What is motivation and where can we find it?

Ah, the age old battle between motivation and procrastination, will it ever be solved?

Lack of motivation is a disease most of us suffer from, and despite knowing how much trouble we could be in for not meeting a deadline, the thought of beginning some tasks is just so unbearable that we keep putting it off and putting it off and... DEADLINE!

So how can we prevent ourselves from continuously following this lazy pattern?

I've found that keeping everything in perspective really helps.

First of all, I keep my goal for that particular task at the front of my mind, e.g. "Well if I don't write this English essay I'll have less practice for the exam, and then I'll get a worse grade, so then I won't get into the uni of my choice." So you realise you better write that essay.

The second step I use to keep everything in perspective is list-making. I'm a list fanatic; I'll write a list for anything at most given opportunities (presents, people, stationary shopping, etc. etc.) and I genuinely find it extremely helpful. If I have everything I need to do listed out neatly in front of me I know exactly how much there is, and then can work out how long it could take me. Furthermore, list-making also ensures that nothing is forgotten and makes it very satisfying when you get to cross something off, knowing that you've completed it.

Which leads me nicely to my third motivator; the satisfaction. I always keep in mind that once I've completed a task I'll feel relieved and proud of myself for knuckling down to do my work, and then I won't feel so guilty when I relax and watch Tangled for the 1248th time afterwards.

In a generation with 201 distractions, we need to be careful that we keep our motivation and productivity high, or we have no hope in being a generation that can make brilliant changes in the world. I always remember my older brother being highly motivated at my age (leaps and bounds more motivated than I) and I credit that mostly to Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr etc. not being a part of his generation.

This is why I will still advocate the classic "ridding yourself from distractions" to stay motivated, but for me it is closely followed by just keeping things in perspective. 

Let me know how you stay motivated (I could use the extra tips too!)

It's Easy Being Green

Ordinarily, green isn't everyone's go-to colour. This reluctance is probably formed from images of sludgy pea soup coming to mind at the mere mention of the word green, or fearing doing a Georgia Nicholson and dressing like a party-going olive.

Even I've had my reservations in the past, but this season, as I've found my hand snatching up several green items in a row on various shopping trips, I've had to surrender to the green monster.

In particular, I've accepted that velvet and corduroy fabrics and green just belong together. The dreamy, distinguishable textures of those fabrics mixed with rich, mossy greens are a completely romantic pair that remind us all of fresh air and midnight walks. That's not to say any of us should go overboard and get ourselves kitted out in an entirely green outfit, one that'll make us look like we've hopped right out of a salad bowl, but instead I'm suggesting that layering dark greens with other patterns or colours this season could be a whole new kind of flattering.

Take this bottle green overall dress I purchased from Zara as an example. The model has been dressed with a light blue and white polka-dotted blouse under the overalls, not a likely pair but nonetheless this outfit is fun, season appropriate and flattering.

And I don't seem to be the only one who has the green feeling this Autumn, as Her Majesty Anna Wintour of American Vogue stepped out in a glorious leaf covered creation, for the 2014 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Awards, and didn't she look as decadent as ever!

Photographed with Stella McCartney.

Don't or Can't?

Every single one of us has faced one of those "Eureka!" moments, when something that has us completely worked up pushes us over the edge and we think, "You know what? Whatever, I don't care anymore."

But that's never what we really mean, is it?

We can attempt to fool ourselves into believing we don't care anymore, but what we honestly mean is that we can't care anymore. The act of caring has thoroughly exhausted our minds, to the point where our determination kicks back into an armchair and soothes itself without an episode of Friends and a bag of cookies, and instead of acknowledging that we're still bothered by problem X, we slap on an "Oh well!"

Is this healthy or realistic? No.

If problem X still frustrates you to think about, you still care. Therefore, instead of either eradicating or coming to a conclusion over the problem, you've just buried it for the time being, leaving a door for it to creep back up on you, and force you to shamefully realise that your eureka moment wasn't so eureka after all.

I'm 200% guilty of the hot-headed, heat of the moment "I don't care anymore!" In fact, if it was an Olympic sport I'd win a gold medal at it. But recently I've realised that it just doesn't work for me; I do care, it does matter.

So what do I do instead now?

I work even harder to resolve the problem. Once it's reached that crushing stage where you're so wound up that you know you can't keep caring anymore, it means the problem must go. I know it is never that easy, but if you invest yourself enough into anything there is always a loophole, and don't feel that it would be weak to find support from those around you too.

As long as you're able to acknowledge whether you don't care anymore or whether you can't care anymore, you will be able to find your solution.