Sometimes even the most dedicated home – based professionals suffer from a lack of motivation. If your get up and go seems to have gotten up and gone somewhere without you, do not despair. It is not gone forever. Here are a few tips to help you through those times when you just don’t feel like doing your work.
Get up and move. Fatigue can definitely sap your motivation, and a brisk walk can help bring your energy back. Bonus points if you walk outdoors, as the visual change can help to break the monotony of your work environment. Even if you just get up and walk around your house for a few minutes, you will get your blood flowing and you will feel less lethargic. Also, walking around and looking at things other than your desk may spark new ideas.
Do something. Anything. It is common for people to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated when they are faced with a mountain of tasks and they do not know where to begin. Taking any action, no matter how small, helps to remove that “stuck” feeling. Reply to an email or two, make a phone call, start with the easy stuff. Once you get going it is easier to keep on working for the remainder of your work day or shift.
Set a goal with a reward attached to it, but be sure to keep it realistic. For example, my schedule of goals and rewards for this evening looks like this: write one blog post, get a snack. Write another blog post, check Facebook for ten minutes. Write a third blog post, then look at Pinterest for ten minutes before going to bed. Whether we like it or not, we all have a little kid inside of us. When we are feeling unmotivated, appealing to that inner child’s desire for “treats” can help us to get going again.
Photo by snowbear on morguefile.com.