Do you ever get those nights when you’re lying awake in bed listing out all the things you have to get done tomorrow? When your head feels like it’s going to burst with all the odd jobs and to-do lists kept in there? And when you know you have endless amounts of things to do, but you just can’t bring yourself to actually do them?

Yup, we’ve all been there. It’s not a nice feeling, knowing you have so much to do, but just being unable to find the motivation to start. I feel like we all lead such busy lives these days, that we hardly ever have time to take a breath. And at least for me, when I have a giant to-do list I just want to get everything over and done with, but it’s so hard to make that first dent in the list. To actually start. To find that motivation.

So in today’s blog post, I’m going to share a few of my tips for gathering motivation. Whether it’s motivation to start your homework, do a workout, or even get out of bed in the morning I hope these tips will be able to help you!

Give yourself something to look forward to

Sometimes when I really don’t want to do something I like to give myself something to look forward to. For example, when I’m really tired in the morning and I have to get out of bed, I think about what I’m going to eat for breakfast (cause I love food!) or something exciting I have going on that day. Or when I need the motivation to do a piece of homework which is especially grueling, I tell myself that once I finish it I’ll make myself a smoothie or eat a cookie. (only now am I realizing that all my motivation is food, oh no…) But you get the point, give yourself incentives and be strict with yourself. Make sure you fulfill the task you set before giving yourself that treat!

Get your setting right

Sometimes your motivation can be affected by your surroundings, and once you change these you’ll notice such a big difference! For example, lying on your bed in a messy room is not going to get you motivated to start something (well, at least not for me). Clean up, open a window, and get some air! Changing up your surroundings makes such a huge impact. Before I start my homework I always like to make sure my desk is clean and sometimes I’ll have my window open so I can hear the birds, maybe I’ll light a candle, just to get into a pleasant mood and mindset, and from this everything just comes much more easily.

Make a routine. Give your body signals

We respond well to routines. Establish healthy routines for yourself, and you’ll find it easier to find that motivation. Sometimes I really don’t feel like running or working out. But I have a set of stretches and a small jog that I do every time before I workout and since my body is used to this, it gives me the signal that I’m about to start working out. Usually, once I finish this I feel much more energized and motivated because this routine has queued my body into knowing that it’s time to work out. The same goes for any other activity. Routines let your body and mind know that it’s time to get working, and means that it’s less of a struggle to find that motivation because it starts coming naturally.

I think I’ll leave it there for this post! I hope that these three tips can help you gain that motivation to tick things off your to-do list, to go workout, or get up in the morning! Let me know in the comments section your ways of finding the motivation to start a task.

See you next week,

Little Miss Expat

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