Feeling Unmotivated?

 

Feeling Unmotivated?

Five hundred things to do and seven hundred ways to do them and yet, no apparent reasons as to why you should complete these tasks at hand. Or at the very least, no reasons as to why you should give them any attention right now. Things are put off and delayed until the very last moment. By then the fire alarms are sounding and smoke is rising from the kitchen where you left your unfinished projects on the back burner for far too long. All that's left to do is salvage what wasn't gobbled up by the flames and desperately mold it into something resembling the end product you'd envisioned. 

We've all been there. Its a place I find myself in as I type up this blog post. Motivation is a broad term and its driving forces, or lack thereof, vary. However you'd like to diagnose yourself as being unmotivated, be it writer's block or poor weather, signs and symptoms generally include procrastination, burning the midnight oil, feeling overwhelmed, sweatpants, and narrowly falling asleep in class because you burned too much of that midnight oil. All along you ask yourself if you really need help. Are you truly in a black hole of productivity or do you just "work well under pressure"? Are your new work habits even a bad thing if you still end up getting a good mark on an  assignment you eventually brought yourself to complete? 

The answer? Yes. To all of those questions. Its easy to convince yourself that you're doing fine and that you're just slowly shifting to a more nocturnal way of life. The hardest thing to do when you find yourself in a slump is to admit that you need to turn things around, especially if you've always been a rather productive person. Ultimately, its what got me to sit down and start writing after who knows how long. In a way, my lack of motivation inspired me to do something productive. I originally intended to publish a post on positive affirmations. Maybe some other week. 

So, feeling unmotivated? Here are six things you can do for a healthy dose of productivity. 

1. Take a break and get some rest. This may sound counter-intuitive but if you suddenly feel unwilling to do any work whatsoever it might be because a vacation is long overdue. We all like to think that we're unstoppable machines that can plow through insane amounts of work on the daily. Such is not true of any of us. Power nap, binge watch a Netflix show, anything that will eventually recharge your batteries enough to give you the energy to get something done. Even if that something is vacuuming. 

2. Take a leap of faith. We love being rewarded for our hard work and when we feel as though we're putting in the long hours and still achieving minimal results we begin to develop a reluctance to try. It often seems as though whether we put in the effort or not we perpetually experience some sort of plateau or continually scrape the bottom of the barrel. The only way to get out of this negative situation is to take a leap of faith and blindly assume that the work we put in simply has to lead to some positive results. They may not be tangible or apparent in the short-term but should somehow wiggle their way into our lives soon enough. 

3. Grab some friends and feed off of each other's energy. When we're in a group setting we find ourselves making a conscious effort to perform well. Regardless of whether this is because of an underlying desire to compete and 'win' we do end up beating our own personal best. Working out with a friend versus by yourself? You jump higher and run faster. Participating in a group study session? You set goals and help each other out. Although you might take a few more breaks than you would've had you decided to study alone. There's always that one friend who can't seem to stay on track...

4. Really don't feel like doing something right away? Don't. Now I'm well aware that I seem to be contradicting myself here yet again but this option is only available in certain situations. Ones in which you have some wiggle room and can afford to edge a bit closer to a deadline. Not two hours before your essay is due on Turnitin. When you force yourself to address a task you don't feel like completing, you reward yourself all the more throughout. You feel as if you've done something intensely laborious. Instead of sitting down and finishing your project right away you take twenty minute breaks after working for two and act as though you've climbed Everest after writing a few sentences. Do something productive that you'll actually get enjoyment out of instead by way of exploring one of your hobbies. Paint, sing, dance, and then tackle the stuff you initially put off as you're now in a healthier state of mind. Remember, you can't have all work and no play.

5. Baby steps, take every project little by little. We are often unmotivated because all of the things we have to get around to once we start working are extremely overwhelming. We come to the conclusion that in order to escape the feeling of drowning in a boatload of work all we have to do is never actually start working or at least, put it off until we no longer can. A more reasonable approach is to break large projects down into smaller pieces. Set small deadlines for yourself and follow through with them. Eventually the puzzle will start to come together and you won't have ever had to dedicate an all-nighter to that daunting research assignment. 

6. Celebrate small victories along the way. Reward yourself in ways that motivate you to continue working as you take each five or ten minute break. Whether that reward is checking up on your messages and catching up with friends or a couple minutes of a TV show you've been watching. Another way of catching up with 'Friends'. As in the wonderful 90's sitcom we can't seem to get enough of as a species. 

After sitting myself down and allowing these words to flow freely (as well as taking a healthy amount of breaks at random intervals) I believe I've cured myself of my less-than-constructive phase. It genuinely feels good to be productive. I suppose there is at least one reason as to why you should get some work done.