Overwhelmed.. that is the word that comes to mind when I start to write this article. Let’s face it, in a world where being positive has become almost like a cult, it becomes almost a burden to even think in a different way. Yesterday I found myself in a state of mind when I felt a bit lost – so many things to do, so many different priorities, a pressure to be successful in my professional activity, be visible and actively sell my services – and all I wanted to do was…nothing! Even writing the article for my blog – I knew I had to do it but my mind was absolutely blank, until this morning I started to reflect on what was going on in my mind yesterday. And that is the way I actually enjoy writing, when a topic comes naturally, without previous planning, when it actually reflects what I think, what I go through at this moment.
So many coaches and influencers on social media are talking about how to stay/get motivated, how you just need to change your attitude or your mindset, like feeling a bit low is something unacceptable. But you know what – it is ok to feel not ok sometimes! It is completely natural to have ups and downs, if such a state of mind exists, it means it is valuable for us, all behaviour we do as human beings, we do it for good reasons, even though it is hard to see the real value sometimes.
When you feel that all the responsibilities are weighing you down, it is too much to handle and instead of enthusiastically getting right at them you prefer browsing your social media and allow yourself to get distracted all day by meaningless stuff, here are a few thoughts of what usually helps for me to do something when I don’t want to do anything:
- listen to your body. If you feel that you need a break, a day off, just take it without feeling guilty about it. It will help you way more to be productive the next day than simulating work by the computer all day and wasting your energy for nothing;
- think about what is your bigger goal behind all the stuff you need it to, what is the bigger purpose. Are those tasks getting you closer or further away from your goal? Check if there is a need for some changes either in your goals or your daily tasks;
- write down all your tasks, everything you need to do. Surprisingly often it is actually not that much as we thought before;
- use the chunk down technique. Try to move from a bigger picture to smaller details and ask yourself a question – what exactly is wrong? I have already written an article about it, you can read it here;
- pomodoro technique. Usually it is a short period of time, can be 10/20/30 or 60 minutes, when you focus on one task without interruptions. Some people use a timer for it. I started to use this technique a few months ago and to my surprise, usually when I set, for example, 20 minutes for a task, I end up spending way more time and getting more done than planned. Of course, an important detail of this technique is to make small breaks after periods of work;
- remember – first comes action, then motivation follows. Don’t wait for inspiration to start something.
I personally find some points more easy to follow than others. For example, I am still learning to follow tip number one. Also, not all the advice is easy to implement without some outside help. Especially number two – I found that having a coaching session for this is very helpful, a thinking partner can help take a look at your goals from a different perspective.
With best wishes for growth,
Dovilė
Your thinking partner online, in France (Savoie), Switzerland (Geneva region)
linkedin.com/in/dovile-rodziute