Another April-shower day glares at me through the office window. The same pile of papers on the floor stares up at me. The business paperwork on my desk demands attention.
It all conspires against me, and I want to flee to the comfort of the couch, a cup of coffee, and a mind-numbing DVD.
Because I’m self-employed, I can give in to this lack of motivation for a day. I justify it by telling myself I deserve a day off. But then a day becomes two and then three, and before I know it, those days have become a week and sometimes more.
Most of the time, the routine of my life causes this problem. Work, eat, sleep. Work, eat, sleep.
Do you ever have days like that? Weeks maybe?
There are several things that might cause your motivation to go missing:
- Work-life imbalance
- Physical illness/hormone imbalance
- Depression due to loss of a loved one, or a medical condition such as a thyroid disorder
- Clinical depression
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
- Clutter
- Overwhelm
- Discouragement
The list could go on and on. And, personally, I could tick off 6 of those 8 items right now. No wonder I haven’t wanted to face sitting down to work….
Stop and take the time to examine your life. Learn what triggers your slumps and how you can remedy them.
SAD strikes me every March and going on daylight saving time intensifies it.
I’m single. My children are grown and my grandchildren live in other states. It’s easy for me to work all the time. But for me that imbalance is one of the first things to trigger a slump. I’m looking at boundaries I can set and deliberately adding fun things into my life to fix this. Here’s an excellent article from Mayo Clinic on work-life balance.
Depending on what triggered my lack of motivation, I do things like boosting my intake of B-complex or using special lights to counter the SAD (next year I’m going to vacation during the month of March!) or cleaning up the clutter. And because I have only half my thyroid, my doctor and I keep a close eye on my thyroid function.
Knowing when to seek professional help is just as important as learning to know your body. If your slump persists into weeks, seek help.
Here are some Bible verses to encourage you for today.
“But with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26 NKJV)
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Phil. 2:13 NLT)
How about you? Have you ever stopped to think about why your motivation goes missing? What do you do to find it? Leave your comments below.
catherineulrichbrakefield says
March is my worst month, too. Definitely a good vacation month if you live in Michigan. And with all the rain we’ve been getting, I often feel like that dog in your picture! Peter 1:5,7 really hit home. That’s the message God been telling me lately! Wow!
Debra says
I feel like that dog during most of the winter. About the time I recover, we go on Daylight Saving Time.
Donna Wittlif says
Sometimes I know where I want to go with my book, but my brain can’t get there. It helps to take a day or part of a day off and do something else like catch up on housework, gardening, shopping, or visiting. As my body relaxes, so does my mind, and it starts working on my story behind the scenes.
Debra says
Taking a break from a long project like that is often a good thing. Like you said, it helps your mind find its way back to creative mode. Your scenario also shows us how important it is to take a break during the day to allow our mind to shift its focus. Thanks for sharing, Donna.