Career Growth
How to Ask for Feedback at Work, With Example Wording
13 min read
Motivation Facts: Practical Guides for Personal Growth, Goals and Wellbeing
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How to Ask for a Raise: When to Ask and What to Say
How to ask for a raise: when to ask, how to build your case, what to say in person or in writing, how much to ask for, and what to do if the answer is no.
How to Ask for a Raise: When to Ask and What to SayPractical Guides for Personal Growth, Goals and Wellbeing
Goals and Motivation
How to Build a Habit That Lasts Past the First Week
12 min read
Personal Growth
How to Build Self-Confidence, One Small Step at a Time
12 min read
Personal Growth
Understand Yourself and Learn What Matters to You
If you are wondering what you actually want, or how to build confidence without pretending to be someone else, the Personal Growth guides cover self-development strategies, getting to know yourself, values, learning and confidence. You will find ways to notice what matters to you, examples of how people pick up a new skill at an ordinary pace, and small exercises you can try and drop if they do not fit.
Read the Personal Growth guidesPersonal Growth
Personal GrowthHow to Build Self-Confidence, One Small Step at a Time
How to build self-confidence: what to do right before a hard moment, small steps to repeat each week, and how to answer harsh self-talk after a setback.
Personal GrowthHow to Find Your Core Values: Examples and a Simple Way to Narrow Them Down
How to find your core values: a long list of example values, a simple way to narrow them to a few, and how to use them in your real decisions this week.
Personal GrowthHow to Learn a New Skill as an Adult, Even With a Busy Week
How to learn a new skill as an adult with a busy week: pick one small result, practise in short sessions, test yourself, and keep going when it feels slow.
Personal GrowthHow to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others: What to Do When It Hits
How to stop comparing yourself to others: why it happens, what to do the moment it hits, how to change your feed, and how to turn comparison into a next step.
Goals and Motivation
Goals and Motivation
Choose a Goal and Keep It Going
Many goals stall because they were never quite the right size, or because motivation was expected to do work that a routine does better. The Goals and Motivation guides cover choosing and keeping goals, habits, motivation, procrastination and routines. Expect concrete examples, like how to shrink a goal on a hard week, and explanations of why a plan that looked fine on Sunday falls apart by Wednesday.
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Goals and MotivationHow to Build a Habit That Lasts Past the First Week
How to build a habit that lasts: how long habits really take, a low-willpower method you can start today, and what to do after you miss a day or a week.
Goals and MotivationHow to Stay Motivated When You Do Not Feel Like It
How to stay motivated when you do not feel like it: small first steps, ways to make starting easier, and when low motivation is worth talking to a doctor.
Goals and MotivationHow to Stop Procrastinating: Small First Steps That Work
How to stop procrastinating: why putting things off feels easier, a five-minute start, everyday examples, popular tricks, and how to restart after you slip.
Goals and MotivationMorning Routine Ideas for Real Mornings
Morning routine ideas for real mornings: a five-minute version, ideas for parents and shift workers, what to do the night before, and if waking early matters.
Career Growth
Prepare for Reviews, Feedback and Work Changes
A review is coming, a role is shifting, or you want to grow without knowing where to begin. The Career Growth guides cover professional development goals, skills, reviews, feedback and work changes. They are written for people whose employers offer plenty of support and for people whose employers offer none, so each guide includes steps you can take on your own.
Read the Career Growth guidesCareer Growth
Career GrowthHow to Ask for a Raise: When to Ask and What to Say
How to ask for a raise: when to ask, how to build your case, what to say in person or in writing, how much to ask for, and what to do if the answer is no.
Career GrowthHow to Ask for Feedback at Work, With Example Wording
How to ask for feedback at work: words for a manager, a peer or a customer, an email you can copy, and what to do when the answer is vague or never comes.
Career GrowthHow to Change Careers, Step by Step
How to change careers step by step: test a new field first, name the skills that carry over, check retraining and money, and explain the change in interviews.
Career GrowthHow to Take Criticism at Work Without Shutting Down
How to take criticism at work without shutting down: what to say in the moment, how to tell fair from unfair feedback, and what to do once the sting fades.
Relationships
Relationships
Talk It Through With Family, Friends and Partners
Some conversations are easier to have once you have words for them. The Relationships guides cover communication, boundaries, friendship, family, partners and conflict. You will find examples of what to say, explanations of why certain disagreements keep repeating, and ideas for setting a limit kindly and clearly.
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RelationshipsHow to Build Trust in a Relationship, Day by Day
How to build trust in a relationship day after day: small promises kept, honest talks without blame, handling jealousy, and repairing trust after a lie.
RelationshipsHow to Communicate Better With Your Partner: Words and Habits That Help
How to communicate better with your partner: gentle ways to start, listening so they feel heard, words for hard topics, and what to do when they go quiet.
RelationshipsHow to Set Boundaries With Family, With Words to Say
How to set boundaries with family: words to say to parents, siblings, in-laws and grown children, and what to do when they push back or guilt shows up.
RelationshipsHow to Get Over a Breakup: What to Do Today and in the Weeks After
How to get over a breakup: what helps in the first days, handling contact and social media, living together or sharing children, and when to get more help.
Self-Care and Wellbeing
Rest, Stress and Everyday Care
Looking after yourself often comes down to small, repeatable things. The Self-Care and Wellbeing guides cover rest, stress, everyday self-care, and sleep and movement basics. The suggestions stay modest on purpose, because one habit or one good night will not fix everything, but a few steady changes can make a busy stretch easier to carry.
Read the Self-Care and Wellbeing guidesSelf-Care and Wellbeing
Self-Care and WellbeingHow to Rest Without Feeling Guilty: Ideas for Days Off, Sick Days and Lazy Days
How to rest without feeling guilty on a day off, a sick day or a lazy day: rest that fits your week, words for saying no, and two small exercises for guilt.
Self-Care and WellbeingSigns of Burnout: How to Spot Them and What to Try First
Signs of burnout at work and at home, how burnout differs from stress and low mood, gentle first steps to try this week, and when to talk to a doctor.
Self-Care and WellbeingSleep Hygiene Tips: Habits to Try Tonight, and When to Ask a Doctor
Sleep hygiene tips you can try tonight: a wind-down that fits your evening, bedroom changes, caffeine and light timing, and when it is time to see a doctor.
Self-Care and WellbeingHow to Manage Stress: What to Try in Five Minutes, Today and This Week
How to manage stress: what to try in the next five minutes, habits for the weeks ahead, sleep, work and money stress, and when it is time to talk to a doctor.
Advice That Fits Your Week
Each guide is built around one question and ends with something you can do next, whether that is a goal sized for a busy month, a sentence to open a difficult conversation, or a review point to check how a plan is going. You can read more about the publication on the About Us page, and if you spot a mistake or have a collaboration idea, the Contact Us page has a form for it.
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Latest guidesBrowse all guides
Career Growth
How to Ask for a Raise: When to Ask and What to Say
13 min read
Career Growth
How to Ask for Feedback at Work, With Example Wording
13 min read
Goals and Motivation
How to Build a Habit That Lasts Past the First Week
12 min read
Personal Growth
How to Build Self-Confidence, One Small Step at a Time
12 min read
Relationships
How to Build Trust in a Relationship, Day by Day
12 min read
Where to Start
Open the blog and pick the area closest to what is on your mind today. If you would like new guides to come to you, use the email signup form on the site, and you can also follow Motivation Facts on Facebook and YouTube. One guide, one small step, and a plan you are free to change is a perfectly good place to begin.