Are you lacking motivation? Feeling stuck and having difficulty getting things done? We can help.
We probably all agree that we’ve had days or weeks of feeling unproductive, lacking motivation and like we haven’t gotten anything done. You may need to work on cleaning up the cluttered and messy spare room before your company comes to visit. Or get those minor house repairs done. There is no end to those to-do lists that continue to grow and yet you still can’t find the energy or the motivations to do anything worthwhile.
When people feel overwhelmed it’s not that uncommon to avoid doing anything at all when it comes to all the things you feel you should do or need to do. Instead, you may search and watch videos on social media and waste hours of your valuable time and checking your stats to only notice that you’ve just made yourself look busier than you actually are. You’d much rather sit in front of the couch, in front of the television watching a good movie instead of pretending to work.
Honestly, I almost fell sleep this morning trying to focus on my training video. It was an hour later that I woke up and realized how tired I was and I hadn’t even done anything yet this morning. Purely exhausted doing nothing. We can all get in a habit of sitting around, and doing nothing which can make us even tireder by not doing anything at all.
After this happened, I figured it might be a good time to share what to do when your feeling like your lacking motivation. I do one of these tips daily, to motivate myself for the past week just to keep me going.
When I feel unmotivated, there are a few common things I naturally start to do…and they are:
I start scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest looking at my stats or analytics to make it seem like I’m being productive. After too long I get sucked into watching time-consuming, funny cat, dog or frog videos and not even noticing that an hour has just passed me by. There is no way I will ever get that hour, and I feel such guilt not getting anything productive done.
I’ve been working for quite a while and because I’m so tired I lose my focus and start jumping from one task to another, without really achieving anything again.
Another way I know that I’m feeling unmotivated is I may forget what I’m doing after just looking at my to-do list and start working on tasks like dusting the furniture or sifting through junk mail, instead of focusing on my list just to avoid doing what I need to get done.
It happens every time. I get super distracted and go from one task to the next. Just like chasing 2 rabbits, I’m not likely going to catch just one by trying to chase two at once. If I could just focus on one rabbit at a time, I might just catch one. So hard to do.
Whenever, I notice myself doing these things, I know it’s time to motivate myself again. Sometimes it seems easier said than done, when you lacking motivation to get tasks done.
If you find yourself in this situation too, here are some thing you can try –
Make a To-Do List
Why should we do this? Well…one of the reasons why we become overwhelmed and unmotivated is because of lack of direction. It’s like a ship trying to find it’s way, without it’s navigation equipment working properly. It just won’t get anywhere.
At times we just need to see what actually needs to get done in order to work on pushing ourselves forward to complete those things.
I prefer to start every morning by making my To-Do List, the list of things I need to do for that day only. I begin by starting with only 3-5 things, chunking it down into smaller more manageable parts makes it far less overwhelming. Also, I’m more likely to get it done and with that success I feel much happier and productive for that day. This is preferable to looking at everything I have to do for the week, the month, or the year. Not that there is anything wrong with having these goals in mind but if they’re our sole focus, it can not only be overwhelming but daunting to the point that we may decide not to do anything at all.
Just out small, little baby steps, with a goal towards one minute, one hour, one day at a time. This will help keep you from becoming flooded with too much too do.
When you feel like you’re really lacking all motivation. Try making a big To-Do List just to get it out of your head and leave it there for now. This can include things that may need to get done over the next week or two, or a month from now.
This can get you looking forward and excited to meeting your new goals, as long as they are SMART, which literally stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. So ask yourself do they meet all of these criteria when you are setting goals or tasks for yourself.
I believe the best part of having To-Do Lists is that they can assist you in becoming more organized, outside of your thoughts in your head and provide you with a concrete list of these to do. If you start to lack motivation or creativity, let your list be your guide. And stick to it. Remember there is no point to working on a list of tasks or goals to get done if they’re not important or don’t need to really get done. Especially when you have so many things that do need to get done.
Main Ideas
To be well organized in the workplace, or in your personal life, it can be helpful to be using To-Do Lists. By using them, you will ensure the following:
- All tasks will be carried out, remember, and followed through on
- You won’t get stuck on less important tasks, and will focus on completing the more important ones
- By focusing on the most important tasks, you’ll be less likely to become stressed out by the massive quantity of unimportant tasks
It’s best to begin by listing all of the tasks that you have to carry out.
Secondly, indicate by marking next to that task the importance of it, with a priority from A (very important) to F (unimportant). Thirdly, redo this list by order of importance. Complete the list from top to bottom now because these are the most important ones that you’ve prioritized earlier.
A great tool that can be of benefit is using software-based time management tools on your Smart Phone or laptop. You can typically access these from anywhere, and they can easily be setup to work on multiple devices. Anything to make life a little easier, and less stressful will be helpful.
Change Your Location
When feeling unmotivated it can be a great practice to change your location. This can be the best thing to do when you feel stagnant and unproductive. It can feel like a drain on your energy, if your stuck in the same place for far too long so change it up a little. And you might notice that, that is all you need to get your creative juices flowing again. Maybe try working in the park, a quiet coffee shop, or next to a beautiful flowing lake, or a library just to change it up. This might be all that you need to motivate you.
Changing up your work location can help change the vibe and be incredibly inspiring so try out different places or locations. Work from the couch or the patio or from your home office for once. Everyone needs a change of scenery every now and then. And it can make a significant difference. If your struggling with low energy and need a boost, then check out your local coffee shop, university cafe, or co-working office. Often these places have lots of energy, and positive vibes, caffeine, and lots of movement. You may find that this might just be helpful in getting you, your flow back.
