Are you struggling to do even basic tasks?
Most people will have a time in their lives, however brief or lingering it is, when even getting out of bed in the morning seems pointless.
That feeling of not wanting to do anything at all might be a result of depression, it might be because you’re emotionally drained or stressed, or simply that you have a to-do list as long as your arm that never seems to get any shorter and you just can’t take it anymore.
It might be that you feel like you have no options and are stuck in a rut, or it might be that you have so many options and courses of action open to you that you’d rather just keep your head firmly under your pillow, because it’s much easier there, thank you very much.
Whatever the reason that everything suddenly seems like far too much effort, it can be hard to haul yourself out of it.
That’s where this list of suggestions comes in.
1. Listen to your body and mind.
There might be a good physical or emotional reason why you don’t want to do much at a given time. So it’s vital that you first assess your overall well-being before trying to force the matter.
Physical illness or injury should be considered, because it’s far harder to find the motivation to act when you’re full of cold or aching all over.
The same could be said if you’ve pushed your body particularly hard recently – its need for rest might manifest in you not wanting to do anything.
Then there is the mental and emotional side to consider. If you’re under a lot of stress, are grieving a loss, have had to maintain full concentration on something over the past couple of days, or have not got the sleep you need, then it’s natural for your mind to want some downtime doing nothing.
So sometimes you have to just go with the flow and trust that your body and mind know best what is right for you.
Of course, this all depends on how long you’ve felt this way. If it’s a short term thing, you can chalk it down to the things talked about, but if you’ve been experiencing this for more than a week, you should…
2. Consult your doctor.
Short-term issues with your body and mind are one thing, but there might be other things influencing your energy and motivation levels that you might not be aware of.
That’s why it’s important to speak to your doctor to have them check you over physically and assess you mentally.
On the physical side, they can look at your wider symptoms and lifestyle factors that might contribute to an underlying cause for how you feel. That might be a nutrient deficiency, allergic reaction, intestinal problems, or more serious conditions that leave you feeling low and exhausted.
On the mental and emotional side, they can do an initial assessment of how you are feeling, how you are coping, how your life is and how that might contribute to how you are feeling, etc. They may then refer you to a mental health professional if they believe you could benefit from some counseling or medication. You may be suffering from depression or anhedonia or another mental health issue that is causing you to feel flat and drained.
3. Don’t judge yourself or your efforts.
Whatever efforts you make and whatever you manage to accomplish, treat yourself with kindness.
Avoid judging your actions as insufficient. Beating yourself up today will only make it harder for you to motivate yourself tomorrow.
Even if you don’t manage to do much at all, be sympathetic to your situation and show yourself the understanding and compassion you would show a friend who was facing the same thing.
Often we are our own worst enemies at times like these because we condemn ourselves as lazy or pathetic which only makes us feel worse about ourselves which, in turn, perpetuates the cycle of inaction.
If you can manage NOT to do this, you’ll have taken one small step on the path to a more positive mental state.
4. Ground yourself in the present moment.
Sometimes, we put off doing things right now because we spend all our time in our heads. Whether it’s daydreaming or anxiously worrying about the future, or ruminating over the past, we use up all our energy in the imaginary world we make for ourselves.
The moment you step out of that world and into the present moment, you’ll be able to see the tasks ahead of you and actually understand the value in doing them now, not at a later date.
And as soon as you get going on things with your mind focused squarely in the now, you increase your chances of entering what’s known as a flow state, whereby you are so engrossed in what you are doing that you don’t think about other things or even notice the passing of time. This is a highly productive mental state to be in.
How do you shift your mind to the present? Mediation can help, as can compartmentalization. Physical movement and exercise can also be effective. In essence, anything that can get you to stop thinking about whatever it is that is on your mind.
5. Adjust your expectations of what you need to do or can realistically do.
Are you resistant to action because you feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do or think you ought to be doing?
If so, it pays to look at the expectations you have of yourself and your day and consider whether or not they are realistic.
If you’ve set yourself an impossible checklist of tasks, of course you’re going to feel defeated before you’ve even begun, meaning you won’t want to do anything from your list because it feels futile.
