How to Get Stuff Done When You Feel Unmotivated
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I can’t stand excuses, even from myself.
Why?
Because everything is a detraction from the possibility of doing something. And that something is often within easy reach.
Am I going to finish my homework?
No, I can leave that till later.
Am I going to go for a hike today?
Nah…I’m too tired.
Am I going to follow through on the commitment I made to myself?
I’ll do it another day. I was just too busy.
Sometimes when I’ve promised myself that I’ll exercise or work on a writing project, I find I’d rather forget about it and do something else.
Why?
Because I also have other things to do. Other things that seem more pressing. More urgent.
And I suddenly feel overwhelmed.
Sometimes I don’t know where to start.
I think a lack of motivation can stem from feeling overwhelmed by all that you have to do.
You end up doing all these little things that seem urgent but really eat away at your time and energy.
However, the things we think are urgent may not be as important as we think.
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what’s important.” -Stephen R. Covey
So how do I decide what’s urgent versus what’s important? And how do I find the motivation to do the things I want to get done?
Scheduling
This is probably the most important thing to do. If you schedule it, you’re more likely to do it. I learned this strategy from Gretchen Rubin, who says that scheduling can be a powerful tool in habit-formation. I schedule everything from writing to exercising into my calendar. I also set up notifications on my desktop and email for an extra layer of accountability. When something is scheduled, it’s pretty hard to…
