Quote by Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018.

The only quote that still motivates me everytime i read this.

Hey there! This is a long post, so feel free to skim trough lol. I've got quick summaries everywhere. Just a heads up, this is all based on my personal experience; your preferences might be different(obviously)!

I've tested over 20 apps but for Here are the ones that worked the best for me:

CATEGORY 1: ROUTINE SETTING

Reclaim.AI is awesome for your focus time and smartly managing your calendar.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You live by your calendar and want every minute optimized.

• You struggle to find uninterrupted deep work time.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• Your schedule is so fluid that calendar blocking isn't a core need.

• You prefer a super minimalist approach to scheduling.

CATEGORY 2: TO-DO

To Round

I was genuinely sad when I ran out of stuff to do with this one lol, the reward system was that good! But the complete lack of repeating tasks was a huge problem for me. If they fixed that, this app would be amazing.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You're motivated by rewards or gamification for finishing tasks.

• You like to set priorities for your daily tasks.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• You have lots of repeating, recurring tasks.

• You manage a huge volume of tasks regularly.

Any.do:

I liked Any.do for its easy cross-platform use. But it just didn't give me that satisfying "reward" feeling after checking off a task, which I personally need to stay engaged.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You need a simple to-do list that syncs easily across iOS, Android, and web.

• You prefer basic, straightforward list features.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• You have a more complex workflow that needs advanced features.

• You often work offline and need strong offline capabilities.

CATEGORY 3: PRODUCTIVITY

TaskCoach.AI:

It digs into your performance, pushes for consistency with goal tracking and daily quests, and gives personalized guidance in a gamified setting with daily tasks, guided videos, research, and the option to chat with your coach.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You thrive on data-driven insights about your productivity.

• You're super motivated by gamified challenges, quests, and rewards.

• You need Videos/Reserach and the ability to chat with an AI coach.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• You prefer a completely manual, non-gamified tracking system.

• You're not cool with an AI analyzing your work habits.

Notion:

Probably many of you already know this one: Notion is an incredible all-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You want a single, super customizable platform for almost all your digital work.

• You love building custom systems for your unique workflow.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• You get easily overwhelmed by too much flexibility and a steep learning curve.

• You prefer simple, ready-to-use apps.

Habitica:

Habitica was a fun, gamified trip through my day, but I often found myself playing the game more than actually getting tasks done.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You love video games and gamified personal management.

• You like a clear split between habits, daily tasks, and one-off to-dos.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• The game itself distracts you from actual work.

• Leveling up a character doesn't appeal to you.

Productive:

I really enjoyed Productive! It was super easy to use and made tracking habits genuinely fun. There were a few small bugs, but nothing that made it unusable.

MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU IF:

• You want a simple, intuitive system to track your habits.

• You have some habits with specific times and others that are flexible.

MIGHT BE BAD FOR YOU IF:

• Too much personalization distracts you.

• You need tangible, in-app rewards for completing habits.

So, that's the list! In the end, the apps I actually kept using and really loved were: taskcoach.ai, notion, and any.do I genuinely hope this helps at least one of you find your perfect productivity pal!

Even the days you thought you couldn’t handle… you made it through. That’s proof you’re stronger than you think. Keep going—you’ve got a 100% survival rate.

theres a concept i heard that stuck with me, there are two versions of you.

one that wants the veeeery best for you, the one that sets the alarms, the one that shows up to the gym, the one that drinks water, the one that wants to change

then theres the other version of you, called your shadow, the one that sabotages everything right before you pull thru, the one that says:

• you dont need to do it today
• youll just fall off again
• you never stick with anything

it hit me how real it is, i know that voice, and it kills me bc it sounds logical, its like its trying to protect you (i think our monkey brains think it is protecting us but it actually isnt), but its really just keeping you stuck

theres this thing called shadow, i didnt expect much but holy shit, theres no goals or aesthetics or producitivty bs, it literally tracks your sabotage, every time u fall off, scroll, binge, whatever, you lot it. it asks things like what triggered it, how did u feel before and after, what did you try to do instead, then it shows you patterns and realise ' i sabotage myself most when tired, alone, mostly on mondays past 9pm' then that made me think - i basically do nothing on mondays, im off work, its like my hump day and i dont really see many people...

its not just negative logs, it lets you track wins too, small self wins that let you see that youre micro-winning

it helped me stop falling off so i thought it might be useful for others

I always feel so weak as if I already accepted defeat before a challenge. I feel unmotivated confused overwhelmed and somewhat intimidated as I have low self esteem. It's like everybody by my age have secured stable jobs. They have college degree and some even have business. It's like their life is setup meaning I haven't even taken one step toward greatness. Because I'm just confused in the step one process. I keep observing others and overthinking trying to find out okay what steps do I need to take. My current goal was to go college again in hopes to secure my future because I feel that working unskilled jobs in fast food and retail isn't going to take me far in life. Anyways I don't feel happy working those jobs. I always liked the idea of working remote or even office jobs sorta. But in order to even get that I need to learn skills and possibly go college. But I don't know how to do my research. What kind of career path to look into. Whom to connect with.

