As I mentioned in my pregnancy announcement post, I experienced a bit of a “slump” recently. I was struggling to figure out what to do next and to motivate myself to do it, without getting overwhelmed. Does this sound familiar?
Well fear not! Because I’m now working my way out of it and I’ve rounded up resources that could help others too! I’ve identified three main types of motivation slumps that can occur (sometimes all at the same time!) and listed them below with possible solutions.
The “I don’t want to work right now” slump
The worst thing you can do when you’re already not feeling that bothered to start working is to check your social media feeds. Instead, watch the following YouTube videos (yes, I’m recommending you watch YouTube videos when you already feel like procrastinating!) and see if you’re not inspired into action! The videos are about studying, but apply to other types of work too!
The “I don’t think I can do it” slump
Right, if the videos above didn’t do it for you and you’re struggling to build up the confidence to take the first step, it might be that you should take some time to work on your perception of yourself. This podcast episode is a good place to start. Working on your self-image may sound a bit woo-woo and a waste of time to some, but I particularly like Sam’s down-to-earth style.
It’s also important to pick someone relatable, doing what you want to do (or something similar) to get regular inspiration from. For me, I get that from people like Sam – check out more of her content if you can relate to her too! Find yours and start figuring out how they got to where they are + the beliefs they had to believe to get there. Practice repeating those beliefs to yourself, gradually building up to those that are a bit harder to imagine yourself believing at this stage.
This process of challenging limiting beliefs and working towards believing more empowering things about ourselves is something I want to delve deeper into at some point here on the blog. If that is something you’re curious about, please sign up for my newsletter to not miss it! In the meantime, feel free to share your experience of this process in the comments below!
The “I’m not even sure where to start anymore” slump
Maybe the issue is that you’re overwhelmed and not even sure you’re on the right “track” anymore, but also not sure of what you would rather be doing. This might require a slightly more comprehensive solution than the types of motivation slump described above.
A programme that I personally tried when I was recently overwhelmed – and gained a lot of value from – is the 31 day Wake Up! plan. For a month, you try a small step every weekday and a bit of a larger project every weekend, in order to gain more clarity on your life and develop the start of a plan to action your priorities. It is a paid product (though currently only $7), but I don’t get any revenue for recommending it – it just really helped me!
Quick reminder if you’re experiencing a motivation slump right now
Right, you’ve read this far and done nothing about the situation… I know the feeling. It’s much easier to keep reading this kind of content, not action things and wonder why nothing changes. Unfortunately, you knew this was coming… Sometimes you just need to “rip the bandage off” (as one of my PhD supervisors put it) and just fricking do it! Sorry for the bad news, but here are three short videos which might trick you into getting going with your first baby step. Tell me in the comments below if you’ve managed to kick yourself out of your motivation slump!
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