itSMFA 2017 August Bulletin Bulletin - August - 2017 | Page 13

hours. The ritual is not the stretching and weight training I How to Make Motivation a Habit
put my body through each morning at the gym; the ritual is There are three simple steps you can take to build better rituals
the cab. The moment I tell the driver where to go I have and make motivation a habit.
completed the ritual.
Step 1: A good pre–game routine starts by being so easy that
It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each morning you can’t say no to it. You shouldn’t need motivation to start
habitualizes it — makes it repeatable, easy to do. It reduces your pre–game routine. For example, my writing routine starts
the chance that I would skip it or do it differently. It is one by getting a glass of water. My weightlifting routine starts by
more item in my arsenal of routines, and one less thing to putting on my lifting shoes. These tasks are so easy, I can’t say
think about.
no to them.
Many other famous creatives have rituals too. In his popular
book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, author Mason Currey
notes that many of the world’s great artists follow a
consistent schedule.
The most important part of any task is starting. If you can’t get
motivated in the beginning, then you’ll find that motivation
often comes after starting. That’s why your pre–game routine
needs to be incredibly easy to start.
Maya Angelou rented a local hotel room and went there to For more about the importance of getting started, read this.
write. She arrived at 6:30 AM, wrote until 2 PM, and then
went home to do some editing. She never slept at the hotel. Step 2: Your routine should get you moving toward the end
Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon writes five nights per goal.
week from 10 PM to 3 AM.
A lack of mental motivation is often linked to a lack of physical
Haruki Murakami wakes up at 4 AM, writes for five hours, movement. Just imagine your physical state when you're feel-
and then goes for a run.
ing depressed, bored, or unmotivated. You’re not moving very
much. Maybe you’re slumped over like a blob, slowly melting
The work of top creatives isn’t dependent upon motivation into the couch.
or inspiration, but rather it follows a consistent pattern and
routine. Here are some examples of how you can apply ritu- The opposite is also true. If you’re physically moving and
al and routine to get motivated:
engaged, then it’s far more likely that you’ll feel mentally
engaged and energized. For example, it’s almost impossible to
Exercise more consistently: Use the same warm up routine not feel vibrant, awake, and energized when you’re dancing.
in the gym.
Become more creative: Follow a creative ritual before you While your routine should be as easy as possible to start, it
start writing or painting or singing.
should gradually transition into more and more physical
Start each day stress-free: Create a five-minute morning movement. Your mind and your motivation will follow your
meditation ritual.
physical movement. It is worth noting that physical movement
Sleep better: Follow a “power down” routine before bed.
doesn’t have to mean exercise. For example, if your goal is to
The power of a ritual, or what I like to call a pre-game write, then your routine should bring you closer to the physical
routine, is that it provides a mindless way to initiate your act of writing.
behavior. It makes starting your habits easier and that
means following through on a consistent basis is easier.
Step 3: You need to follow the same pattern every single time.
The key to any good ritual is that it removes the need to
make a decision: What should I do first? When should I do
this? How should I do this? Most people never get moving
because they can’t decide how to get started. You want
starting a behavior to be easy and automatic so you have
the strength to finish it when it becomes difficult and
challenging.
13 itSMF Bulletin—August 2017
The primary purpose of your pre–game routine is to create a
series of events that you always perform before doing a specific
task. Your pre–game routine tells your mind, “This is what
happens before I do ___.”
Eventually, this routine becomes so tied to your performance
that by simply doing the routine, you are pulled into a mental
state that is primed to perform. You don’t need to know ho