9 ways to make yourself work when you just dont want to - Debut

9 ways to make yourself work when you just dont want to - Debut I count myself lucky. How so? Well, Ive somehow landed a job in which I basically tweet for a living. Also, Im passionate about the work I do, I have great colleagues, and my office is dog-friendly. I have  all of this. So why is it still so hard to wake up for work in the morning? Maybe its burnout. Maybe its the weather. Heck, maybe Im just lazy. The fact is, my to-do list is longer than my arm and I need to get the heck going. If youve ever found yourself struggling to motivate yourself even with a ton of deadlines at your door, dont fret. Here are some ways to make yourself work even when all you wanna do is binge-watch  The Wire.   1. Start your day right by making your bed in the morning We hear you groaning, but trust us, this works. Doing the same good thing everyday is called building a keystone habit. Keystone habits essentially start a chain reaction of productivity that will put you on the right track towards  productivity. How does it work? Well, it gives you a small victory to be proud of, and tricks your mind  into craving more of them. Example keystone habits are drinking a glass of lemon water every day as soon as you wake up, meditating for 10 minutes, and doing a 1-minute plank upon waking. Basically, anything you think warrants a good self-pat on the back. 2. Create a dedicated work area/find a permanent work space A photo posted by Buffer (@buffer) on Jan 20, 2017 at 12:46pm PST Sometimes, you just have to take yourself out of your comfortable space. As you associate places like your bedroom with sleep and TV, it can be very difficult to convince your brain to work there. Also, if you work in an office, open-plan spaces can quickly fill up with distraction and noise. If youre working from home (and have the space), take the time to build yourself a work area. Set it up with all the stationary/chargers necessary, and make sure you have something to keep you hydrated. Also natural light helps! If youre working in an office, try asking your manager for permission to work in reception, or even the cafe across the road. Sometimes, becoming an island, if only for a few hours, could be just the thing to get all your shiz done. 3. Make a schedule and hold yourself accountable to it Old school, but creating a work schedule or blocking off time in your Google Calendar for specific things does work. Heck, print a blank calendar out and do it by hand. Having all of your deadlines visible is a great way to guilt-trip yourself into actually doing some work. Have a little compassion for yourself though: if you feel, realistically, that some things need to be pushed back, do so. At least youll have a better grasp of all of the things you need to achieve. 4. Tempt yourself into doing work Weve covered temptation bundling in more depth right here, including some examples of how to do it. To sum it all up, temptation bundling is a method that combines the fun stuff you like doing with the boring stuff you should be doing. Temptation bundling is so effective, because it bars you from doing the tempting activities unless youre doing it alongside something legit productive. Genius. 5. You cant feel like a boss unless you look like a boss There are days where I feel so tired my eye bags have eye bags. The one thing that makes me feel better? Putting on my warpaint. Just the act of putting my winged eyeliner on makes me  feel more ready for world domination. Figure out what to wear to make you feel like youre in charge. Whether its your best cufflinks, or your best pair of comfortable heels, dress for your success. Read More:  The ultimate guide to nailing the office casual wear look 6. Take  breaks and often Counter-productive? Actually, taking breaks have been proven to increase productivity. The Pomodoro technique, invented in the early 90s by Francesco Cirillo, encourages you to break large tasks down into short, timed intervals (Pomodoros), spaced out by short breaks. Apparently, it can improve your attention span and concentration. Our favourite lil tool to help you kickstart your Pomodoro work style is this Pomodoro Timer Chrome extension. 7. Do the boring thing for just 5 minutes 5 minutes. Thats nothing, right? Actually, this is a sneaky brain trick. Usually, once you jump over the initial hurdle of starting a boring task (like writing an essay), youd be surprised at how much youll want to continue doing it. I mean, you might as well. Youre at your desk anyway. 8.  Adopt a prevention focus If youre suffering from anxiety, you might be prone to procrastination because youre afraid of screwing your task up. Most of the time, we motivate ourselves using a promotion focus for example, If I work out every day, my summer bod is gonna be amazing. The prevention focus is a technique thats more, lets say,  tough love than that. So, instead of going If I complete this project Ill get promoted, its more like If I dont complete this project my boss is probably going to tell me off. Sometimes, theres just no better way to motivate yourself than thinking about the dire consequences of not doing the thing youre supposed to be doing. 9. Use an Internet blocker Its getting serious, kids. One of my ex-housemates used to make us lock away her phone because she went on Facebook too much and needed to revise. If you have housemates who can do that, we highly encourage it. (We actually took her mattress away too she was a bit of a serial napper.) However, in the digital age, using your laptop is pretty much inevitable if youre working. In order to keep yourself distraction-free, use internet blocker apps. We particularly like this very sweary one, but use it with caution around the office. Also, we also love ToDoBook, which turns your Facebook News Feed into a to-do list. Whatever task you have to make yourself to today, go forth and carpe the hell out of that diem. We got you. Feature image by the author, GIFS via Giphy Download the Debut app and  get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers! Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter