How to Stay Motivated Now That the New Year Buzz Is Gone

When you set your New Year’s resolutions for 2021, you felt as if you could tackle anything. You were ready to say goodbye to 2020 and start fresh. But now that the year isn’t so brand new anymore, you’re finding it tough to stay motivated and you’ve become a bit sluggish. Those big goals you wanted to work toward suddenly seem ginormous. 

It isn’t that you want to quit on your goals. You just don’t understand how to tap into the motivation you once felt. Here, we’ll explain how to stay motivated — even when you’re ready to throw in the towel on your New Year’s resolutions.

Stay motivated and give those goals another shot

1. Break your goals into smaller steps.

One of the easiest ways to gain some momentum is to look at the resolutions and goals you’ve set and determine how to break them down into smaller steps. 

For example, let’s say you were hoping to better educate your referral partners this year. That’s definitely achievable, but it’s also a lofty goal with lots of steps that need to be taken. First, plan the actual educational experience. Will you host a video lunch and learn, one-on-one meetings, or pre-recorded videos? Once you’ve determined that, it will be time to plan out the content and start strategically inviting the right people to come. Each of these steps are small goals that you can work on one at a time. So, don’t stress about the overall idea of hosting educational meetings. Think instead of what steps you can take to prepare and implement.

2. Tap into your creative brain.

Sometimes, you just need to change your approach to stay motivated. When you do, try doing something creative instead. Turn up the music — you may even want to consider listening to a different genre than your norm — and dance. Grab some paint and a paintbrush. Get a journal and write. It might seem like you’re procrastinating, but you might just find that allowing your creativity to flow will reintroduce that motivation you’ve been missing.

3. Reflect on last year.

Another way to reignite your excitement for your goals is to reflect on the previous year. What went wrong? In which ways did you excel? Having this understanding can help you restart and stay motivated. If you think about where you struggled, you can take steps to avoid that in the now. Feeling frustrated that you aren’t as far along as you hoped? Use that frustration to fuel you. Remembering moments you achieved more than you thought possible? Now’s the time to beat yourself and achieve more!

4. Surround yourself with the right people.

It’s easy to find inspiration from people who are motivated themselves. Don’t allow other people’s productivity or excitement to make you feel jealous. Instead, shadow them to find out what’s keeping them so motivated.

Sure, it might be a little tougher to get your fill of your friends in a pandemic, but when at all possible, focus on surrounding yourself with smart, happy, productive, and inspired people. Plan Zoom video calls, send instant messages on Slack, or just check in via email. Even if you don’t know the secrets to what’s keeping them keeping on, you’ll have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the people in your life.

5. Reevaluate your goals to stay motivated.

Let’s be honest here — the goals you set when 2021 started might not be exactly what you need to focus on right now. So many people choose resolutions that are either unrealistic or extremely hard to obtain. And even more individuals set goals, such as losing weight, eating healthier, or quitting a habit, when in all actuality they aren’t mentally prepared to take on those big changes, just yet.

Give yourself the freedom to say bye bye to the goals that are no longer serving you and hello to new opportunities.

6. Set new goals.

Want to know what can be quite motivating? Trying new things. Plus, who said goals must be set at the beginning of the year, anyway? Consider setting a tiny goal every week or month. It can be as small as challenging yourself to reach out to a certain number of new prospects, or something more personal, like learning how to bake bread or exploring a new hiking opportunity in your community.

Shift your mindset to stay motivated

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Often, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make things happen at a faster pace than what’s honestly achievable. It’s the beginning of the year for goodness sakes! What would make you think you’d be achieving so much by now, anyway?

Hard work and dedication to achieving goals often takes time. Give yourself some grace as you seek out your motivation and work toward achieving what’s important to you.