Everyone experiences days when they don’t feel like doing anything. Motivation is at its lowest point. Even getting out of bed seems to be impossible. How can you on earth increase your motivation then?
Incredibly, on those days, my mind is busier than usual. It keeps jumping from task to task, and counting, in the background, all the things that I have to get done, but I don’t! The thoughts of unfinished tasks are so overwhelming that I prefer to stay in bed and let the work magically get resolved. Then motivation starts to go downhill again. Ah! I just wasted my precious morning. I could have finished my workout by now!
We need to break this loop at some points and take control of our life. In this blog, I am sharing with you some practical strategies to increase your motivation in your gloomy days.
How to Increase Your motivation
Use the strategies in the list below on the days that you feel unmotivated. If you are currently productive, it is fantastic, but you need to get prepared for days when you are not at your peak.
Change the way you talk to yourself
When we say
“I should do more exercise”,
“I should pay my bills”,
“I should eat more healthy food”,
“I should increase my savings”,
or “I should treat my child better”,
we are dividing our realities into two parts. One is our state of being, and the other is the ideal world that we wish we had. By repeating the sentence of “I should do XX”, we are confirming that these two realities are separate and uncombinable. As a result, we feel incompetent, weak, and underachiever.
Instead of using the words “I can’t” or “I should“, use a more descriptive verb for your current situation.
For example, instead of telling yourself that,
I should make my sales calls, but I can’t stop watching YouTube.
Say,
Currently, I am lying on my bed watching YouTube. I will stay here for another 5 minutes, then I will get up and make one call to Ms. Johnson.
[State it clearly!]
If it is one of your days that you have a long to-do list and haven’t prioritized them yet, say
Currently, I am lying on my bed watching YouTube. I will stay here for another 5 minutes, then I will get up, drink one glass of water and stretch for 5 minutes, then I will decide what to do next.
In the second scenario, instead of pretending that you have no control over your actions, you have put yourself in charge of all the things that are happening in your life.
Change the way you talk to others
This one might surprise you! Research has shown that by telling people about your goals, you are less likely to achieve them. When you tell others about your plan for succeeding in something, you get satisfaction from their recognition. This feeling of satisfaction gives you the sense that you have already carried out your idea and accomplished your goal.
To keep the excitement about your end goals, do more work, and less talk! Let your identity shines through your actions and achievements rather than your words.
Know your reasons
No one can commit to a task that has no value for them. We need to be clear about why we have to pursue an action. This clarity is necessary for overcoming the obstacles and becoming successful.
To search through your deepest thoughts and find your core values, Benjamin Hardy suggested a QA method. In this method, you keep asking yourself a simple question until you reach the true reason of why you want something.
What about _________ is important to me?
Fill the blank with your goal. For example, if your goal is losing weight, ask:
What about losing weight is important to me?
Possible answer: that I will be healthy.
What about being healthy is important to me?
Possible answer: that I have more energy.
Repeat this process for at least 7-steps. The further you go, the more inspiring thoughts unravel.
Get Started
There is a misconception accepted by the majority that we need to be motivated to take any action toward our goal. If we take this advice, then we should sit still and let the opportunities pass by. Then, if we are lucky, an inspirational talk will find us to make a spark of motivation for a few minutes.
However, it doesn’t always work like that! The motivation that is caused by taking action is way more powerful and prominent than the one caused by the outside world. As Mark Manson explains, our actions create inspiration which motivates more actions. With this mindset, we always have motivational fuel for proceeding with our goals.
If you are struggling to get started because your task is too vague, boring, or big, then try to break it down into actionable pieces. In my previous blog, I explained in detail some practical strategies for overcoming the hardship of getting started.
Write your tasks down
Writing down your task organizes your mind. A clear mind directly improves your performance. Both efficiency and clarity increase your motivation.
Don’t just write your tasks in a random piece of paper which you can lose easily, dedicate a notebook (paper or software version) to it. This notebook will serve as a one-stop solution that keeps all your previous and upcoming to-dos. Some benefits of this habit are:
- You know where to find it (no time wasted searching for the back of that grocery receipt where you wrote your tasks on!)
- You can easily track pending items from days before.
- You won’t forget a thing.
- You can track everything that you have accomplished so far.
- Finally, you get into the habit of writing your tasks.
Change your environment
Leave your current environment to increase your motivation. Sometimes, our feelings get associated with our environment. Changing our surrounding triggers new emotions and inspires creativity.
For example, if you have been working from home for a long time, take your laptop to a coffee shop, and work from there. If it is not feasible for you, go for a quick walk. If you absolutely cannot leave the house, turn on the music.
Stop trying to be perfect
Perfectionism is often viewed as a positive trait. In fact, it makes us no good but causing anxiety, stress, or depression. It sucks the happiness out of our life.
Although perfectionist people do a lot of hard work to reach their goals, they become unmotivated by never achieving perfection. Their self-critical black-or-white mindset always sees the gap between them and their ideal world.
Perfectionism leads us to avoid challenges in an attempt to prevent failure. If you hear yourself saying, “I am not starting this task unless I know exactly how to do it.” or “I can’t present my work since it is not good enough.”, then you might be a perfectionist person and your unrealistic standards caused your lack of motivation.
Shifting your mindset to get comfortable with imperfection is possible, but takes time. The good news is when you spot the problem, you can purposely take action to control it.
Get inspiration from yourself
Write a note for yourself on one of those days that you are on the peak of productivity and energy. Then, read it when you need a bit of support to increase your motivation. No one knows you better than you, so why not inspiring yourself with your own words?
For example, I wrote this letter and kept it in my drawer:
Hello girl!
You have done a lot of amazing things today. You were very productive. In addition to your satisfactory work, You read a few chapters of a novel, exercised for half an hour, did 30 minutes of yoga, cooked dinner, and cleaned the house. Every day is different! If you can have such a productive day, you can have lazy days too! It’s OK if you wake up with less energy. After all, you are human! Get up and water the plants in your room and then get a big glass of water for yourself! Take a shower and wear your favorite clothes, then decide how you want to spend your day! I know you very well. Trust me!
Love,
Arghavan
The above letter works for me! Write your own version, something that is effective for you.
Talk to an energetic friend
I hope you have one person in your life that has a positive vibe. I am blessed to have a few of them. Life is much simpler around them. If you know a person like that, call them…Talk to them…Complain about your mood…I’m sure they will listen…Then, let them talk…Laugh with them…When you hang up, I am sure that you will feel different.
Avoid Burnout
If your lack of motivation is caused by excessive pressure of work, then you need to address that before anything.
Enduring too much stress in a long period of time results in burnout, a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. Burnout reduces productivity and motivation.
If that’s the case for you, try to take some time off to unwind. Make sure you are completely disconnected from work in that period. Also, make a balance between work and life by spending time with your friends or family or doing something as a hobby.
Sometimes others might be able to help if you ask them. If doing your 9-5 jobs, taking care of the kids, and organizing the house overwhelm you, ask your partner to help. Discuss the issue with them and try to find a way to bring balance back to your life. If you are always exhausted, you are not only damaging yourself but your relationship with all people around you. So, Do not hesitate to ask for help.
The Bottom Line
Do not wait for an outside signal to motivate you. Be the inspiration that you need. Optimal your environment, start taking action, and be kind to yourself!
