In Need Of A Little Motivation

I’ve struggled a little with motivation this week.

It may be that week 3000 of lockdown has finally seen working from home lose its lustre. Or just that I need a holiday, or a trip to the pub. But even the things I usually enjoy doing the most during the average day have been tough to tackle with any enthusiasm.

I’ve never been one for mindfulness, although I know this helps plenty of people. The recent snow storm ruled out going outside, and my attempts at in-flat have ended poorly in the past.

So what could I do to get myself out of this funk? There are only so many times one can watch cute animals sneezing . . .

According to Healthline, there are a good few things I could do. Here are the ones I think are going to help me most:

Make a “to do” list

When I first read this suggestion, it seemed a little too obvious to me.

Until I realised I’d been operating without one for a good few weeks — lurching from one task to another, chopping and changing based solely on what seems most urgent/what occurred to me first.

Not only does that make the working day a lot more chaotic than necessary, it also robs you of a sense of accomplishment. And it’s when you don’t think you’re accomplishing anything that the rot can really set in.

There are some great apps for creating your “to do” list, but I find it’s much more satisfying getting out your pen and crossing items off a physical list.

Get a “goal buddy”

Enlisting the help of someone with a similar set of goals can help motivate you to make progress.

Since I’m working from home, that pretty much nominated Mrs Digital Ed for the position.

Our jobs aren’t really that similar, so our daily goals aren’t really that similar, either. But one thing we both definitely want to do is get though our “to do” lists!

So now we’re going to start comparing plans in the morning, and comparing progress at 5pm. That way we can keep track of how we’re getting on, and encourage one another when we’re starting to flag.

Treat yourself

Now this one I can certainly get behind.

According to Healthline, building in regular small rewards can really help with motivation.

These pauses give you something to look forward to, and they break up your time spent hunched over a laptop keyboard.

So now, we’ve made our tea breaks actual “breaks”. Rather than simply making tea and sitting right back down to work again, we’re taking 10 minutes to stand in the kitchen and chat.

And not about work, either!

Also: chocolate help. Just not with the exercise.

Will motivation return?

Tune in next week . . .

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