When you are feeling particularly unmotivated...

[joannqn]

How do you motivate yourself to get stuff done?

[AvasMom]

I have to just go do it before I have a chance to talk myself out of it. If I'm reeeeally dragging I will call my mom or dh for a pep talk but usually kicking myself in the tail will do the trick. I don't always "feel like it" but can usually get things done in spite of myself. Dreary days are hard for me. Ugh!!

[Brooketopia]

It depends on what I feel like is unmotivating me.

 

1. If it's depression, I do what I can to lift my spirits: dress nicely, take the kids out for lunch and a nature hike, order some books to look forward to arriving for them, make sure to schedule a babysitter for a date night.

 

Then I declare the day "Project Day" and let the kids decide what they want to do. DD8 usually chooses to bake (reading, math), DD5 usually wants to play with play-doh or paint (art, fine motor skills), DD4 usually wants me to read to her and DS2 usually wants me to read to him or rough house in the yard. Rule: I can't sit on the couch and ignore my kids. I must be vertical and moving one foot in front of the other.

 

2. If I'm just feeling blah--I generally tell myself "to just go through the motions." It starts with a shower, then I tell myself to dry my hair, then put on make-up, then get dressed, then make the bed, then make breakfast...just one thing at a time. I hate those kinds of days, but that's how I get through 'em.

 

3. Motivation--I'll go read FlyLady.net or the blog of a Super Homeschooler or something like that and I can usually get inspired to get off my butt and keep moving forward.

 

4. Reminders--I'll go back and read through the goals I made at the beginning of the school year. Sometimes I get to check one off and that makes me glad that I kept working. I generally come away from the goal sheet with a commitment to keep working so we can actually get all that stuff done. If I keep taking days off, it's not going to happen.

 

5. Shock--If it's been a couple of days, I shock myself into action. This is usually accomplished by watching an episode or two of "Hoarders" or (and I'm sorry this is SO mean) reading the blog or FB updates of a person who I don't think is doing a good job at HSing. It reminds me of what can happen if I don't keep pushing forward.

 

6. Venting to a real person--when I feel unmotivated, it usually boils down to feeling like nothing matters or that my circumstances are beyond my control. Having a good cry with my best friend on the phone can work wonders in this regard. That good woman is going to Heaven based purely upon the tear-filled phone calls she has sat through with me. I get "too much into my head" a lot, and it helps to vocalize all those burdening thoughts--after speaking them out loud to another person I can realize how ridiculous they are, or I can get a pro-me viewpoint from my friend.

 

Bubble baths and a cup of tea have never worked for me because I sit there and drown in the sorrow of my unmotivated thoughts.

 

I don't know if religion is one of your sources of comfort, but a good prayer and some scripture reading work wonders for me as well. I thumb through my scriptures until a scripture verse/passage catches my eyes and I start reading and/or I just sit on my knees and cry until I feel strong again. That sounds weird, but it's true.

 

It's OK. Get some sunshine on your face and tell the negative voices in your head to shut up. Blues are temporary.

[LaxMom]

I have to just go do it before I have a chance to talk myself out of it. If I'm reeeeally dragging I will call my mom or dh for a pep talk but usually kicking myself in the tail will do the trick. I don't always "feel like it" but can usually get things done in spite of myself. Dreary days are hard for me. Ugh!!

 

Yup. I force myself to get up and moving, one foot in front of the other. And if I'm particularly unmotivated, I Gchat a friend of mine who will say "ok, we're doing x for the next x time. Set the timer and meet me back here for tea and a cookie, and progress reports then!"

 

5. Shock--If it's been a couple of days, I shock myself into action. This is usually accomplished by watching an episode or two of "Hoarders" or (and I'm sorry this is SO mean) reading the blog or FB updates of a person who I don't think is doing a good job at HSing. It reminds me of what can happen if I don't keep pushing forward.

:lol:

I find that watching Hoarders usually makes me feel "ok by comparison". There was episode that the "hoarder" really didn't have an extreme amount of hoarded stuff. And I kept thinking, "what's wrong with her house? She's just messy. Like me... OMG SHE'S ON HOARDERS!!!" yeah, that got me into gear. :lol:

Edited April 26, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[joannqn]

I really need to clean the house. The property management company is coming for their quarterly inspection soon. While they aren't coming to see my housekeeping abilities, I want to look like a good tenant and not be embarrassed by the state of my house.

 

However, I've been trying to clean my kitchen all morning. I start washing dishes and only a get a few done. My lack of interest is so strong that I can't force myself to keep doing them. I keep wandering back to my computer or phone, or just wandering around, flitting from room to room, not really doing anything. I think it's more like an apathetic ADD; it's not that I'm getting distracted by things; it's more like I'm unable to maintain interest in anything. Even the computer is boring me.

 

We just dis-enrolled from our virtual school so I'm not particularly worried about not doing school but I shouldn't totally drop the ball as we are in the middle of a few things I don't want to quit.

