Top 7 Things To

Do When You

Can’t Get

Motivated

Rachel Rofe

A few years ago, I had a business partner who

simply couldn’t make himself get things done.

He told me he had the best intentions but simply

couldn’t make himself do the things on his to-do

list.

At the time, I didn’t have much empathy. We

were under deadline and I could not at all relate.

I’d always just gotten things DONE when I

wanted them done, period.

But since then… I’ve definitely had reason to

gain empathy.

In fact, just a few hours ago I was getting

frustrated with myself. I wanted things to

happen and I just couldn’t make progress.

So I asked myself a few questions, pulled out a

few things from my bag of tricks, and presto…

I’m here writing my second blog post in an hour.

Because of that, I present to you in no particular

order –

7. Ask yourself why.

Are you in alignment with what you’re working

on? Is it something that truly revs you up and

excites you?

One way you can find an answer is to take a

couple deep breaths and just ask your gut – “Do

I want to be doing this?”

Or, if you’re too stressed to get a clear answer,

take out a piece of paper. Label it “Why can’t I

get motivated?” and then start writing. See what

comes up. If you stick with it long enough, you’ll

get your answer.

If you’re not in alignment with whatever you’re

working on, be honest with yourself.

It may be time to stop doing it – whether that’s

abandoning a project (I have NEVER regretted

canceling a project because it didn’t “feel

right”… even if my logical counterparts couldn’t

understand it) or outsourcing it.

Assuming you ARE in alignment with what

you’re working on, here are some more things to

do:

6. Listen to classical music at 60 beats per

minute.

Music at 60 bpm balances the left and right

hemispheres of your brain and helps your

thinking and creativity.

This type of music always helps me produce

better results.

I’ve bought this before and really like it.

5. Work off of a plan.

Sometimes to-do lists can be random

gobbledygook that ends up just being busy-

work. Tim Ferriss once said something to the

degree about how being perpetually busy is

LAZY. People fill themselves up with loads of

crap to to avoid actually thinking.

Instead of loading yourself up with work that

may have no rhyme or reason… work off a

PLAN.

Set a goal, plan it out (#2 on this post may help),

and then create your to-do tasks based off of

your plan. If you feel purposeful and know WHY

you’re doing what you’re doing, you will likely

feel a lot better about doing it.

(Bonus if you break up your plan into small,

workable chunks so you don’t feel

overwhelmed.)

4. Find inspiration.

There are many ways you can inspire yourself:

– Visualize what you’re doing this all for. Think

about the emotions you’ll feel when you reach

your goal.

PLEASE (!!!) have an emotionally-driven “why”

for doing what you’re doing… and remind

yourself about it.

– Identify “role models” and model them.

– Read books that motivate you (I personally

love Man’s Search For Meaning (which is not

meant to be motivational but it inspires the heck

out of me), Do The Work,and The War Of Art.

I’ve heard some great things about Outwitting

The Devil but haven’t read it yet.

3. Move your body.

If you feel blocked, it only makes sense to un-

block your body by moving it around. This can

look like going for a walk, dancing around the

house, or some other kind of exercise.

One thing I like to do is just jump around and

move my arms, legs, jaw… just shake everything

up. It looks crazy, but it ALWAYS snaps me out

of a funk.

2. Create accountability.

This can look like publicly posting your goal on

Facebook, having an accountability partner, or

joining a like-minded mastermind where you can

share your goals.

If you know that you have to report to other

people about what you’ve set out to do, you’ll

think twice before ignoring it.

1. Be OK with it.

If you’ve tried to get motivated, and you know

that you are in alignment what you’re doing…

then just let go. Sometimes these things ebb and

flow. I believe everything not only happens for a

reason, but for our highest good.

And sometimes letting go and not beating

yourself up about it can open yourself up to

magic.

For example, a few months ago, I was in a hotel

room doing my best to “force” myself to create a

presentation. I was set to speak in a couple days

and I just couldn’t get motivated to create my

PowerPoint.

I pushed and pushed all day, and nothing was

happening.

By nighttime, I was getting desperate. I

bargained with myself that I would order room

service, finish the presentation, and reward

myself by getting to go out and play.

Thankfully room service didn’t offer any options

I liked, so I walked over to the hotel restaurant. I

brought my notebook with me, but mostly just

concentrated on eating a fantastic dinner.

Somewhere in between bites of the delicious

food and looking at the beautiful aquarium

surrounding the restaurant, inspiration just

jumped at me.

I got out my notebook and ideas flowed like

wine.

It was amazing… as soon as I stopped

PUSHING, the flow came.

I suspect the same may happen for you too.