Starting a Task When You’re Not Feeling It
There may be times in your life when you experience a deep lack of motivation to engage in things that need to be done or that you enjoy. Whether it’s cleaning the house, running errands, catching up on a recreational project or reaching broader goals set for yourself, the lethargy of the body or apathy of the mind can be one of the biggest obstacles to achieving them. When you find yourself in moments like these, try these out-of-the-box strategies which may increase your ability to follow through with your goals.
Fake It Until You Make It
In an approach not dissimilar to behavioural activation, you might be able to jumpstart productivity by changing your behaviour. Essentially, act as if you WERE motivated. If your task requires you to go outside don’t wait until you’re feeling like it to change your clothes; change your clothes first and then see what happens. You may find that taking actions will naturally increase your ability to engage in tasks because your body has already begun them even before your brain decided to. Once the first step has been taken, the next ones become that much easier. Ask yourself, “What’s the first I would take if I was motivated to do this?” And make the choice just to do it and see what comes next.
Tell Yourself When to Quit
Starting a task can often be the hardest part of it largely due to the way we perceive it. The prospect of exercising or writing a paper can often fill us a dread that alone keeps us from ever starting. You can reduce these feelings by leaning into them a little. Tell yourself that you’ll give it 10 minutes -10 minutes to do the task and then you can all it quits. When you begin a task and reach that mark, you may discover that it was not as bad as you thought and that you have the motivation to keep going. In this way, you’re teaching yourself that tasks aren’t as insurmountable as they feel initially and you have the strength to handle it better than you think.
Pair Boring Stuff with Fun Stuff
We can also combat our negative feelings toward starting something by manipulating their triggers. Since our emotions play a huge role in how we feel about tiring or demanding tasks, try pairing these situations with others that elicit a more agreeable emotion. For example, setup your favorite movie or play a casual tv show while you clean the house. If you have to wait for the laundry to finish or in line at the DMV, call a friend whom you can talk with. By pairing something you don’t want to do with something that you’d rather be doing, you lessen your own emotional resistance and increase the likelihood of engaging with the task.
It’s likely that most of us will struggle with finding motivation many times throughout life. Remember that you can always exercise agency and effectively handling these moments requires practice and continual exercise. The more you can experiment with different strategies, the more likely you are to learn something about yourself and find a path to success.