[Cassy]

I too just force myself to get on with it and accept that I'm going to feel anything from grumpy to furious with the situation until it's done. I think the worse thing is to avoid whatever needs doing. I had an aunt who suffered from severe depression who used to say that she rather would lie on the sofa reading, letting the state of the house plunge her into deeper depression, than get up and do something about it. Having suffered from depression myself I find one of the most effective ways of keeping my spirits up, is to throw myself into even the most unappealing tasks. I also usually promise myself a treat when it's all done ;).

 

Cassy

[lauracolumbus]

I try to break it up into little pieces and start with the easiest first. I also think of the book "Bird by Bird" by Anne LaMott. She talks about her brother having a major paper about birds and struggling to write it the night before it was due. Whining to his father that he didn't know how to do such a big project in such a short time, is father advised him to just do it bird by bird. Whenever I'm looking at such a big task, I just try to knock out the first bird. It usually gets easier after the first few. (You could even name them--I just knocked out a blue jay, there goes my robin...).

 

Laura

[AvasMom]

I really need to clean the house. The property management company is coming for their quarterly inspection soon. While they aren't coming to see my housekeeping abilities, I want to look like a good tenant and not be embarrassed by the state of my house.

 

However, I've been trying to clean my kitchen all morning. I start washing dishes and only a get a few done. My lack of interest is so strong that I can't force myself to keep doing them. I keep wandering back to my computer or phone, or just wandering around, flitting from room to room, not really doing anything. I think it's more like an apathetic ADD; it's not that I'm getting distracted by things; it's more like I'm unable to maintain interest in anything. Even the computer is boring me.

 

We just dis-enrolled from our virtual school so I'm not particularly worried about not doing school but I shouldn't totally drop the ball as we are in the middle of a few things I don't want to quit.

 

Make yourself a list. A short, specific list...5 or 6 items max. Do every one. Then put your feet up for 10 minutes and make another list. Rinse and repeat. :D

[Donna]

When I am unmotivated I start with something simple that needs to be done then just do it even if it means forcing myself mentally to even get moving.

I tend to have a long list in my head of things I want to get done each day and sometimes that list in my head overwhelms me so getting one thing off it will usually help me get myself back together and go on to the next thing.

 

There are other times when I just need a break and I find doing something fun instead of getting things done will help.

[Rebecca VA]

Sometimes I'm unmotivated because I'm very tired. That happened to me yesterday. I just did the minimum. Trying to do too much when I'm very tired always backfires, so I'm glad I rested as much as I could.

 

Today I was still feeling blah, but I had a little more strength, so I trudged around and did what I had to do. I was moving more slowly than usual, but I got almost everything done.

 

Music helps a lot, BTW.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

For cleaning it helps me to take a picture. It always looks a million times worse in a picture and that will get me going. Watching hoarders or something gross akways helps.

[joannqn]

Well, my kitchen never did get done. Never did touch anything else either.

 

What I did end up doing:

 

Walked to the store with DS10. We took a short detour down part of a trail in the nature preserve across the street. (It ran along the street for about half a block.)

 

Took DS5 and DD2 about two blocks to the trail head listed above and walked the whole 1/4 mile trail with them and my camera.

 

Dropped DD2 off at home and took DS5 on another 1/4 mile or so trail and picked up trash along the way. He's been bugging me to go there with bag to pick up the trail. Along the way, we found a giant slug, a tiny snail, and four more golf balls (we have a neighbor that hits them into the nature preserve...we are collecting them to turn them into a craft of some sort with a bunch of homeschool friends).

 

Made dinner.

[TammyinTN]

Good music....and crank it up....makes me get the lead out. ;)

[meggie]

When I need to motivate myself, I remind myself that it will have to get done anyway, might as well try to do something before it spirals out of control. Once it's out of control, I sink further into a depressive funk. I also like to focus on the rewards instead of the journey. I don't like washing dishes, but I sure do like having all of them clean.

 

Well, my kitchen never did get done. Never did touch anything else either.

 

What I did end up doing:

 

Walked to the store with DS10. We took a short detour down part of a trail in the nature preserve across the street. (It ran along the street for about half a block.)

 

Took DS5 and DD2 about two blocks to the trail head listed above and walked the whole 1/4 mile trail with them and my camera.

 

Dropped DD2 off at home and took DS5 on another 1/4 mile or so trail and picked up trash along the way. He's been bugging me to go there with bag to pick up the trail. Along the way, we found a giant slug, a tiny snail, and four more golf balls (we have a neighbor that hits them into the nature preserve...we are collecting them to turn them into a craft of some sort with a bunch of homeschool friends).

 

Made dinner.

 

You did SOMETHING!!! You got out of the house and you made dinner. Celebrate that! Focus on your achievements and let that motivate you to do something tomorrow.

[joannqn]

Good music....and crank it up....makes me get the lead out. ;)

 

Thanks for the reminder. I always forget about this one because I can only really play music in the living room, and only if someone else isn't using the TV/Wii/sound system.

 

I stole DS10's radio and put in a CD I like. It has horrible sound but it worked.

 

I now have a clean kitchen. Time to dirty it up again. :tongue_smilie:

[joannqn]

You did SOMETHING!!! You got out of the house and you made dinner. Celebrate that! Focus on your achievements and let that motivate you to do something tomorrow.

 

Yes, that part of the day was good. Anytime I spend time with my oft-neglected littles is a good day.