After three stunningly beautiful days of a second summer, it’s now grey, raining, and chilly, and I have things to do with absolutely zero motivation to do them. One of which is to write this blog. It’s not happening.
It’s not that it isn’t beautiful; the maple tree outside my window is practically glowing. Or that I don’t have topic ideas; I have a full list of ideas that Mandy and I brainstormed. It’s that nothing is coming. I tried (as my 18-year-old says) grinding it out. I started several drafts. I did some long-term planning. I organized my research for future topics. I’m just stuck. There’s no motivation, no flow, just an internal loop saying, “this sucks, you have nothing left to say.”
So I’m changing tracks.
What do I do when all I want to do is curl up with a TV show and eat all the carbs? Occasionally I do just that (well, maybe not ALL the carbs). And when I consciously choose to veg out I (mostly) don’t feel guilty about it because it can be good for your mental health. But there are a few things that can help get me going again.
- BrainSpeed ball to engage my brain and get the left & right sides working together
- Do a quick chore; it gets me up and moving, and I feel successful
- Make a list; I tame the monsters in my mind by writing them down
- Phone a friend; a few minutes of talk (and possibly laughter) give me a reset
- Turn on the first upbeat song I can think of and dance it out to get my endorphins going
So after some BrainSpeed, I took the advice that I give to my kids when they’re stuck and just started writing. With no small amount of frustration, I wrote what I was feeling. “I’m stuck* was my first sentence. Followed by the rest of the first paragraph. And then the rest of this blog.
Is this a bit of a cheat of a blog? Maybe. (Or maybe I’m just playing the World’s Smallest Violin. 😂) But it got me started, and here I am 450 words later (and quite a bit of editing) with a viable blog. But more to the point, we talk at PIH about being vulnerable and sharing our struggles with each other to help our community know they’re not alone. I’m hoping this blog can do just that. Let’s create a shared space and ideas to help each other out.
What are your tricks? What tactics help you stop the ruminating and get you going again? Please comment on this blog so others can see your ideas. Or on social media when we post this. Like my last blog about verbal journaling, let’s use our collective power to cheer each other on.
I need to fill my time each day and be productive in someway. Being outside gardening takes care of that
In our growing season. Now is more of a challenge! I bake, write notes to
Friends, re organize areas of the house AND Brainspeed and VOR assignments from mandy
Yes! The long-lost art of letter writing! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks for the great points on pointing out that a time out is fine and sometimes we just need a break. It is nice to recognize that to be balanced we need different types of activities to create that balance. And of course too much of any one is not balanced. Sometimes you can’t help it if have a crazy deadline or commitments out of your control.
But on motivation, if you are stuck, you can go back to your list and just pick maybe a smaller task or a chore to get you started on moving something forward. Once you are doing something, it should motivate you to then move on to the task at hand.
Great points! Thanks, Michelle!