‘I can’t be bothered doing anything’
Does this sound familiar?
In this blog we talk about motivation and breaking your tasks into doable chunks, so you can get going and start doing things again.
From time to time we can all struggle to get things done. Sometimes everything can just seem too much. The first thing to keep in mind is we can all feel like this sometimes. The difference is if you are feeling like this as a one off or if it seems like it’s all the time, which can be quite challenging.
There can be various reasons people find it difficult to be motivated for day to day tasks, having a routine, pleasurable activity and doing things with others. Perhaps it’s due to tiredness, feeling off colour or maybe thinking negatively about everything? There can be many reasons sometimes specific causes such as anxiety about the things you need to do, worrying about getting it wrong or being embarrassed. Or in general you might be putting things off – maybe due to depression. If it’s a long-term issue, then it might be worthwhile speaking to your G.P. to ensure there isn’t an underlying physical or mental health problem.
How Bad Thoughts Can Demotivate Us
Are you falling for the ‘Bad Thought Bug’ – talking yourself out of things, maybe due to a fear of doing it or fear of failing again?
How to Get Started
So, what can you do? How about just do it anyway and see what happens?
This way you are setting things up to give yourself the best chance of success – if you are lying in bed, set an alarm, perhaps even a second alarm and sit it away from your bed so you need to get up to switch it off.
When you get up out of bed, don’t be tempted to sit down on the sofa it’s a sure way to start the day off avoiding doing what you should be doing. Have a healthy breakfast if you can because this will set you up for the rest of the day. Start your task first thing, break it down into small steps if that makes it more achievable, get going before it seems too boring and before your motivation drops, you procrastinate, then it’s a vicious cycle of beating yourself up, reinforcing the sense of failure and putting things off once again!
You could start by doing something energising like jumping on the spot, or going for a brisk walk in the fresh air. Often when we spend a small bit of time outside, we can feel energised, refreshed and more ready to get on with what we need to do.
Say to Yourself – ‘Just Do and See What Happens!’
You may find our ‘Write All Over Your Bathroom Mirror’ little book helpful it’s all about how to get started with things.
Rebuild Your Daily Routine
If you are struggling to even get the ‘should things’ done, like cleaning your house- even washing your hair, paying the bills, making meals. Then trying to get back into a routine can help you start doing the things that keep you well again. Even if you are stuck at home, your routine helps you to feel better because we know – the less you do, the worse you feel, then the less you do, and you are stuck in a vicious cycle of avoidance and reduced activity. So instead of the boring ‘should’ stuff, think about the things you enjoy doing, and the things that make you feel good. If you pick just one enjoyable thing you used to enjoy, you can start with making a plan to do it today.
So How Do You Do It? Create a Plan
Use our planner sheet to help you decide what it is you are going to do- when and how you are going to do it. Check your plan- is it realistic, something you know you can do, used to do and enjoyed doing before?
Are you aiming at just one thing? Make a separate plan for each of the things you want to start doing again.
Is your plan slow? To make sure you are aiming at one thing, and is it realistic.
Is it easy? The easier the steps, the more likely you are to do them.
Are you ready to unblock it? What will you do if it goes wrong? If it goes wrong how will you get round these problems.
So, how do you know it’s working for you? Review
Use our review sheet to see how your plan went and how you can improve future plans for success. You can find it in the resources section of our website. So, if you achieved the thing you planned or enjoyed doing you are more likely to feel a motivated to do more of the ‘should stuff’ as well as the ‘good stuff.’
Aim to plan something for each part of the day- morning, noon and evening, and soon you will be more motivated to start doing lots of different things again.
Don’t Worry- How to Fix Almost Anything
If you feel that you just can’t get things on track and start doing things, don’t worry! Break your big plan into little pieces, small and steady steps that are achievable. You can achieve anything by doing this… even things you haven’t done before.
Chunk Your Plan
Think about little steps- tiny chunks of your plan. Don’t be too ambitious, go easy on yourself. Setting yourself achievable targets, or plans can help you to better achieve what you want to do. Use our Easy 4 Step Plan to break a problem or task into achievable chunks:
Step 1 Break your problem into pieces
Step 2 Brainstorm ways how to do the very first piece
Step 3 Choose an idea, make a plan and do it!
Step 4 Check your plan and put it into practise as we mentioned above.
Taking small steps to achieve positive things will make you feel better, and the more you do this- the better you feel, then the more you will do. You will have slowly, but effectively started to spin your cycle around in the other way, breaking free of your vicious cycle and creating a virtuous cycle instead.
So, go on- give it a try! Just take that first step, and sign up to www.llttf.com where you can work through the above strategies to get motivated and your life going again.
The Living Life to the Full Team.