Check out this article from N.Y. Times talking about the challenges we face getting our tasks done during our workday. Part of the article describes an employer’s wish to cut off the Internet access to stop time-wasting activities on the web. Obviously, anyone who is reading this blog knows that this is not a viable solution. The solution must be more focused on our habits and how we can stay motivated on our tasks to get them done.

Here is a quote from the article “It is better to have a sequential approach toward work, Ms. Morgenstern said, and that requires priorities and discipline.” I think that many of us understands the powerful message in that statement. I certainly need discipline to accomplish my tasks in any given day, especially when I work from home where I have no one around to remind me what I need to get done that day.

I think the answers are quite simple. We all need to find a way to motivate ourselves. I am a firm believer that motivation generates discipline. It is the old story about The Carrot and the Whip. We should not be too serious about it, because we want to keep a positive attitude and think more about the carrot, than the whip. We just need to find a way to motivate us every day we show up at work, whether that means walking 20 steps to your home study, or showing up in an office. Personally, I use visualization techniques and put together my goal of the day. A simple goal for me can be that I want to buy myself an ice-cream across the street when I have finished the tasks I set out to complete that day. In order to strengthen that goal, I visualize myself walking over to the ice-cream parlor with a smile on my face. That helps me remembering that goal during the day. If I end up surfing a couple of my favorites time-wasting web sites, my brain usually kicks me back in gear and tells me that if I keep surfing the web, I will not get that ice-cream in 4 hours from now. Ultimately, everyone must find their own motivational technique.

I really liked the N.Y. Times article, because I think it is a good summary of what we are faced with going to work every day. Luckily, readers of this blog, will be equipped with all the fantastic methodologies and tools to resolve these issues. Stay tuned for those articles coming up in the near future….

Esbjorn

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