Do you lack motivation sometimes? I get those days–I have NO desire to do anything. That’s why I go by the 15 minute rule. I take the thing I am dreading the most, set a timer for 15 minutes (or 5, or 10, or whatever my heart can commit to) and then GO. I love taking a before and after picture; it seems to motivate me even more so that I can see how much I got done in such little time.
I did this with my kitchen (above). Holy COW I wanted to do nothing today, and felt overwhelmed and frustrated. So I just said, “Fine, I’ll do it, 15 minutes and that is IT.” So I went to work. After 15 minutes, you’ll see it wasn’t perfect, but what kitchen would you feel less stressed about? It lifted a huge cloud off of me and suddenly I found my Mo-Jo. I then proceeded to get through work, clean most of the house, heck I even finished a dissertation chapter. Not too shabby for thinking it was going to be designated pajama and Haag’n Daas day!
This is a fantastic way to jump start your day. You may find that the one thing that was depleting your energy was just you stewing over the thing you wanted to tackle the least!
What are some ways that you get yourself motivated?
Before baby, I instituted a 2 chore a day limit (sometimes 3 of they were small). I’d take inventory of what needed to be done and plan out 3 days in advance, no more, on a dry erase calendar. So it might go like this: Monday, wash laundry; Tuesday, fold/put away laundry, vacuum; Wednesday, clean bathroom. Every morning was a quick kitchen pick up. If I missed a day, I just moved that chore one day down (this was why I didn’t plan more than 3 days). This was a wonderful plan! After one week my house was always clean, without having to take a day to pick up the entire house. It was amazing, because each chore never took longer than 10-15 minutes and I felt so happy in a clean house. Of course, now that baby is here I’ve slipped a bit. Ok, entirely. I need to get back on the wagon.
Haha, yesterday my counters look like your counters times 10! I had let it get bad for a few weeks, actually, because I’d get up in the morning and think “I’d like to make some bread, but there is no counter space.” So I’d unload and reload the dishwasher. Then maybe I’d get a few of the big things washed before BAM kids were clamoring for my attention and/or beating each other up. So I never got any further than that. As I’d put them to bed, I’d think, “As soon as they are down I am going to work on _______.” But then, the second I closed their door, a huge cloud of lethargy would decend and I would play around on the computer for the rest of the night. Last night I decided that no matter what I was going to have clean counters in the morning! So I stuck with it to the very last, worst pot.
I think visualizing your positive result instead of dwelling on the drudgery of getting there is an effective motivator. Today I made bread!