Motivate Me!

At the end of his book Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Dan Pink lists nine things you can do to motivate yourself. Because, as he says, Type I's (intrinsically motivated people) aren't born, they're made...

1. Give Yourself a "Flow Test." Here's how it works: Set a reminder on your cell phone or computer to go off at forty random times in a week. Every time it does, write down what you're doing, how you're doing and whether you're in "flow" or not (check this post for an explanation of the concept of flow). Look at the patterns of your observations and think about how you can incorporate more moments of "flow" into your life. 
2. Ask a Big Question... What is the one sentence that should define your life? To make it easier, here are a few examples: "He preserved the union and freed the slaves" (Abraham Lincoln). "He raised four kids who became healthy and happy adults." "She taught two generations of children how to read". What's your sentence?
3. ...Then Keep Asking a Small Question. To ensure that you're continually improving, ask yourself this every night before you go to bed: Was I better today than yesterday? You don't have to be flawless every day, but try to look for small measures of improvement that show you that you're progressing towards your goal.
4. Take a Sagmeister. Stefan Sagmeister is a graphic designer, who doesn't feel like waiting for his retirement to take some time off. So every seven years he closes his little shop down and goes off on a one-year sabbatical. It requires some planning and saving, but it can really help to recharge your batteries, find new inspiration and ...well, give you your motivation back.
5. Give Yourself a Performance Review. Figure out your goals and then give yourself some feedback every month. How are you faring? Where are you falling short? What resources might you need to do better? Make sure you're brutally honest with yourself, otherwise you're just wasting your time.
6. Get Unstuck by Going Oblique. Create a deck of cards to help you out when you get stuck with a certain task. On each of the cards write one sentence. Some examples: What would your best friend do? Your mistake was a hidden intention. What is the simplest solution? Repetition is a form of change. Don't avoid what is easy. Pull one of these cards when you're not sure how to continue.
7. Move Five Steps Closer to Mastery. This is all about deliberate practice. (1) Deliberate practice has one objective: to improve performance. (2) Repeat, repeat, repeat. (3) Seek constant, critical feedback. (4) Focus ruthlessly on where you need help. (5) Prepare for the process to be mentally and physically exhausting.
8. Take a Page from Webber and a Card from Your Pocket. This exercise comes from Alan Webber, who says we should take a card and write down the answers to two questions, one on each side. "What gets you up in the morning?" and "What keeps you up at night?" Try to respond with a single sentence. If you're content with your answers, use them as a compass for your life. And if you're not happy with what you've written down, you need to ask yourself a third question: What are you going to do about it? 
9. Create Your Own Motivational Poster. Do I really have to explain this one? Check below for an example. And now go and motivate yourself!