If you’re really struggling, be ruthless and cut at least half of the items from your list. Make a separate note of them if they really do need to be done, but then forget about them for today. Just focus on your reduced list and start ticking things off.
Each morning, carefully consider what your priorities are and then focus on doing those things and nothing else. If you finish them and have time for something else, then you can worry about what to do, but keep your mind on a small list of things to begin with.
6. Act straight away when you think of something.
If lists aren’t your thing or you aren’t yet in a position where you feel able to do multiple tasks in a day, just focus on finding one thing to act on to begin with.
The secret here is to act as soon as you think of something that gives rise to even the smallest feeling of motivation. The longer you leave it to act, the more your mind will find excuses not to do it.
Does the idea of clearing out a load of junk sound good? Get up and open a cupboard straight away and sort through its contents.
Would you quite enjoy a hot bath? Get onto your feet right now, walk into your bathroom and start filling the tub.
It’s a lot harder to stop what you’re doing than it is to not begin that thing in the first place. So don’t think twice if something piques a tiny bit of interest or sparks a little desire – just do it.
7. Just decide to do something, regardless of how you feel.
This one might sting a little to hear, but sometimes you have to just forget how you feel and make a conscious decision to act in spite of the resistance in your body and mind.
You almost have to say to yourself, “Screw you, I’m doing this whether you like it or not.”
Of course, that’s easier said than done. You have to push through all the physical and mental barriers that stand in your way, and if that were easy, you would have done it already.
But it is possible in many circumstances. You just have to get it in your head that you’re going to do something even if you don’t enjoy doing it. Even if every cell in your body is fighting you, you’re going to ignore them all.
And once you’ve done this once, you’ll know you can do it on future occasions too.
8. Start small.
There’s a concept in productivity circles known as “eating the frog,” which basically means doing the task you least want to do first to get it out of the way.
But in your current mental state, you need to take the opposite approach. You will find it much easier to build up your momentum if you start small with some tasks that are easy to complete and relatively enjoyable.
These gateway tasks will then lead on to the ones that you really don’t want to do but have to. You empower yourself with the small initial tasks which gives you more energy and discipline to tackle the bigger or less enjoyable ones.
The only caveat is that you shouldn’t spend all your time doing the easy and enjoyable tasks. Do a few to get yourself in a better headspace, but then move on to something more challenging and/or urgent.
9. Reward yourself for each task you complete.
You may find it easier to do something in the knowledge that you’ll get a little treat for doing it. So find a suitable way to reward yourself for each task you complete.
It’s important that these rewards do not negatively impact any goals you might be working toward, else they will backfire on you in the future. For instance, don’t treat yourself with a piece of chocolate if you’re trying to lose weight.
And avoid treats that will derail your progress and halt your momentum too much. In other words, don’t reward a small task that took 10 minutes with half an hour of gaming or TV.
10. Be kind to your future self.
The person who will pay the biggest price for you not doing something today is you. Only, it’s the you of tomorrow or the you of next week.
Use this as motivation to get things done today. Treat your future self as you would your best friend – you wouldn’t want to harm or inconvenience your best friend would you? So don’t do either to your future self.
Your future self will probably have other things they need to deal with, so try to take as much of the load off their shoulders as you can by doing things now.
11. Do something unrelated to the things that have gotten you stuck.
Is it that you don’t want to do anything, or do you just not want to do certain tasks?
Sometimes we meet resistance when there is something in particular that we don’t want to face. It could be part of a larger goal or project, something to do with your work, or something that fills you with dread.
If the prospect of doing that thing is preventing you from getting anything done at all, put that thing to one side for a moment and dive into something that’s totally unrelated.
This will get you into a more enthusiastic groove. You’ll feel empowered by the tasks you do complete and will feel more able to tackle that thing you are trying to avoid.
Just make sure that you leave yourself enough time to actually finish this thing, otherwise you’ll be more likely to put it off till another day.
For example, let’s say you’ve got a tax return to complete. That’s a boring task that few people enjoy, and you’re using it as an excuse to not do anything at all.
But what about if you mowed the lawn or cleaned the windows first? Then perhaps you could plan meals for the following week. Once you’ve completed those tasks, you’ll be on a roll, mentally speaking, and you’ll be more willing to sit down and fill out the necessary paperwork for your tax return.