Staying Positive & Motivated, Tracking Your Goals

[zeebs]

What methods do you use for....

1. Getting motivated in the morning?
2. Lifting your mood when you're down?
3. Tracking your goals?

I just started using Joe's Goals http://www.joesgoals.com/
and I love the Fly Lady. http://flylady.net/

How about you?

[karen]

Great topic! I may not be the super best example to follow but this is what works for me

1) Staying motivated- I keep a list of projects that I want to work on, so if I don't feel like dragging my butt to the studio to do production work, I pull out the list and get excited about something else. It gets me into the shop, and while I'm there I tend to make the most of it. There are some days where I know that I'm just lagging or if the weather's really yucky- so I grab the list and work on something else from home- like blogging or making modifications to the site. Sometimes I also bribe myself with ice cream. To keep repetitive, mundane tasks like doing the dishes fun, I race myself and see how fast I can get things done. I think that actually might be a Flylady tip...
For me, specifically, I read this forum- it totally gets me motivated.

2) Playing with the dogs, visiting funny web sites, reading up on hobbies, knitting, chocolate cake, calling my Mom or hanging out with her, snuggling with DH, calling a friend, and occasionally a cocktail if necessary. I love The Oatmeal, and Funny or Die. Music helps me snap out of it too. Adding- I also try to make someone else laugh- laughter is the best medicine, and it's contagious. Making someone laugh instantly lifts my spirits.

3) I just do daily and weekly goals. For me, it's a little tough because things take as long as they take sometimes, but I usually have a small list of things that I have to get done in order to feel like a productive human being. I need some longer-term ones as well, but really, it doesn't take much for me to feel content, so I go with it.

I can't wait to see what everyone has to say!

[Silverfern]

1. Getting motivated in the morning?
Coffee! Seriously. I've been having some serious allergic reactions this summer so without a bit of the ole caffeine, I'm a zombie. But once I have breakfast, something light, some coffee and my medicine, I'm good to go. Seriously tho, some days just knowing I gotta get going to get to work to bring home the veggie bacon is enough. Other days I remember my beautiful monitors at work (such a nerd). Some days really my motivation comes with the ritual of putting on makeup and going through the "getting ready for work" activities.
I also really like Gala Darling's blog. I've actually tweeted her for advice and she answered before. Such a doll.

2. Lifting your mood when you're down?
This one is tricky. Today I had a bad day, so I went to pilates. I feel sooo good now. Other days I go out to dinner with my husband. Play with the dog and cats. Cook. Watch TV shows I've missed. Read. Drink (hay we're being honest, a little liquid cheer is ok sometimes.) Call my brother, he's really funny. Go out with friends. Sometimes nothing helps so I just cry it out. Which helps

3. Tracking your goals?
I like google tasks and the iphone app Easytask. I've almost completely moved away from paper except for when I have a really long list that includes my husband, haha.

[superwahz]

1. Getting motivated in the morning?
This one is hardest, since getting out of bed in the morning literally hurts, my joints and muscles crunch and crackle for a bit. But I remind myself that things relax if I keep putting one foot in front of the other, and I mentally picture the windows downstairs with sunshine streaming in to say good morning! I've also added in bed stretches to my morning routine, that helps a LOT! And for the mornings when its extra hard, the dog beats me to it and starts doing these crazy wiggles all over the bed, and me...laughter is a great way to start the day!

2. Lifting your mood when you're down?
MUSIC! The louder, the better! A good piece of dark chocolate, a glass of port, or some total comfort food that I don't normally eat goes a long way. As does spending quality time with my DH or calling a good friend just to hear their voice....or, a sure cure, giving the dog a treat or toy and joining her in her happy dance! If I just need to zone out for a while, you'll find me catching up on episodes of The Daily Show, or my guilty indulgence, Nip/Tuck, or online window shopping! When I'm feeling really down I try to think of something that nurtures me...and if I'm being mean to myself and can't get that far, I think of something I can do to nurture someone else. Giving to myself or someone else usually gets me into a better place. A Tibetan singing bowl CD I picked up recently helps a lot too, the tones just melt away the tension and calm my mind...in fact, I'm feeling relaxed just thinking about the sound!

