What to do on low-motivation days
Have you ever had days where you feel slow and unmotivated?
I have days where I stare at the blank Word document wondering what to write.
Writing is a commitment I have made to myself, and to you – to share my journey and learning with you every week.
Yet, I am human and motivation doesn’t always come.
Still staring at the blank page, I would tell myself,
“Just start.
5 sentences. That’s it.
Write it, no matter how bad it is.
We can edit it later.”
So here I am, writing these sentences and as I write these words, I am being reminded of how taking consistent action doesn’t only rely solely on motivation.
Commitment & action trumps motivation.
People thought that once I start to do work that I love, then I would feel motivated all the time.
It is as though there is one perfect job out there for each of us, which will supply us with endless motivation and inspiration.
"If it’s important enough and I am passionate about it, surely I would be energized to go!"
Isn’t it?
That’s not true at all.
Even if I enjoy writing to you, there are days I don’t feel motivated.
Even if I enjoy sweating out, I am not motivated to workout every day.
Even if I am very excited about my coaching practice, I am not motivated to talk about it every day.
Yet, I show up because I am committed to what’s important to me.
If I relied solely on motivation alone, I would never have started my coaching business, let alone sustain it.
One secret ingredient I learned along the way is to set super small goals for myself.
I tend to be over-ambitious when setting goals for myself.
1 hour of workout. 2 hours of writing articles. 1 hour of meditation.
What happens?
It gets so overwhelming at times that I feel tired just thinking about it.
When I feel motivated, sure, it comes easily.
When I don’t feel motivated, looking at my to-do list feels like such a drag.
So, I break it down to really, really small actions.
And, I allow myself to lower my expectations.
Having a perfectionist tendency in me, I need to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Write an article? No, write a paragraph. No, write 5 sentences.
Workout for an hour? No, play a 10-minute HIIT video. No, stand up and do 5 jumping jacks.
Meditate for 40 minutes? No, let’s sit for 5 minutes today. No, let’s take 3 mindful breaths.
Showing up consistently matters.
Just because you’re not motivated doesn’t mean that you can’t do the work.
To me, it’s chicken and egg.
Sometimes, it is the act of taking action that inspires motivation.
If I sit here constantly wondering why am I not motivated, I would be spending time procrastinating trying to battle my low motivation, and beating myself up for not being motivated.
Instead, I act despite feeling unmotivated.
Yes, it may not flow as well as when I feel motivated.
Yet, I still show up and honestly, I feel much more motivated now already!
So, if you are feeling unmotivated, my tip is to do something really small.
Make it so small that your brain is laughing at you – "is that it?"
Yes.
Stand up and do 5 side stretches
Read 1 page of your book.
If your brain is telling you – "if it’s so small, might as well don’t do it!"
You’ve got it right!
Do that small little thing.
It is a signal of commitment to yourself.
Often, it’s the start that’s challenging.
Once started, you may find that your engine is oiled and ready to move.
If motivation catches on and you want to do more, great!
If not, you showed up for 1 minute for what matters to you.
That’s it.
May my low-motivation day inspire you to take action on low-motivation days too.
You’re not alone.
Actually, this is much longer than what I thought I would write and now, I am feeling inspired to share a topic that came up to me. That shall be for next week’s article!
This is the magic of starting small, so small.
PS: If you would like to finally kickstart your passion project or start a side business on top of your full-time job, yet constantly putting it away, I am here to support you to move beyond procrastination and take action. Apply for a coaching discovery session here because you have nothing to lose!
Love,
TJ
NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to my newsletter for more stories, tips & ideas on how to thrive with more confidence & joy
