Time Management: Motivation

I write for Time Management for iPad Magazine, an authority on Time Management. This link takes you to Issue 13, which includes an article I wrote on motivation. Here is an excerpt:

“The formula is quite simple: to be motivated to do something means that your body wants to do it, but not your mind. Take gold or diamond prospecting, for example. It involves a great deal of back-breaking work, for small-time operators anyway. They persevere, day in and day out, spurred on by the possibility of striking pay dirt and its promised riches. Intellectually, the mind knows that a lot of labour is involved, but the body, with its instincts for survival and a better, safer life, is motivated to continue, regardless.”

“It is the same for all tasks, even those smaller in scope than panning for gold. Motivation must speak to the body, not the mind.”

“Leadership, for example, is a school of knowledge in which certain people learn, or try to learn, how to extract consistently great behaviour from other human beings. Good leaders learn that motivation and quality are best achieved through positive reward as opposed to punishment, and great leaders learn that positive reward is a process that requires consistent conscious application. Great leadership though, comes down to a few simple concepts, such as acknowledgement of other peoples’ hard work, a vision and communication style that inspires confidence, and the skills to build great teams and realistic plans. All of these attributes inspire confidence in others, and confidence, just like the potential riches of a gold mine, speaks to comfort and security:  very human, very instinctive, very basic desires.”

To read more, please click here.