3. Tracking your goals?
I keep a running list in my mind of things that HAVE to be taken care of, but other than that, I'm actually working hard at releasing my goals...or at least the obsessive time aspect I inevitably include in them. I'm one of those people that has too many goals, then forgets to live in the now because I'm too busy thinking of what I need to do next. So I'm whittling the list down to bare essentials, I've found anything that is truly of worth seems to get done in its own time (the right time) whether I have it on a list or not! Right now I'm reflecting on my broader, long term, lifetime goals...in other words, what I want people to remember me for when I'm gone. My friends and DH are good about checking in with me on more current things I'm trying to work on in my life, and I try to do the same thing for them... My more private goals I just keep inside, they are always there, no need for a written down list.

[Xarata]

1. Getting motivated in the morning?
I am not a morning person. That said, I find routine is best- getting up before the alarm, breakfast (AT the table), doing my makeup (somehow i feel if i look together, i'll feel more together)
2. Lifting your mood when you're down?
I second the music. I actually have a playlist on my computer called "crazy dancing music" for the kind of music that makes you want to sing and dance along "I'm walkin on sunshine, woooooahoah...""IIIIII'm gonna soak up the sun....""Wouldn't it be nice if we were older...""And girls, they want to have fun" "Hey Mickey, you're so fine you're so fine you blow my mind hey mickey"
3. Tracking your goals?
As a waitress, I will tell you that the best way not to forget to do something is to do it right then. You still have to keep your priorities straight, but attacking each problem as it comes is easier than letting them pile up. For instance, I've been paying off a credit card i don't use with 26% interest for over a year. I decided i'd had enough and i took out a loan to pay it off and lower the interest rate. I am a waitress. I like to be creative. Hence, The Xarata Project, where i require myself to make something new every week and blog about it. I find that writing it down makes me less likely to "cheat" or skip a week. The most important thing with goals is to stop talking/thinking about them and DO something about them, even if it's just one small thing a week.

[JenW]

I usually have to break things down into chunks....and prioritize. Lists help, too.

Right now I am on an eating plan prescribed by a dietician. I can track things through the Livestrong.com website using their MyPlate. So far it is going pretty well.

[meheeeen]

1. Getting motivated in the morning
This is soooo hard for me because I love sleeping! I kind of leave a maze around my bed of all the things I was thinking about or looking at the night before, but right at the top of the stack under my cell phone (which i use as my alarm clock) is one of my Frida Kahlo books. She is my biggest artistic inspiration and she makes me just want to go out there. Of course, waking up and turning off the phone alarm and seeing a text from my sweetie doesn't hurt either : )
Basically, just think of those powerful things that make your life really meaningful. Everyone has days where they start off on the wrong foot but keeping those things that make me happiest in my mind always gets me through those times.

2. Lifting your mood when you're down?
Giving in! I'll come home and sit on the couch with some chocolate and watch cartoons. Indulgence can really help. So can productivity. I get restless a lot and when I don't have an outlet I can really get down, it's those days that I really need to get creative, then all of a sudden I have a 6 foot tall painting already complete in just 4 hours... whew. Outlets are so important!

3. Tracking your goals?
Making my goals on my terms. I've been going to the gym and eating healthier, but my overall goal is not to lose weight but just to feel better. Win-win situation there because I don't stress about the number and I look forward to working out because I know it's totally for ME, not for anybody else's idea of health or beauty.
Making lists is really helpful to me too, and it keeps me on track. But, knowing when something just isn't going to happen is crucial too. If you're not feeling it and you force yourself, you'll just get frustrated and start to dislike that thing you had to do. So instead, take a walk or something and come back to it. The right time exists and when it comes around you'll do a better job at it anyway. (if only my professors had this philosophy... -staring at 2 essays due soon-

[Die Marchen]

1. Getting motivated in the morning

My son asks for breakfast and it makes me jump from the bed and run to the kitchen. When he is visiting grandparents I sleep till 12 and then work till 1-3 A.M. - I live in Russia and do some stuff with the US so I must be available))) No morning - no problems. Just remembered 'no moman no cry' - love the melody but would love to change some words)))

2. Lifting your mood when you're down?

A cup of tea. A cup warms my hands and tea lifts my spirits)))
I save SN site opened and I know that when I finish some job - I award myself with smth nice - I add a lippie of a blush sample to y cart. Or I press 'to checkout'

Seriously - I remind myself that I have already changed my life and now I do what I have chosen myself. And I don't have to think about how it looks like and bother if someone doesn't understand it or doesn't want to.
I remind myself I'm quite healthy, young woman, I love my son and I love and respect my husband. My parents are quite healthy.

I haven't seen pyramids but I have seen Acropolis. And so on.

And this thread is very inspiring!

3. Tracking your goals?

My husband helps. And I have a list. And if I feel I'm not able to start with something - I start with something else and after I get involved - things look easier)))