It is winter in the southern hemisphere and down south the days are overcast, rainy and time to top up your vitamin D is short. After the initial cosiness that red wine by the fireplace brings, the burden of carrying an umbrella everywhere takes over. The love for being rugged up wanes quickly after the second time you’re caught in a torrential downpour in new shoes. The rate of diagnoses for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is high and with restricted overseas travel to tropical climates, the daily grind is hard and very real.
Now the only grind I like in my life is for coffee beans, so when going to work feels like a grind it can cause inner chaos. I am the person who gets stuff done, the anti-procrastinator that never leaves things to the last minute. When I feel unmotivated, my emotional tone calibrates low and I get that feeling of “flatness”.
Perhaps you can relate? It’s ok to say yes, this is a no judgement zone. No one can be expected to operate at 110% motivation all the time. It’s not sustainable. The good news is that feeling unmotivated is not terminal; it passes. However, it can become a serious distraction when the feelings linger.
So, what can you do when that unmotivated feeling won’t go away?
I find it becomes easier to get through a period of low motivation when I understand my triggers and implement my own tools to overcome it. My research into this topic frequently identified that a lack of motivation is often a reaction to the current situation. Assuming there are no other major external factors such as relationship, financial or health some of the most common causes for feeling unmotivated at work are:
Achieving a big goal – then feeling a sense of loss in not knowing what comes next.
Starting something new – can bring self-doubt and procrastination in not knowing how to begin.
Having too much going on – being stretched so thin with everything that is happening that you feel overwhelmed.
Low commitment – when you agree to a work project or are obligated to do something that doesn’t align with your intrinsic motivators.
Being treated poorly – receiving constructive feedback or feeling mistreated at work can cause feelings of disengagement and apathy.
Whilst there is no magic pill for motivation and escapist behaviour only provides a fleeting reprieve, here are my life hacks to move through the lull of feeling unmotivated quicker:
Chunk it down – focussing not on the big goal but the one little task you need to do right now to have progress. Progress builds momentum. Call it “20 seconds of insane courage” or “10 minutes of power”, whatever works for you to just do it and plan a reward for yourself. The reward could be texting your friend or going to the local barista for a coffee. Find what works for you that you can build into your day.
Manage the To-Do list – write down everything you need to do today, and then select what is most important and urgent. This exercise is described in more detail in a HBR article and the main benefit is you will identify what shouldn’t even be on the list. The activities that can be delayed, delegated, or demolished – as in why are you even doing it? I find this liberating and it gets easier with more practice. I am sure there is some law of the universe that says having 23 things on your To-Do list will never work. Focus on 1 big thing, 3 medium and 5 small things.
Ride the wave when motivation is high – you know those days when you have the sense of flow, time flies and you are bouncing with productivity? Embrace them when they are here and notice the pattern of what brings these days. Is it the type of activity or the people you are engaging with? Learn to understand the positive triggers so that when low motivation starts to bubble up you can find ways to getting back that sense of flow. Even ask yourself “what would I be doing right now if I felt motivated?”
Find a buddy – sharing how you feel with a work buddy or a friend outside of work can help take the pressure off. Use the time to discuss what might be causing the feeling. If you find that the activity isn’t something that inspires you, is there someone you could work with to help you? Or delegate it to? If you are a leader are you trying to do it all and not delegating enough to your team – without shirking responsibility it could be a good development opportunity for a team member.
Practice self-care – this is my holistic view. If you have a healthy body, the mind will be strong and resilient. Having the foundations where you are getting plenty of sleep, good food and implementing healthy skills to cope with life stressors will mean that your motivation lapses are often short lived. Personally, just being outside in nature makes the world of difference but in the gloom of winter I find that it’s the first thing that I don’t prioritise – a continual work in progress for me! If you find that the low motivation goes on for more than two weeks and is impacting your work and personal relationships, then you may benefit from professional help. If you have a sports coach to work on your body, why not a coach for your mind?
My last note of advice is to just accept it and let go. Totally easier said than done I know! Some days you are just not going to feel it and pushing yourself for mediocre results won’t work. So just freaking relax. One “Off” day does not drown out all your thousands of “On” days. Tomorrow you will feel better, you little superstar you.
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