Underneath it all you ARE still motivated…Here's why, and what to do to drag yourself out of a slump
- MMG
- Apr 10, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 11, 2021
“I’m struggling with motivation”
I hear these words every week. From students, from clients, from colleagues, from professionals, and from those that are normally bouncing about taking on the world.
This isn’t an exaggeration. I hear this repeatedly throughout my week.
There are bursts of inspiration and then we hit the ground hard and feel terrible about ourselves.
Why aren’t we getting everything done? Why are things slow?
Why are sleeping patterns messed up, brains foggy and to do lists getting more overwhelming? Why do I feel so unmotivated?
Actually, what if I told you that you are still motivated. That isn’t the problem.
The problem is simply feeling overwhelmed.
If you are concerned about not being motivated enough, you are frustrated by the ‘wanting’ to move forward.
By acknowledging the ‘want’ to get certain things done - You are already half way there.
You are just finding it hard to tackle your tasks because you are overwhelmed, not unmotivated.
There are two things to consider before you assess anything.
1) We have faced a pandemic for over a year now. That isn’t an excuse, but a primary factor to start with. Some of us have had massive changes to our living and work situation. We have had a huge shift in our worlds and that cannot be underestimated, no matter how well or how badly we have dealt with it so far. It’s subjective.
2) Being online, we are now more accessible than ever and with that brings pressure.
We are expected to do tasks immediately. We expect that of ourselves too. The world is becoming (has become) a very impatient place where we can buy, watch or stream anything we wish at the click of a button. This is mirrored in human behaviour and has filtered through into our expectations.
Now you can forget about being motivated - you are focusing on the wrong thing here.
You need to look at time and task management.
Dr Antonieta Contreras, Traumatologist says “A state of feeling “overwhelmed” is a state where we lose the capacity to meet the demands being placed on us. Sometimes those demands come from our own system. In terms of psychology, it means that we are experiencing too many emotions at the same time. Generally speaking, the person feels overwhelmed because they get flooded by stress hormones, their limbic system becomes hyperactive, and the brain’s frontal lobe reduces activation. Therefore, there is confusion, lack of focus, and distress. It’s hard to think while many thoughts appear altogether, and the person loses efficacy and may feel paralysed, incapable, and even helpless. Overwhelmed is the point where the capacity to assess with clarity gets disconnected.”
Maybe it’s a case of spreading ourselves too thin and not ‘feeling’ like we are getting anywhere.
Is that how you feel too? Take comfort that this thought pattern is affecting more people that you think. Even those that seem to have it all under control (drops ball).
I am not a psychologist but if there’s one thing I know about, it’s organising others (not myself).
If you relate to this you need to work on your task management and creating small wins that make you feel good.
Why? Small wins create a snowball effect which makes you ‘feel’ more productive which morphs into finding a sense of achievement, and ends with enjoying the feeling of productivity. Then we feel motivated to hang onto that.
You will also, perhaps, focus on what you have done, rather than what you haven’t.
I can say with confidence that this ‘small win snowball effect’ works because I personally coach people each week to do just that, and keep them on track when they struggle. I often find someone in our first session crying because they are so utterly overwhelmed and within a short amount of time are full of creativity and drive.
It works if you have the right tools and the right people around you too. And this is why I love what I do, because I see transformations. I observe them as you have the ability to make great changes (with a little prodding).
You will feel good about yourself and that is the main factor here.
Feeling good can only lead to more of the good stuff.
That’s what it’s all about - enjoyment of living and doing what you enjoy.
I must stress that outside factors come into play, if you are surrounded by people that drag you down this is a separate issue. You need to address this first, set yourself one day or afternoon to lock yourself away from the energy vampires and focus on you. Nobody else.
Please don’t waste time, you will look back and kick yourself. Again, I can say this with confidence as I see this often, and have experienced this personally myself.
Let's tackle both personal and professional areas in your to-do tasks.
This is because there are two types of motivation. Intrinsic and Extrinsic.
Why do you need to know this? Well, understanding motivation helps improve efficiency, taking control of what you are striving for.
Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve rewards such as money or social recognition.
Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual purely for the personal gratification.
Musicians tend to find that intrinsic motivation becomes extrinsic, and we must sometimes remind ourselves to do what we love for the love of it. Sometimes what we are passionate about becomes a chore. In this case I take my clients back to the beginning to find the missing element that they have lost along the way. Re-finding your love for something is a magic ingredient to productivity.
So where do you start?
1) Stop focusing on what you haven’t done - it’s a clean slate - it’s all forgotten - you are starting from here. You are starting from scratch today.
2) You need a pen and paper…No phones or laptops. Writing it down physically is more effective. Don’t believe me - listen to what the neuroscientists say about encoding.
3) Make a title for a list per area of your life that needs attention (Work / Music / Study / Personal)
4) Write all the tasks that are outstanding under each title, no matter how big or small that is. We will call this List one. (original huh?!)
5) Highlight no more than two tasks in each area on List One
One: the most urgent task regarding a deadline - what ‘needs’ to be done soonest.
Two: the task that is the quickest and easiest to get done.
6) Now look at these highlighted tasks - These are now the only ones that matter right now. Move them onto a new list if need be! List two is where it is at……No peeking at the ones left behind.
7) Follow the highlighting process but with List two…pick the quickest easiest task and also the one most pressing.
Make a start.
When you complete one, replace it from your first initial mega list.
The idea is that brand new tasks and ideas go onto List one.
Each time you complete a task on List two you replace it with one from List one.
Sifting out easiest and most pressing each time.
Now, this is not designed to just keep you doing the quick easy ones, but to jumpstart your feelings of productivity. The rest falls into place.
By starting with the quickest and easiest task you have already made a step. A little step in the right direction instead of standing still.
And there is nothing worse than standing still….because everything builds up, and even the little things contribute towards making you feel overwhelmed….and now we all know what that leads to.
I am sorry to say to you that this list will never be complete, neither should you want it to be.
You would have nothing to strive for and that truly is demotivating.
IF you feel that having an Industry, creative, music or development consultation could help you then just get in touch via our contact page or say hello@mountainmusicgroup.com - And if you quote "BLOG#1" then we will give you a 10% discount for being awesome and taking a step in the right direction.
On it...