5 Ways to Get Motivated When You Don’t Feel Like Doing Anything

It is not a lack of desire to be productive, it is a lack of motivation to overcome the resistance to getting started. In his book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles, author Steven Pressfield said, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.” Everyone faces resistance, but you do not have to allow it to define your reality. You do not have to accept “I don’t feel like doing anything” as an obstacle you cannot overcome. In fact, there are some very practical things you can act on today or the next time you say to yourself, “I don’t feel like doing anything,” that can transform your productivity.

Why Motivation Matters

What’s the big deal about motivation, anyway? You could just go with the flow and let your life unfold naturally and still obtain success, right? Well, not quite.

Motivation is a necessary human drive that pushes you to reach any decisive and desired outcomes in your life. If you put off every daily task until tomorrow, you’d quickly find that nothing ever reaches fruition, and you remain stuck in a bubble that inhibits your progress instead. The only way to move forward is to keep walking, and you can’t expect to get anywhere with your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Simple Rituals and Methods That Will Get You on Your Feet

Do you have a goal in mind but lack the drive to put your objectives into practice? Then check out our list of 5 simple ways to get motivated if you are the one saying, “I don’t feel like doing anything.”

1. Know Your Meaning

Why wake up early on a Sunday morning when you could just lay in bed until noon instead? If your mind finds inactivity preferable to reaching your goals, you might want to reshape your thinking into finding a sense of significance in the objectives you strive to obtain.

2. Keep a Planner

According to research by psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews, at the Dominican University in California, led a study on goal-setting with nearly 270 participants. The results? You are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. You might want to shed ten pounds before summer, but you’re not as likely to put in the dedication to achieve this weight loss without a written or visual plan.

3. Break It Down

Imagine you have a 7,000-page article you have to submit to your boss by this weekend. Oh, and your child’s birthday just so happens to be in a few days as well. That means you have to find the time to clean your entire house, go shopping for gifts and the perfect cake, and catch up on all of your late assignments, too. Seems impossible, doesn’t it? Not quite.

Lumping all of your daily tasks and necessary goals into one overarching activity can be intimidating. It’s understandable you wouldn’t see the point in even trying when your tasks become one unbearable and massive task. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

4. Let Go of the Future and Act for Today

Far too often, we put off whatever can be done now until a future date. You could easily say, “I’ll just wait until New Year’s to lose weight,” or “I’ll study harder for the next exam and just take a C on this one.” You’ll quickly find that this do-it-later mentality will leave you in an endless cycle of tomorrows that never really come.

5. Jam Out to Your Favorite Tunes

Have you ever tried exercising in complete and utter silence? If you have, you know how excruciatingly painful getting on that treadmill can be when there’s not a single sensory sound to distract you.

It’s no secret that listening to your favorite songs can boost your level of production. It’s no coincidence that you just seem to get more done when you have Spotify playing in the background. Research studies conducted in the workforce have demonstrated a positive correlation between music, positive attitude, and productivity throughout the day.

So put down your tablet, iPhone, or whatever you’re reading this article on and get up and go. Once you take that first necessary step towards progress, you’ll see that finding the motivation to change may not be so hard after all.