Staying motivated all the time isn’t easy, as there are many factors that could make your motivation vanish one moment. No one cares whether or not you’re motivated, though. You have to stay productive to get your work and errands done. If you feel like you’ve lost your motivation today – no worries – you can still be super productive. Here’s how:
1. Ditch your long to-do lists
Stress is the leading cause of poor motivation. Nowadays, being busy is a norm and you might start worrying about being too lazy and too slow. Instead of stressing over the busy trap that you’ve got into, start your day with re-checking your to-do list. Prioritize 2 to 3 urgent and important tasks and cross out the others.
Overscheduling triggers a quick burnout, chronic fatigue, and reduced productivity levels. When you’re chronically tired and stressed out, you’re less likely to feel motivated. Remember, you don’t have to live a busy life – it’s not a norm. You need to live a happy life. Happiness and motivation go hand in hand.
2. Focus on your successes
When you’re not feeling motivated, you might think of all your failures. Even worse, you might start considering yourself a total failure because you have difficulty accomplishing all those tasks and projects. In reality, you’re just a human being who faces ups and downs from time to time. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down all your successes you could remember. Read them out loud and see how you feel. Chances are, you’ll feel much more motivated and become more productive then.
3. Get organized
A messy desk equals a messy mind. Clutter on your desk or in your house steals your motivation and creates another reason for you to stress over. Unclutter your space, let fresh air in, and get organized in the office. Your productivity will automatically increase in a well-organized environment.
4. Avoid comparing yourself with others
When you lose your motivation, you might start to believe that someone is better than you are. Just because your coworker managed to accomplish that project today doesn’t mean they’re more productive than you are. Or just because a mom of 5 shared a happy and smiling family picture on Instagram doesn’t mean she is 100% productive or happy all the time.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, start comparing yourself to yourself. There were definitely super productive days earlier this month or week, think about them. Recollect each detail of those days. Experience those emotions you felt on those days. You can feel that way today too. All you should do is just allow yourself to feel motivated and be productive.
5. Remove distractions
Since we’ve used to stay busy all the time, when we don’t feel like doing something we start checking social media feeds or checking our emails just in order to fake productivity. All those distractions – especially social media networks – are stealing our energy, focus, motivation, and most importantly, time. Unplug from everything that doesn’t matter to you right now and focus on what really matters, instead. Leave your phone alone, keep your TV off, and switch off the internet to free your mind of all the clutter those things create in your head.
6. Don’t play a blame game
If you’re not feeling motivated and you’re unable to complete even the easiest task due to it, no one is to blame here except you. Even if your boss ruined your great mood in the morning, it doesn’t mean it’s their fault that you’ve lost your motivation. Playing a blame game leads to a host of negative feelings and emotions, which will eventually drain your energy and you’ll be unable to do anything at all.
7. Work out
If you’re unable to do anything – literally – move your body. You don’t have to drag yourself to the gym, but doing some HIIT exercises or running around the neighborhood will declutter your mind and help you think clearly again. When you work out, inner tensions, worries, doubts, fears, and frustration leave your body, giving enough space for positive thoughts. Once those negative feelings are eliminated, motivation will come. An added bonus: Exercise will increase your energy levels and help you be more productive.
8. Don’t force yourself
Procrastination is a bad thing, but if you’re trying to force yourself to accomplish the task you don’t feel like doing, leave it for tomorrow. Focus on the tasks that you’re more than happy to do. Maybe they’re not so important or urgent, but do them anyway. With a weak motivation, the most crucial thing to do is just to begin. Once you start, you won’t notice how you accomplish half of your to-do list.
Forcing yourself will make you feel drained, discouraged, and stressed out. If you need to accomplish the task you hate urgently, try different productivity rules. For instance, try the 20/10 rule. It’s when you work nonstop for 20 minutes and take a 10-minute break. You can alter the time to help yourself complete that task no matter what.
9. Write it down
When thousands of thoughts are attacking your mind, it’s extremely hard to stay productive. Grab a piece of paper and write down all your emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Write as fast as you can, ignoring grammatical mistakes. The writing process may take 5 to 10 minutes, but it will make a whole difference in how you’ll feel and work then. If writing isn’t your thing, consider talking to your family member, partner, or friend. Your goal is to free your mind of worries and become less emotionally drained.
No one can stay motivated and productive each day. We all have bad days, after all. Try to change the way you react to your low productivity and don’t be too hard on yourself. Besides the tips mentioned above, you can also listen to positive podcasts or watch motivational and inspiring videos or movies.
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