Sometimes I need more than just a chart to really motivate me. So I have to spend time thinking of what would motivate me, and come up with a trick or tool to do it. Here are several I'm trying this year, to help me reach my New Year's goals--I hope you like these ideas and find them useful. These motivational tricks can be used for children as well.

• Penny Jar. I have a wine glass on top of my TV, with a small container of pennies next to it. I started my Penny Jar to motivate me to exercise. Every time I do a workout (I work out to Yoga Booty Ballet, in front of my TV), I put a penny in. At the end of the month, I tally the pennies, and give myself a monetary reward according to the number of pennies. I can do this because I have a savings account, and I can pay myself a bonus from my savings. For now I'm giving myself one dollar for every penny in the jar, but I may increase that to $2.00 a penny. I realized that I can use the penny system to reward myself for other tasks as well, such as going through my papers on my desk every week. I think I'll make up a list of tasks I don't like doing, and for which I'll reward myself with a penny in the Penny Jar every time I do it.
• Rock Cairn. I'm going to try this idea for cleaning house. I'll establish a special place or shelf on which to build my own little rock cairn every month. Somewhere where it will be displayed like a work of art. In a container nearby, I'll have the smooth rocks. Each time I do a housecleaning task, I will get to take out a new rock to add to my cairn. I will make a list of housecleaning chores I would like to do regularly, and include some fun or unusual jobs like gardening. I can either put these on slips of paper, and draw them out randomly, or I can write them directly on the rocks themselves, to draw out randomly.
• Surprise Element. I am motivated by unpredictability and surprise. So when I exercise, part of what keeps my interest in it is that I have twelve different workouts, and I choose one randomly to do each time. As you can see, I've also employed this trick with my housecleaning idea above--the tasks are chosen randomly. This fits my random personality, which gets bored if I follow the same pattern too long.
• Bribe a Kid to be Your Workout Buddy. Of course, if you can find a friend to be your workout buddy, that's awesome. But it can backfire--some days you might be ready to workout twenty minutes sooner, but you have to wait until your buddy arrives. And somedays there are unexpected conflicts which mess you two up, or you are sick, or your buddy is sick, etc. Another option is to "hire" (or bribe) one of your children to work out with you. It helps so much to have another with you when you do it. My children will work out for chocolate, which are cheap wages. Another option would be to pay them with a little money, or exchange their time spent with you for you doing something special with them. And your kids will get a workout in the process as well.