Where did my motivation go?

Where does motivation come from? How to we retain it? How do we keep commitments we make in our inspired moments? I don’t have the answer. Today I don’t feel like doing anything. I feel spent and uncreative. I made a commitment a week ago to write 1,000 words five days a week. 

One day last week, I barely squeaked by, writing three or four hundred original words in a story. It was after 9 pm and I was creatively burnt out. I switched gears and copied and pasted an outline of sorts for my series. I made it a while ago in the car using the speech-to-text feature on my phone. If you never used speech-to-text, I highly recommend it—but be prepared for some interesting interpretations especially of character names. I recommend correcting any errors immediately, instead of several months later. I edited and added to this rambling outline. By the end, it was well over 1,000 words. That was good enough. And it was helpful to have that series big picture legible. 

Today, however, I don’t feel like doing anything. I spent a good forty-five minutes sitting on my couch scrolling through reels and social media posts. Not in the beneficial for my platform sort of way either. More in the I don’t want to move sort of way. Somedays I wake up and don’t have the energy for any of it. How do we combat this?

When we take care of our bodies, we have the mental energy to handle our creative endeavors and personal commitments. I could do an entire post on each of these topics (I may well do so in the future.) In essence, keeping ourselves healthy in mind and body, helps us have the capacity to accomplish our dreams. Health means different things to different people, but these are generally(ha!) in our control.

1. First is sleep. I went to bed at a resonable-ish hour last night, but I had to nurse the baby at midnight and then again at 5:30 this morning. Not terrible, but it took me a while to fall back asleep. My watch tells me I got 7 hours 16 minutes of sleep last night with a total of 8 h 30 minutes in bed. That’s a reasonable amount of sleep, but I don’t feel rested or energized. It’s likely due to poor sleep from previous nights’ catching up. Maintaining a consistent bedtime is key to sustaining appropriate levels of energy.

2. Eating food that energizes and uplifts us boosts our ability to pursue our desires. I am not going to demonize any foods here.  Any food can fit into a well-balanced diet. It’s important, however, to pay attention to what is in our food and how it makes us feel. Every body is different. Some foods are fine for some people but make others feel bloated and tired. Be mindful. Making healthy choices that are best for mind and body 80% of the time is a generally good rule to follow. 

3. Take time for rest. This is different from sleep. Rest renews and replenishes us. Go on a walk, lay out on the grass, meditate, read, play music—anything that recharges your mental batteries helps us keep the commitments we make. 

Yesterday, I had a busy day of meetings, running errands, cleaning the house, cooking and cleaning up dinner, all with a one-year-old who refused to nap. By the time I put the kids to bed, I was fried crispy. I took a short walk, but, at the hottest part of the day, it was not the usual restful pursuit for me. Today, I needed time to do nothing, to rest my body and mind—scrolling through social media was not the best method for that, but that’s what I did. Meditating or reading would have been more beneficial and effective for recharging. I’ve fallen out of my meditating practice and would like to reestablish it. It provides the rejuvenation I need to accomplish my goals.

4. Another piece to this puzzle involves curating inspiration and edifying content. What we put into our brains matters as much as the food we put in our bodies. Some things creatively sap us more than others.  Some books, podcasts, and movies inspire us to add to the creative narrative. Others may not. It doesn’t mean there is no place for ‘mindless’ entertainment. Instead, be aware of how some content affects you, and be mindful how much you consume. I love fiction. It’s not at all a ‘bad’ thing to consume. But if I start reading a novel before I do my own creative work, I have a hard time switching gears. I only want to read because it’s easier for me to read than to write. Lately, I’ve told myself I can read a novel as soon as I write my 1,000 words or edited or whatever other tasks I have planned. 

Curate your environment

Make it inspire you.

5. Curate your environment. Do you work better at a desk? On the couch? Or at a coffee shop? Figure out what works for you. Minimize interruptions. Keyword: minimize. With kids, interruptions are the name of the game. Some things are within our control. Is the tv on? Is your phone out? Turn down the volume and use your phone’s features to silence notification. Is anything in our environment causing problems for us? How can we remove or mitigate the problem?

6. Establish a plan. Schedule it. Think about when and how you are going to keep these commitments to ourselves. What time works best for us to write or exercise or knit or bake? What are some potential roadblocks? How do we handle those? Make a backup plan for it that original plan doesn’t work. I’ll write during the kids naps, but if it’s too short—I can take them to a play-place to work. 

Taking care of ourselves is essential, but sometimes we do the best we can and still can’t find motivation. Sometimes things outside our control mean we lose sleep or a chronic illness flairs. Give yourself grace. It’s okay. It takes time to improve our health. We can still feel crappy even if we’re doing everything ‘right.’ You may need a day to recharge. Let things go and pick them back up the next day.

You can still work towards your goals with these tactics: 

1.  Ensure your commitments are reasonable. Don’t set a goal to wake up at 5am and exercise if that has never been a part of your life. Right now, 1,000 words a day is a lot. It was hard to get that in some days.

2. Give yourself permission to do half (or an imperfect job at whatever it is). Anything is better than nothing. Take a five-minute walk around the house if your mile-long walk is not possible. Yesterday, I told myself I could do 500 words and that would be alright. Today, I said I would just open a document and start writing this. It didn’t matter how many words I got.  Getting started is enough. Sometimes getting over the start hump allows me to get to the goal I set for myself. 

3. Make adjustments. You don’t have to do something every day if three or four days works better for you. Smaller steps can keep you heading in the right direction. 

4. If you’re up for it, try reading, listening, or watching something related to your goal. Sometimes hearing about other people working toward similar goals that have ‘succeeded’ helps motivate me to continue toward my goals.

After a week, I’ll keep my 1,000-word goal as is. I’ve written so much more than I typically would in a week. I’m open to adjusting it as life evolves. I’m not sure if it will stay the same when I have a big edit to do, but for now it’s pushing me in the right direction. 

Motivation is built by our actions. It’s our responsibility. If we miss the target, let it go and set up the next shot. Move the target closer if necessary. Make your adjustments and keep shooting. Even if you never hit the target, you’ll have developed the muscles and skills that will help you reach your next target.