5 Tips for Staying Motivated Through Covid

with guests Daymond John, Michael Bernoff, Dean Graziosi, Craig Ballantyne, Nir Eyal, John Assaraf, Michael Koenigs and Brendon Burchard #MakingBank S4E43

With the entire planet thrust into an unfamiliar and, quite frankly, very boring situation, many people out there are going to wind up falling into bad habits or run into issues with staying motivated, particularly those of us who live alone. We are social creatures, and we’re creatures of habit, and when our normal routine – or really our entire way of life – gets completely turned on its head, there are bound to be some hiccups. 

Hopping on Zoom with your friends is a great way to pass the time and give yourself a little stress reliever, but we also need to build the right habits into our lives that we can utilize on a daily basis, not just when your friends are available. 

I’ve put together 5 fundamental habits that I have learned from many of my guests that can help get all of us through this. These 5 tactics are all working for me, helping me stay positive and stay productive. 

Enjoy, and if you have any to add, let me know in the comments! 

1. Find Things To Look Forward To 

Make milestones for your week, little events like hitting a work related goal or a treat you can give yourself at the end of a long day. Set aside specific time that is dedicated to your more guilty pleasures, like bingeing your favorite show. Not only will this give you something to look forward to throughout the day, it will also help you stop yourself from indulging too much, or during times you should be more productive. 

You should also have long term goals to look forward to. Think about how you can use this as an opportunity to improve yourself. Picture a better version of you emerging after quarantine. 

What does that person look like? Are they in better shape? Did they learn to cook? Did they pick up a skill that will add value to their lives, personal or professional? Simply envisioning a better version of yourself will help keep your mind in the right place and motivate you to push forward. Check out my article on visualization here. 

2. Positive Self-Talk 

What is your self-talk like? Answer honestly, and make sure you check in on this occasionally throughout the day. If you’re dragging yourself down, you’re going to make this time much harder on yourself. 

Make a point of talking to yourself positively and prompt yourself with questions every morning such as “What can I get excited about today?” “What challenge can I make progress towards overcoming?” Or, maybe the best: “Who else is relying on me to be on my ‘A’ game today?” 

The way we speak to ourselves really sets the tone for how we view ourselves, how productive we are, and our mood overall. By asking specific questions that get you pointed in the right direction, you get yourself in the right state of mind to be productive and approach your day more enthusiastically. 

3. Stay Healthy 

It’s all too easy to let bad habits creep into your life right now, and to some extent the occasional indulgence can be good for your mental health, but staying active and eating right is more important now than ever before. With gyms closed it may be hard to get your normal workout in, but there’s plenty you can do at home to stay active. 

Core work and pushups are two exercises that can keep you strong and don’t require much room. Try the 100 pushups per day challenge (just don’t try to do all 100 on day!) 

Resistance bands are great tools for toning up and keeping yourself looking good while quarantined. They’re extremely safe, extremely light weight, and can be used to exercise every muscle in your body. Buying a set of resistance bands allows you to really expand your at home exercise game, and some people like them so much they wind up scrapping their gym membership entirely. 

It’s also extremely important to get some cardio in. This is also one of the most challenging areas for many of us right now, due to stay-at-home orders. If you can, go for runs, long walks, or bike rides. If you can’t, try jumping jacks, burpees or jump rope if you have enough space. For more ideas check out this website for great in place cardio routines. 

4. Find Ways to Use This Time Productively 

With all this free time, it’s extremely tempting to dive into Netflix and remain there for the day, but you will find yourself much happier if you spend at least a chunk of time every day learning something new. You could get certified in Google Analytics in just a few days and give yourself a serious bargaining chip for a raise in the future, or you could log onto Coursera and learn how to learn, a valuable skill that will pay dividends for the rest of your life. 

5. Find a Hobby You Enjoy 

This is a great time to do a little self exploration, and there’s undoubtedly something you’ve been pushing to the side and not prioritizing that you now have the time to do. It could be something as simple as exploring a new genre of music or something as complex and time consuming as building a ship in a bottle. 

One great hobby that pays automatic dividends is learning new recipes, or how to cook in general if you don’t already know. You can also try getting creative with writing, an art form or picking up a new instrument. 

Practicing new things and learning exercises your brain takes your mind off your problems, and builds your self esteem in the process. And who wouldn’t mind surprising your friends with a new skill after this is over!? 

We’re all in this together, guys. Separate, isolated, but together. Stay safe, and please share your tips and tricks for staying sane and getting through Covid also!