The Simple CEO Trick Anyone Can Use to Stay Seriously Motivated

Building a company requires incredible motivation. It’s the fuel that has sustained me over the past 15 years of growing my healthy beverage company hint from the ground up. And even before I started my own business, motivation propelled me forward in my high-stakes media career.

 All important work requires an abundance of motivation. And everyoneis looking for the catalyst that will help them do what it takes to realize their vision. (Related: 6 Podcasts to Keep You Inspired)

 My secret to harnessing the power of motivation is far from rocket science. In fact, it’s a pretty simple trick that I do in just five to 10 minutes every day. It has made all the difference in feeling energized and excited through every step of building my company.

 Here’s the easy process you can use to push yourself to do your best work yet.

 Step 1: Look back…

 One of the things I find helpful in pushing myself forward is to look back. By taking some time to remember where I came from and what I have accomplished, I feel more capable of achieving my vision for the future. Feeling like my goals are reachable makes me even more excited to make them happen.

 A study out of Harvard Business School that reviewed the daily habits of creatives and knowledge workers suggested that seeing progress in projects are meaningful to you is the best way to boost your motivation for doing even more work. The researchers explain: “Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.” 

Whether you are trying to solve a major scientific problem or create an innovative product or service, everyday progress, including small wins, can make a huge difference in how you feel and perform.Recognizing the progress you’ve made is a surefire way to help you make even more gains. But this advice is only applicable if the work you’re doing matters to you. If that’s not the case, the root cause of your lack of motivation might be the work itself. And if you find yourself in that situation, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate and find something you’re really passionate about.

 But if what you’re doing is meaningful to you and you’re feeling demotivated, start by recognizing what you’ve accomplished on a regular basis. Taking just a few minutes at the end of every day—or every week if that feels too daunting—to recognize your wins both big and small could help you make giant leaps forward.

 Step 2: ...then look ahead!

 Once you’ve set yourself up for success with that feeling of “I’ve done it before and I can do it again,” it’s time for actual goal setting. I always make sure I have an idea of what I want to be doing next. Having something to look forward to keeps me moving forward. Otherwise, it’s easy to get stuck doing maintenance tasks every day, or to aimlessly toil on projects that aren’t related to helping me do my most important work. Neither option is motivating in the long run.

 The key is to make sure your goals aren’t too lofty. Of course, you can have giant, far-reaching dreams as your anchor, but when you’re trying to push yourself forward, you want to think a little closer to home. You want to aim for something that feels just a bitout of reach but is actually attainable in the next few weeks. It’s similar to the classic S.M.A.R.T. goals framework, which suggests in order for goals to work they need to be:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant given current limitations,

and all within a specific

Time frame

 To make sure my goals feel tangible, I like to start with my big future goal in mind. Then, I ask myself, “What do I need to do in the next week or two to get closer to that?” From there, it’s easier to whittle down to what I need to do daily to achieve that smaller step that helps me reach my big goals.

 Step 3: Keep these lists top of mind.

 I recommend doing this exercise daily or weekly. It doesn’t have to be a long process. I find it takes just five to 10 minutes to mull through both lists, and you can do it during small pockets of alone time, like on your commute, washing dishes or in the shower.

 Even if you ponder these questions on the go, I do recommend jotting them down and keeping your records somewhere you can reference them often, like a running Google Doc, a sticky note on your desktop or a list on your phone. I keep these as simple bulleted lists that I can scan quickly when I’m feeling stuck. By keeping the process simple, I know where I’m going and feel motivated that I can get there, all while still saving plenty of energy for doing that actual work.

 What keeps you motivated? Please share in the comments!

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 Let’s Connect! Find me onTwitter(@KaraGoldin), and DM me your burning business questions and/or comments.

 Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of San Francisco–basedhint?, a healthy lifestyle brand that produces the leading unsweetened flavored water and a scented sunscreen spray that’s oxybenzone and paraben-free. Listen to her podcast,Unstoppable, where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs, and disruptors across various industries and keep up with her onTwitter,Facebook, andInstagram.