What To Do When You’re Not Motivated

#EntrepreneurOfTheWeek #Post 3

3. What to Do When Motivation Is Low

There are days when things just don’t flow.

I can’t always put my finger on what exactly isn’t working, but I know I don’t have the energy to do what I need to do. That’s usually the moment when an inner dialogue starts:
Is this burnout, or is something difficult for me and I’m avoiding it?
Was it just one of those days?
What might help me get moving—half an hour of doing something else, or maybe it’s better to let today go?

Here are a few things that make a real difference for me on days like these:

• Showing up in the smallest possible way.
  Doing just one urgent task, analyzing one deal, finishing one annoying bureaucratic task—and that’s it.

• Going back to my “why.”
  In real estate, there are many tasks moving forward in parallel. Naturally, there are things we enjoy doing and things we don’t. Sometimes we’re required to push a task that just doesn’t feel good, or we’re in a very busy period and struggling with prioritization. In those moments, it really helps me to zoom out and look at the bigger picture—how this task connects to what we’re trying to achieve, and how completing it moves us one step closer to our vision.

• Looking a few steps back to appreciate how far I’ve come.
  It really helps me to occasionally notice the small wins along the way—looking at challenges I’ve already overcome strengthens my sense of capability to act even within current discomfort. Sometimes Yam and I catch ourselves being amazed by what we’re doing today without even noticing that, just a few months ago, these things were only aspirations. We’ve learned so much through all this action—and stopping to recognize that gives me the energy to keep going.

• Changing location, changing luck.
  Sometimes it helps to do tasks from a café or from the couch in the living room (rare, but it happens). Changing things up once in a while can refresh the atmosphere.

• Remembering that progress isn’t always linear.
  Progress is created through consistency—on days when it feels good to do the work, and on days when it doesn’t. Long-term persistence brings results, even if it doesn’t always feel that way in the moment.

• Turning to my support systems.
  This looks different for everyone. For me, it’s usually coaching or a good conversation—with my partner, a friend, or my business partner. Speaking openly about lack of motivation or feeling stuck helps, because we’re all human, and it happens.

In the photo: a work meeting with this view, just to change the vibe a bit.