I use this daily with my girlfriend, Tosha. And if you are anything like we are, staying motivated and busy every single day can become difficult. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Not only can you invoke rituals to make work easier, but you can make them more fun as well – and that can change your life!

Productivity Ritual Recipe

1. Break Routine: Leave the space you normally occupy and sit or stand somewhere else, even just 10 feet from it.
   Example: Tosha and I usually use our laptops in bed. To break routine, we simply sat on pillows 10 feet from our bed and brought our laptops there.
2. Select Time: Assign a specific amount of time to work on your project.
   Example: We chose 1 hour.
3. Do it, and find out just how good you feel when you are done!

The 3 Secrets to Why It Works

The human mind and body do not like to be uncomfortable and work is simply not fun. However, our mind and body are also easily shaped by ritual and personal mythology. Here’s how it works.

Enjoy More: Research in to rituals shows that performing them enhances our enjoyment of those activities. More enjoyment = more productivity. Tricking yourself into enjoying work is just as effective as enjoying it in the first place!

Breaking Routine: A body at rest will tend to stay at rest. Breaking routine gives your body and mind the jolt to move forward on something, even if only for an hour or so.

Time Selection: When you designate a set time to do something, you create a win/lose scenario for your mind. Performing the task you set out to do in that time period will feel like a win, but even more motivating is the fear of losing! Turns out that research shows the fear of loss is a much more powerful motivator than the hope of gain. Use it to your advantage.