Have you ever been plagued with the feeling that you are motivated and productive at night!? Trust me, you are not alone – whenever I go to sleep, there is a tremendous amount of motivation just waiting to be used, but I have to sleep, and by morning it’s all gone—the worst feeling.
We all want to be productive throughout the whole day, but how to do so? Everyone says to wake up early and to start with tiny achievements, which is generally true. But let’s look at some evidence and research why we are motivated at night, but also how to stay motivated until the next day.
We are more relaxed
Unless you work “the third shift,” night is the only time for completely relaxing the whole body and mind.
We’ve also seen that even when we have some assignments, we usually wait until tomorrow to finish them – we enter a state of relaxation.
For students, nights are often for partying (all until the finals don’t approach). But what to do when you don’t go to parties and you’re not sleepy at all? You’ll probably think about some life choices and how to get your life together.
That’s when the motivation kicks in – worrying about nothing, no action needed, but all these beautiful plans come to your mind. You feel like you can achieve everything, which you can, by the way, just not in one night.
Present self vs. Future self
This may sound weird at first, but this is so true! There’s your present self: who is currently thinking about all the above-mentioned stuff, and your future self: who will/won’t be doing all those things the following day.
You are currently your present self. All the things you’re thinking about aren’t going to be done by you, but by your future self – who has to do all the work.
Your present self does not worry – it won’t do any of those plans. Therefore it just creates fun by assigning the work to someone else.
I believe that anything is possible if you work hard for it, but sometimes you overload yourself with plans and work – in other words, you prefer your present self over your future self.
This is known as present bias. All of us have experienced it to one extent or another.
Don’t let your present self-focus on those plans when someone else does them. Instead of just thinking about it, work on it! It doesn’t matter if it’s 4 am or 11 pm – you never know when motivation will strike.
How to follow your goals?
Think about the details that follow those goals – it will give your future self a closer look into them, therefore, more accessible to get on with it’s accomplishing.
Also, don’t forget to prioritize your goals. Some are more important than others and require more or less time.
Have a list of those goals and a precise time of their realization, but also focus on one thing at a time. I’ve already talked about multitasking and why it’s not good for you.
Probably the essential thing is not relying on motivation.
It would help if you had discipline, and sometimes waiting for motivation may take weeks. There will be days when you feel like eating ice cream and watching YouTube.
Instead of focusing on “When will motivation strike? “, focus on creating habits and having enough discipline to fulfill goals and dreams. You don’t have eternity to complete those.
Intrinsic rewards are a great thing for getting yourself to do something. Have you ever seen a person with chocolate bars behind every 3rd page? Well, I have! It looks weird, but if it works for you, then great! Not only do you get the knowledge you need, but a “No” to chocolate is forbidden.
These are some advice and explanations about motivation at night and in general. Remember that you’re a human being and that sometimes you need a break. Not every day can be fantastic, and not everything is easy. Dedication and discipline are a must – without those, you won’t achieve any of your goals!
Let’s all be rich, famous, or happy one day – whatever your goal is. Just be dedicated and conscious of your goals and abilities.
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#Move on!
*An article was prepared and written by Balša Kićović, Textual Content Creator.