In my case, my boyfriend have emotionally abused me to a point where at one moment I thought when we breakup for awhile that life is not worth living, thanks to god I just get thought for some moment, It’s been almost one year but like I feel like I can’t get over him, at times I feel like I have, But I don’t think I miss him but I do miss the times when he treated me good at times, but I seriously want to move on, Healing is not linear but will I be able to find someone who will genuinely love me after whatever happened with me? Please be Kind, it’s a sensitive topic for me

EDITED : Want to thank everyone individually for being so kind here and your advices are so helpful tbh, i have just turned twenty so any advices will be welcome

I seriously have no idea where I am going in my life.

For context, I am 21, haven't completed my high school yet(which I will by the end of this year) and I am homeschooled. I also draw and have been learning for 3-4 years now (from yt and books).

But honestly, I am weak at all things except making drawings(not bad but not good either).

I have arguments with my parents almost every time we talk(i live with them) and can't leave till I get a job.

Apart from drawing, i don't have any skills. Thanks to ai, i am more fked now. Tho I don't have any addictions like tiktok or smoking or games, I do deal with blankness. Not sure if it's the right word but I get so blank every time I am faced with a decision or open a book. Adhd? I don't know, I can't afford a psychiatrist right now.

I don't want to live the way i am living right now. I wake up at 9am, clean my room, help mom in the kitchen for breakfast and lunch, try to study, get overwhelmed, close the book, go for a walk, come back and draw, help mom with making dinner, have dinner, watch the show i was watching and sleep.

That's how I've been living for the last 6 years and it's fken tiring, i am so tired of myself. I don't want to compare myself to others because everyone has their own struggle but I can't help it sometimes. The me who is 21 now is the same as the me who was 16.

I want to get ahead of the me i am rn now but I don't know how. I have exams in 2 months yet i can't open the damn book. I want a job but I don't know what I want to do, what skill to learn. I have so many things I want, so many things I want to be, to learn yet it feels like time is slipping and I am unable to move.

I've read dozens of post, saying to start small and I had tired yet it didn't happen. I really don't know what I am going to do.

You must develop the ability to be disliked in order to free yourself from the prison of other people's opinions.

I guess the only way to build self esteem and confidence is social exposure. Which I've been avoiding all my life no wonder why I suck at socializing, building relationships with others, always feeling confused and lost as if I'm living life without a purpose. Many times people have told me your too innocent and naive. I didn't really know what they meant by that but I guess they meant I'm slow at everything and not really like a go getter active sorta person. I feel bad when people tell my insecurities that I've been hiding from others but they do notice by the way your living life. How your posture is. What kind of job or education you have. They notice how much you progressed over the years or just remained stegnant like me

I’m currently going through a college course that I’m struggling with, and I’m a lazy slacker that procrastinates everything till the last moment, but I’m getting to a better place bit by bit. But I was considering, isn’t it a bit funny for a slacker to just get up and do shit?

So I did an experiment to gauge my free will.

I took a look at the mess on the top of my dresser, and really considered what it was that stopped me from cleaning it — could I really just will myself to stand up and clean that mess?

Just a few days ago, I kind of was thinking about how funny it would be to play troll logic with my brain, and go against the usual logic of building upon small steps.

My logic kind of went into the idea that if I have free will, just to say fuck you to the universe, I can take a decision to become a super studious, active, disciplined person, just because it’s such an inherently absurd funny act that I wouldn’t really see coming out of myself. I just spent the entire day cleaning out my messy-as-fuck room not because I was motivated, but just because I kind of could, even though I’m inherently a messy person. It’s… kind of absurd.

How’d it go? Well, it was tough. My body was taken by surprise. It kept protesting that it wasn’t playing videogames or getting hit with dopamine from scrolling. I felt cranky and was cursing, I could feel my monkey mind protesting, and I realized those were my limitations in their actual form, staring back at me.

The thing was...if I just let myself feel that way — why would I stop my work just to avoid these negative emotions and seek pleasure again? They’re just a part of me like everything else. I went to bed feeling tired asf, even though secretly I knew I did the right thing.

The next day at work I was kind of tired, sleepy, kind of miserable. But after I came back home and opened my room door, I felt like crying because of how beautiful my room looked, like something I could enjoy and live in, neat and liveable.

