eventually it'll start working.

 

[Dekstar]

I have the same problem with stuff I want to do, but keep finding excuses not to.
"I want to start writing this script, but last night when I said I would, I didn't expect them to ask me to stay on at work, and now I'm knackered and just want to sit and watch tv."

etc.
I guess the first step is, like Stig said, noticing you're being unproductive. At least at that point your brain can make a conscious choice whether to do something or not.

 

[Ren.182]

Try the website myplate. You can use it to track what food you eat and you can press a button for every glass of water you have. A glass will full up with water on the site, so you get a visual representation of how much you're drinking. That kinda helped me drink more water. The food side of it is more detailed though, nice if you want to keep an eye on what you eat too.

 

[Shem]

Think of all the benefits you'll acquire by accomplishing a certain task. Think of all the females you will attain or all the respect you will gain. Think of where you'll be afterwards.

 

[repiV]

In order to go through the sacrifice of making any drastic changes to your lifestyle, you have to really, really want whatever it is you'll achieve at the other end. If you don't want it enough, you won't do it. To a large extent, it's that simple.

The other aspect is that any large change to your routine is extremely uncomfortable at first, but if you force yourself to do it for a couple of months then it soon becomes natural. I'd rather play PC games or go to the pub every night, but because it finally became very important to me to not be a fat bastard, and when I sorted that problem I wanted to be ripped, I lift weights or do martial arts or circuits classes on weeknights instead. Much as I enjoy it, it's a massive imposition on my day to day life and sometimes I can't be bothered but it's important enough to me that I do it anyway. But generally it's just business as usual now, whereas in the early days I had to really force myself to go. It's not a lot different from when you go from school to work and your working day suddenly starts at 8 instead of 9 and finishes at 6 instead of 3, and you get four weeks' holiday instead of four months, that working day is just longer still and you get used to it.

If change is important enough to you, then you'll do what it takes too. If you value your current lifestyle more than whatever it is you want to achieve, then don't bother doing anything. If it's really important to you, then force yourself to do whatever it is you need and soon enough it will just become a part of your daily routine. It's amazing what we're able to adapt to.

 

[StarBob]

I drink about two liters of water everyday in addition to soda with lunch and dinner and morning orange juice. I pee a lot.

 

[Raziaar]

I drink about two liters of water everyday in addition to soda with lunch and dinner and morning orange juice. I pee a lot.

2 litres? Lightweight. The only times I don't drink more than that are the three days a week I work. Hard to drink that much otherwise.

 

[MJ12]

This will seem lame, but the best way is to write up a sort of rewards and point system. Look at your lifestyle and determine the daily things you know you need to get done, then determine the things you want to pursue but are too lazy to get around to. Apply varying points to each action or routine. Once you reach a certain number of "points" reward yourself in some sort of way, even if that reward is just about wasting time or browsing the internet. It will teach you to pursue things you always talk about but never actually do.

Basic example-

1000 = 2 hrs of freetime/time to waste/time to play video games, whatever


125 Waking up at 7 AM
200 One hour of personal study/practice of a hobby or goal
125 One hour of exercise
75 Eating a healthy meal
125 One hour of cleaning/keeping house clean/organized
100 One Hour of Reading
125 Avoiding impulse spending

I think stuff like this can really work if you take some time to put together a reasonable list with a reasonable number of points allocated to each thing. You just have to tailor it to your own living situation.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Having a constant reminder can help. Get a small whiteboard, hang it next to your desk and jot down whatever you want to get done that day. Same sort of deal as what others have already suggested basically, just another way of going about it.

For water, just having a bottle and filling it regularly could work. I don't bother keeping track of how much I drink any more, I just make sure that it's always near me and never empty.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

You make it worth the reward. If you're not going to really be or feel all that healthier by drinking more water, you'll have trouble doing it. If you make it part of a bigger overall health overhaul, then it's easier to remember the little things because they're part of a large whole. And you'll actually see tangible results/reward. You (usually) have to feel rewarded (at least somewhat) to continue being motivated by something.

 

[Robbo]

For me it was being honest about what was stopping me from doing what I wanted to do.
For ages I couldn't motivate myself to get any homework or study done, I literally coasted through 12 years of school and 3 years of uni getting B's or 70's while doing only the bare minimum. Last semester I finally admitted that my problem was all the distractions I have at home so I made a point of always getting to uni by 10am every day no matter what classes I had on. I did way better than I had when I tried to set up study rooms at home or take away the stuff I would end up doing.

Just be honest about what is stopping you from doing what you want then fix that. Get people to help you if you need it but dont rely on them.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Believe it or not, one way I got to doing things was using Nike's line: Just do it.

 

[Eejit]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day But yeah if you like...

 

[Naph]

I'm going to try having a bottle with me at most times and never have it empty. Maybe this will stop the headaches and nausea after work.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Hey what was that thing about plastic bottles last time this came up in a thread? Raziaar was saying something about it like the material leaks into the water eventually or something. I'm using plastic ones at the moment, I just replace it every other week.

 

[Naph]

The expire date on the bottle is what to go by. But reused plastic bottles tend to change the flavour of the water.

 

[MJ12]

Hey what was that thing about plastic bottles last time this came up in a thread? Raziaar was saying something about it like the material leaks into the water eventually or something. I'm using plastic ones at the moment, I just replace it every other week.

Don't use plastic bottles. They are a massive waste and also detrimental to your health even if you are cracking open a new bottle. I don't consider myself a huge enviro-hippy but I simply refuse to purchase bottled water because they are just horrible clutter for the planet (Not to mention a dozen other reasons I hate them, including the fact that people have been suckered into buying water). Just get one of those metal refillable bottles that are so fashionable right now or a BPA free bottle and refill your water. They are cheap and sturdy as heck. If you want to be even coolerer, you can reuse a glass water bottle if you're not worried about breaking it.

 

[Vegeta897]

Raziaar was saying something about it like the material leaks into the water eventually or something.

Yep. Like glass, clear plastic is actually just an extremely slow-moving liquid.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Don't use plastic bottles. They are a massive waste and also detrimental to your health even if you are cracking open a new bottle. I don't consider myself a huge enviro-hippy but I simply refuse to purchase bottled water because they are just horrible clutter for the planet (Not to mention a dozen other reasons I hate them, including the fact that people have been suckered into buying water). Just get one of those metal refillable bottles that are so fashionable right now or a BPA free bottle and refill your water. They are cheap and sturdy as heck. If you want to be even coolerer, you can reuse a glass water bottle if you're not worried about breaking it.

BPA isn't really that big of a deal. It's all hype. I currently work in an environment with BPA products all day every day (receipt paper industry)

 

[StarBob]

BPA isn't really that big of a deal. It's all hype. I currently work in an environment with BPA products all day every day (receipt paper industry)

Yeah but why risk it when you can get a BPA free container for very little? I got a 1 liter one that's pretty much invincible for like $8 a couple of years ago. Plus you don't have to fill it as much as you would smaller bottles. I save retarded amounts of money not buying bottles of water as well since I use my brita filter at home so my water tastes a little less like asshole. Generally if you get yourself in a routine and spend a little money it will motivate you more. When you buy something, you're generally motivated to use it. Like if you buy exercise equipment you want to exercise more. Then you just get in a habit.