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How To Motivate Yourself On Off Days? You woke up today without feeling the need to do anything. So what? It happens. Stop beating yourself up about it. There are days whereby we do not feel motivated to do anything at all, not even those things we enjoy doing.
From the moment we open our eyes to getting out of bed, we know at that moment that, nahh, we’re not getting anything done. It may be due to lack of sleep or excessive stress or even some reasons that can’t be explained. It happens to me and I think it has happened to everyone at one point or another. We are not machines and we should not look at ourselves as one.
It is normal to just want to sit at home and not feel motivated to be productive or anything, but what isn’t normal, is to have yourself remain in that state. What do you do in times like these? Do you go with the flow and be like “okay, I’m not in the mood today, see ya tomorrow”? or you’re the type that says, “nope! We ain’t doing this today. Get to work baby!”
Don’t get me wrong o, a little time off, especially when you know it’s long due wouldn’t hurt anybody. You can take time to take care of yourself, reset, maybe watch Netflix and lay on your couch but when this feeling of not doing anything constantly happens, it’s no longer called self-care. It’s called…..uhmm….lack of motivation.
Since we can both relate, this brings me back to my question, “What do you do when you don’t feel like doing anything at all?” Here’s a list of what I do. Maybe not all of them, but I added extras just in case. I hope you find what works for you. Let’s goooooo
5 Tips on How to Motivate Yourself on “off” days
1. Start Your Day With Positivity
Not sure how to do this? I’m here to help, remember? You can start off your day by thinking of 3 things about yourself that you’re grateful for. Looking back at how far you’ve come can actually help in motivating you. You can also spread some joy to others by picking up your phone and calling or texting a friend you really appreciate. Some people also listen to positive affirmations from their family, pastors or even use a meditation app. Yes, there’s an app for that. And there’s YouTube as well!
2. Dress Appropriately
Your outfits can dictate how you feel about yourself. On days where you don’t have the energy to get out of bed and be productive, chances are that when you eventually manage to get out of bed, you’ll just put on a lazy outfit and you’ll go through the day looking dull and unmotivated. This right here is a secret and it works. Dress up like you’re going to the office even if you aren’t, put on some makeup if you want, and wear your favorite perfume. Now tell me, if after doing all of that you still wouldn’t feel ready and confident to take on the world. If this doesn’t work for you, then… maybe something is really wrong.
3. Set The Mood
Setting the mood to get motivated requires a little bit of effort but it really works. Two ways you can do this are;
# Aromatherapy.
Light a candle or spray a room fragrance you love. Another way to set the atmosphere is to put on a diffuser with the ideal essential oil.
#Pick the perfect playlist.
A lot of people underestimate the power of a good playlist when you wake up. The right playlist puts you in a good mood. Instead of grumbling about your night when you wake up or complaining about how tired you are, how about you put a CD in and start jamming to those songs you love.
Could be your favourite songs or it could be some old school songs, anything! Turn up the volume and dance around the house. By the time you are done with your mini dance session, you would feel much happier and ready to get some work done.
4. Be Accountable To Someone.
This one helps a lot. It has worked for me over time and I honestly recommend it to everybody. While I was in Uni, I had someone I would always report to. if I needed to be up early to get some things done, this person gingers me even when I decide to procrastinate. it’s a different thing if you disappoint yourself by yourself (know what I mean?) but it’s another thing to have someone look at you as a disappointment. Sometimes, the push you need is the realization that you don’t want someone to look at you as a failure.
When you’re choosing someone to be accountable to, you can decide to pick someone you’re extremely comfortable with, someone who isn’t scared to call you on your shit, could be your sister, your best friend and all OR you can decide to make it someone you aren’t all that close with. You could even post on your socials and ask your followers to keep tabs on you. You’ll be surprised how many people actually care! Because we are different people, know what works for you and know peace.
5. Reward Yourself
Who doesn’t like a good treat? Celebrate yourself when you’ve managed to do one task on your to-do list when you weren’t motivated to do it. Oh, you were able to shoot that video you didn’t want to do, buy yourself a Gucci bag or Pretty Little Thing dress to celebrate. Celebrate your small wins too. It will go a long way.
Here’s a bonus tip: Relax
Sometimes, all you need is a little rest. When you make relaxing a priority, you’ll feel motivated to get things done again.
I know how hard it can be to motivate oneself. Sometimes you have to be your own motivational speaker. I hope these tips I have shared, help you to motivate yourself. Let me know what you do to motivate yourself on your “off” days. Take care.
PS: When you successfully motivate yourself to get working, check out 8 Life-Changing Hacks To Stay Organised And Productive and My Top 10 Handpicked Productivity Tools And Applications
With love,