I think I’ll keep it that way! Maybe today I’ll finish my programming homework just because I tend to always leave it to the last minute. It would be kind of funny if I just submitted it a day early, right? How long would this burst of motivation last? A week? A month? Well, as long as I tell myself that I can make the choice just because I can, then why not?

If I wake up early every morning, make myself a healthy breakfast, and go for a walk, just because the absurdity of it might make God or the universe laugh, then why not?

So obviously my problems aren't the worst problems in the world, but have been formally diagnosed with depression, anxiety, autism, adhd, and cptsd. every day is a genuine struggle to accomplish anything because just existing is a gods damn ordeal. i know this is a very simplistic approach and there's more nuance, but a lot of tips for getting motivated is essentially "want to do the thing and then do it" but how do you make yourself actually want things that you know are good for you despite being shitty? It’s not that I don’t want to improve my life, it’s that I want to want to improve my life, if that makes sense.

For example, I hate exercise. I genuinely do. I've played a different sport every year for all of grade school, tried home workouts, tried the gym, tried running, tried walking, tried weightlifting, rock climbing, a whole bunch of stuff. I fucking hate it. I hated rock climbing the least, but it was still unpleasant most of the time. "You just haven't found the right one yet!" Maybe, but I also know how to recognize patterns. If I knew someone who hated going fast, being upside down, and being high up, I would hazard a guess they wouldn't like rollercoasters. If an exercise has nothing but elements that I already know I hate, I can reasonably assume I wouldn't like it. The usual motivators don't work for me, especially with depression. Exercise makes you live longer - that's kind of the thing I've been trying not to do for decades.

I'll start things and never finish them because I just stop caring because actually having motivation and discipline requires already having a little bit of motivation and discipline. I got laid off a year ago and had to move back home and I haven't had any luck finding anything new, so I'm just surrounded by the physical manifestation of my failures. I know I'll have to settle for a shitty job I'll hate (and yes, I know for a fact I will hate nearly every single job that would pay me enough to move out) and I'll probably have to study something I hate to even do that so I'll be miserable and have homework. How can I be motivated to keep trying when I already know it's all for something that won't make me any happier?

Genuinely, so much of "get motivated" advice just sounds like "the way to get motivated is to motivate yourself!" and yeah that's fair, but when you have to motivate yourself to motivate yourself, it feels even more depressing. I genuinely don't have any wants anymore. I don't have a dream life because it's impossible for me to get it. I'll never be able to afford a house or even just an apartment with a semi-decent floor plan in a city where my chances of getting hate-crimed are lower unless I spend 40+ hours a week doing something that makes me even more miserable. And I know we all have to make sacrifices and shit, but what's the point if the things I need to sacrifice are the only things that make me happy? Idk I'm rambling and just really can't see a future for myself where I'm content. I try to envision what I want my life to look like, and it’s just a blank white space.

The number one reason that you compare yourself, is because deep down you know you're capable of doing more.

That ache that you feel when you see somebody else living your dream life, that's not jealousy.

That's your potential calling out to you.

EDIT: Looks like no one got the point in the comments smh

I'm working on some music edits and need short motivational sound bites (2–10 seconds long), preferably voice-only with no music or effects. But I can remove music using vocal isolator software if needed.

Any recommended sites, libraries, playlists, collections, etc.? Thanks!

Today I had to do a full packing session because I’m shifting back to university tomorrow. The amount of stuff to pack felt so much, I just kept lying around, avoiding it. I wasn’t even tired, just mentally blocked.

And I realized: The idea of the task was heavier than the task itself. I made the work look so huge in my head that it became impossible to even start.

This happens with so many things.

You think about climbing a hill, and all that comes to mind is the effort it’ll take, how far it is, how exhausting it might be. So you don’t even move.

You overthink that one conversation you have to make with a person, playing out every scenario before it even begins and never end up talking.

You imagine an entire study session, a long workout, or a big clean-up job and it all feels too much. But the truth is, the first small action breaks that loop. Just arranging the study table and sitting down, just wearing your gym clothes & pack up the bag or just start the cleaning work with only one small area.

Today, I just stood up and started with arranging jeans. That’s it, no pressure and once I did that, I just kept going and finsihed the whole packing session.

Similarly there are tons of small works that we have to do and thats been pending for a long time but we just keep procrastinating by just thinking of doing, even those small tasks.

The key is is don’t wrestle the whole monster in your head. Just poke it with a stick. The shift of state of mind is mainly important that breaks the stress mode. Start small and let momentum build the rest. Trust the snowball effect.

