Time to Jolt! 8 Full Proof Ways to Get & Stay Motivated

By Lisa Puzo Strickland

August 2018

Motivation is the tipping point to our every day. Its presence gets us up in the morning and pushes us through the many hours ahead. If we’ve got a good dose of it, we can perform miracles. If not, well, that can be a problem. 

The silent force of motivation either permeates or lacks within every corporate culture. It can make or break a company, therefore, leaders strive to find ways to create and safeguard this precious resource. When there’s not enough of motivation to go around, it's time to muster some up.

Corbett Barr


If you Google the words ‘how to get motivated’, one of the first articles to pop up is by Corbett Barr, a blogger and writer who is also Cofounder/CEO of fizzle.co.

Barr titled his article “Need Some Motivation Right Now? Read This IMMEDIATELY”, so, with coffee in hand, I dug in. Below, I’ve broadly pulled out 8 of Barr’s key points, sans his frequent-albeit-motivating profanity, and melded them with additional info and my own take-aways. I do, however, recommend reading his article should you find yourself in a slump and in need of some stronger ars-kicking.

Stop saying “I’m So Tired”!

As Barr plainly points out, “We all face obstacles. How you deal with those obstacles defines who you are and determines how successful you are in life. Period. End of story.” 

Whining about fatigue doesn’t do anything but make our situation worse. It makes us feel even sleepier and tells others that we can’t handle what’s on our plate.

Try replacing your verbalized thoughts with I got this! or I’m ready! By doing so, you can chemically change your brain and instantly feel more energized.

You’re not dead, so why aren’t you living?

In his article, Barr includes the famous Benjamin Franklin quote, “Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75.” We get one life, so it’s our privilege to live every minute to its fullest. 

Not sure where to start? It may just be a matter of how you schedule your day. Rather than listing a bunch of to-do’s in your calendar, try being more specific. Identify what project you’re going to finish, what specific level you’re going to reach, or what one thing (big or small) you’re going to do to bring you closer to the life you want.  

Stretching is the new caffeine.

We all know too well how an espresso shot can jolt us into action. But sometimes the coffee is cold and there's no time for a Starbucks run. Fortunately, research shows that a 10-minute stretching session will get the heart pumping and create as much energy as a cup of green tea. (https://thethirty.byrdie.com/energizing-yoga-poses)

Sitting is for knitting. It's time to Walk and Talk.

Sitting in a meeting can knock the air (and enthusiasm) right out of you, and stiffen your muscles. The Walk and Talk is a healthy alternative that gets people moving in a different environment, wakes up the senses, and fosters new ideas and fresh perspectives. Don't be afraid of a solo Walk and Talk if you need to hear yourself think and organize your thoughts. Pick a location, open your voice app, and go!

Another Reason to get up!

Humans sit. All day. According to James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, “The chair is out to kill us!” Humans are built for moving throughout the day to keep the blood circulating and the mind clear, so sitting in a chair does not accommodate our bone structure or our mental well-being. The unnatural sitting position also promotes the storage of fat and stress. Do yourself a favor and get up from your chair frequently - shake that stress off your shoulders. (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/25/health/la-he-dont-sit-20130525)

Pay a compliment and reap the benefits.

There’s a reason kindness feels so good - because we’re physically and psychologically meant to be nice to one another. By offering to help or saying thank you, we can immediately carve a slice off of whatever is blocking us and place ourselves in better position. 

Block yourself in. Literally.

Can’t find the time to get that project done? Barr advises locking yourself in a room, “pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, or axe to the grindstone” until it’s finished, or at least well on its way.

This is an example of Time Blocking, a scheduling method that builds your day one block at a time. For instance, most of us continuously respond to emails as they pop up in our Inbox. This can dwindle away the hours until we find ourselves at 5PM with not one goal completed.

With Time Blocking, we block out certain hours of the day just for correspondence (emails, texts, calls, and social media), certain hours for action items only (projects, meetings), an hour for lunch, and so on. Many find this method much more productive because it allows fuller focus on the task at hand, rather than being bombarded with constant interruptions. 

Pump it up, baby.

Music not only indicates what mood you’re in, it also puts you in the mood you want to be in. Barr suggests cranking up a playlist you’d hear at the gym for some quick motivation, or any tunes that get you feeling like your motivated self again.

Lisa Puzo Strickland, facebook.com/IntuitionEvolution

This blog inspired by https://fizzle.co/sparkline/motivation.