Now that it’s midway through February, I just wanted to do a little check-in on those January goals you made. Still hustlin or have you found yourself in a bit of a seasonal rut. I’m not going to lie, I hit a wall…the winter blues if you will. If you are anything like me you are probably wondering how am I going to feel motivated again when I’m feeling so unproductive?
So that wall I hit…it’s like I crashed into it, destroyed all positive momentum I built up, and just stayed there. I put the pause on working out, was treating my body like a garbage disposal, and the passion flame had burnt out. My body lacked energy, I was tired all the time, I wasted precious time just sitting and binge-watching Netflix, and my mood was far from the usual rainbows and sunshine.
I can’t be the only person to ever experience this feeling, right?!? How can a person who promotes so much positivity, is so goal-oriented, and actively tries to lift other women up to live life to its fullest potential feel like this?!? Well I did…and it’s ok!
As women, we pride ourselves on being “on” all the time. A lot of us have full-time jobs, significant others, kiddos, side hustles, whatever-you name it, that require our full attention. That is a lot of hats for one person to juggle on a daily basis. I find that no one wants to talk about feeling off while performing a balancing act because it makes us seem weak. That’s some bullshit.
Self-exploration can be one powerful beast. If you are truly open and honest with yourself, one can identify some pretty enlightening things about themselves…good and bad alike. It is really easy to lie to yourself, make excuses for yourself, or put things off until “later”…girl be honest, you aren’t going to do whatever it is you say you will do “later.” I’m the queen of “later.”
After a few eye-opening conversations with myself and one amazing pep talk from one of my girlfriends, I was able to discover the secret sauce that helped me find my motivational light again.
Check out these motivational life hacks that will have you back to feeling motivated in no time.
Motivational Life Hacks
Personal Health Checklist
I truly believe that a motivated individual has their physical health, emotional health, and mental health close to tip-top shape. If one of those departments is lacking, the whole system goes to shit.
Start with your physical health and run through a mental checklist of all the ways you should be treating yourself like the goddess you are.
- Are you drinking enough water?
- Have you moved your body today?
- Are you fueling your body with nutritional food for energy?
- Do you have healthy sleep habits?
What about your emotional or mental health?
- Have you assessed your stress level in a while?
- Are there things in your life making you unhappy?
- Can you identify any triggers that prompt feeling unmotivated?
Going through this checklist can be daunting and expose some ugly truths but the faster you can identify areas of improvement, the more motivated you will feel. When doing some self-exploration, it was my physical health that I let derail which caused everything else to come crashing down. I was actively choosing not to move my body, eat cape cod chips and other treats, and never drink water….pretty sure this was a recipe for disaster.
Focus your Energy
Have you ever given thought to the different roles you play in your own life? When I think about my life, the roles that come to mind are scientist, girlfriend, solo entrepreneur, athlete, friend, daughter, and sister. Each one of those roles requires a different amount of energy and motivation.
For example, when I run half marathons, that requires a different kind of motivation than sitting and writing a blog post. Do you wanna know what that motivation is? It’s pizza…knowing that there will be pizza at the finish line is all the motivation I need to run my little heart out! ?
Think about the various roles you play in your life and what motivates you to be the best during that time? Get yourself a hype song, a hype woman, or a hype activity to be excited about fulfilling each role in your life.
Create Habits
This next life hack is gold so pay attention….create daily habits in your life that are so second nature you don’t need motivation to do them. Once you create a solid routine, you don’t even need to think about what you are doing, it’s just a natural part of your day.
Studies say it takes an average of 66 days for a habit to become second nature…that’s a long ass time but once that second nature aspect kicks in, it’s a game-changer!
In order for me to be successful, creating routines and daily habits is a must. If I stray too long from my daily norm, I basically have to start all over again and find the motivation I need to get back on track. Sometimes all it takes is a mental pep talk, some positive manifestation, and a swift kick to the batootie to get going.
If you need help making goals and creating habits, check out this post about creating and maintaining healthy goals that will actually last!
Batch Process Your Work
Multitasking is great and all but have you ever tried batch-processing?
Batching the work you do on a regular basis may seem like a no-brainer to you but this was something I learned as I have embarked on my blogger journey. Batch processing is a highly-focused, topic-specific form of working. Breaking it down further… It is dividing your tasks into different days/hours of focusing on a single topic instead of jumping around from task to task.
For example, if I know I need to create at least a month worth of content for my blog, I pick a day and just focus on content creation. If I have a bunch of cases in the laboratory I need to process, I take the morning and only focus on processing evidence.
Not only is batch processing a great use of your time, but it also allows you to be laser-focused and excited about the task at hand. Checking items off your to-do list will provide you with the motivation to keep going or move on to another task.
Find the Things that Serve You
2021 has been the year of the cleanse. If you find yourself surrounded by negative energy then this motivational hack is for you.
The more negative energy that fills your space, the faster it is going to drag you down to an unproductive state. In order for you to find that excited energy that fuels your motivational fire, it’s time to say goodbye to all that negative BS in your life, set some healthy boundaries, and stop comparing yourself to other people.
It’s time to take control of your life again! You are woman, now ROARRR! Man, I feel a lot better already!
As a way to work towards feeling more motivated, healthy boundaries were the first things I had to create. I’m not sure if it’s a COVID thing, but people have way too much time alone with their thoughts right now and feel the need to say everything that comes to their mind, hurtful or not.
By distancing myself I’ve allowed myself to live in a happier state of mind. This has translated into having more productive energy to focus on the things that matter most in my life.
“No” is a complete sentence my friends and it is ok to say it!
I hope that these motivational life hacks will serve you well moving forward. It is ok to have unproductive moments but do not let them consume your life.
Comment below on what things motivate you to live your best life! Are there any motivational life hacks that you swear by?