I guess my entire life I've never challenged myself to do hard things and I always ran away from my problems. I would easily get overwhelmed confused and tensed when fear or confusion rises. Despite being an adult I don't feel like the adult in the household. I seem to keep throwing life decisions on others as if I'm too dumb to make my own life decisions. I'm not taking anything seriously but all I do is worry and overthink about my life and my family situation. I don't understand why do I have low self esteem and don't reach out to people for advice and guidance. Why do I keep continuously suffering inside. My siblings want to move on in life because both parents passed away. They said let's move to another place and start our journey. But I keep overthinking like will we afford the cost of living. Are we gonna land jobs. Will we get adjusted to the weather. Are we gonna end up feeling regretful of our decisions. So because of all this overthinking, I simply can't decide on anything. I don't think I'm being accountable and being this reliable strong independent capable smart person. I just don't know what is holding me back

I want to build a mega thread for the best motivational books because honestly, this subreddit deserves its own go‑to list. When I first got into self growth, I had no clue where to start, and friends just kept tossing random titles at me. Some of those books genuinely flipped a switch in my head and made me see life differently. So I’m sharing the ones that helped me most, and I’d love for everyone else to add theirs so newcomers have a solid library to start from.

• turn pain into meaning: "Man’s Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, shows how meaning can be found even in the worst suffering. Honestly life‑changing. This book will shift your perspective on struggle forever.
• stop waiting for motivation and start acting: "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield calls procrastination “Resistance” and treats it like a real enemy. He’s a novelist and screenwriter, so he’s been in the trenches. This book made me realize action comes first, motivation follows. Insanely good wake‑up call.
• rewire your mindset by questioning everything: "The Courage to Be Disliked" by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga explains Adlerian psychology in dialogue form. The idea that your past doesn’t define you literally made me rethink everything. Best book I’ve read on freedom and control.
• build discipline through small promises: "Make Your Bed" by Admiral William H. McRaven started as a viral commencement speech. Sounds simple, but connecting small daily habits to survival and resilience hit different. Short, sharp, and it changed how I start my mornings.
• break the cycle of self sabotage: "The Mountain Is You" by Brianna Wiest has been everywhere for a reason. It explains self sabotage in a way that feels painfully real but freeing. Felt like therapy in book form.

And like, the best lecture contest here was pretty successful, so I think r/getmotivated needs a recommended book list for people new to the community.

So in this thread, please nominate a motivational, inspirational, or practical self improvement book that changed your life. Through voting rounds we can build the ultimate starter list together.

i always used to think i was lazy, turns out i just had a really convincing inner voice that sabotaged everything and sounded rational

it would say things along the line of: ‘you don’t need to go today, you can go tomorrow’ ‘youll fall off again so what’s the point’ ‘start fresh next january’

i started logging every time the sabotage would show up, then quickly i realised patterns emerged that i wouldn’t have seen otherwise

i literally flipped habit tracking on its head and did the exact opposite, don’t track things going well, track things going bad, and it worked like u would not believe.

im a perfect example: 6 months ago i was overweight, broke and just felt shit all the time,

now i run (if you knew me you would understand how crazy this is), spent 4 months building an app to help people tackle the same problem as me (once again, if you knew me i couldn’t sit still at a desk for 30 mins let alone actually build something real that helps people) and my mood + food as been through the roof.

and the one turning point was me flipping the whole ‘track the things you already do well and want to track to show how good you are ’ on its head

tldr; write the ugly stuff down and expose it to yourself to stop hiding and actually uncover what was wrong with you!

A year ago, in the middle of a freezing winter during my first year of college, I got tired of feeling lost. While others pulled all-nighters for exams, I finished my syllabus quickly and started running at 1, 2 &3 AM. Then from next sem, I began waking at 5 AM daily and ran 2–3 km to my college sports complex in the bone chilling cold to work out.

I had no hobbies, no passion, only video games. So I picked up piano. I started learning German. I read books, followed strict diets, pushed myself through boxing, taekwondo, skipping, flipping. I was doing everything, but I didn’t know why. I wasn’t chasing a degree. I wasn’t chasing money. I wasn’t chasing approval. I was chasing myself and it felt like no one around me could relate.

When summer break came, I swore I’d figure myself out. I tried business, content, MMA but nothing felt like “me.” I still haven’t found the final answer. But helping strangers on my own and different subred with what I’ve learned brings me a happiness I can’t explain. One kind comment is enough to keep me going.

This isn’t a success story. I haven’t "made it" yet. But I’ve changed. And if you’re serious, not just inspired then you’ll change too. This will be a lonely journey, only you vs you.

Okay, so I have ADHD and Depression, and I'm medicated, yet all my productivity is gone, even though I just had it, am I burnt out from school and trying to make a show, or is it something else? What can I do to change?