Are you motivating yourself in a healthy way?

How can I get myself to do things today?

How can I get more done?

When we are stressed or overworked, we tend to ask these questions in order to be more productive.

But - they might actually do you more harm than good! So I wanted to talk about what questions might be more helpful to ask.

Question #1: how can I get myself to do things today?

It has become a new normal to try and force yourself or push yourself to get things done – and we often fall into these questions when we are stretched-too-thin, have some heavy things going on on our minds, or maybe even because the tasks we’ve put on our list feel meaningless.

If you are in this state of mind I would encourage you to instead ask yourself these questions:

• What can I do to get my energy and motivation back?

Chances are that you’d have a much easier time doing the things you have planned, if you were feeling well emotionally, physically, and mentally. So how are you feeling? Would you actually need to take some good care of yourself first, before tackling all the things today?

• What would feel good, exciting, or meaningful to work on today?

If you feel like you are moving through oatmeal, it’ll be far more productive and feel better, if you work on something that makes you feel good. You might finish a really big chunk of whatever it is you pick, instead of wasting time procrastinating on that thing you’re “supposed to” be working on.

• What would feel easy to work on today?

Not necessarily easy in the terms of it not being hard work, but something that would feel easy to get wrapped up in.

• What environment would feel best for working on this right now?

If you can’t change your environment by going to a different location, think about ways you can change the space you are in. Can you simply move a few things around, can you put on some inspiring music, or can you make a drink to sip while you work?

Question #2: how can I get more done?

The truth is, if we are already at capacity, there is NO WAY we can get more done. Time just doesn't work that way, human beings don’t work that way.

So, I would encourage you to instead ask:

• Am I spending my time on tasks that truly matter to me?

• What tasks can I let go of, to make time for what matters most?

Step back for a minute, and look at all the things on your task list. Evaluate them one by one to see which ones truly are important to do today, or this week, and which ones can be put off – or even taken off your list entirely.

Chances are, the majority of them aren’t really as crucial as you think they are – we just have a tendency to think that every item on a list is equally important.