Lost: Motivation
May 17, 2008 by Shelley
Here’s what I should be doing: getting my house ready for our Big Open House tomorrow. Even after two cups of coffee and a lovely stroll around the neighborhood garage sales, I still can’t seem to gather up my motivation. SO MUCH needs to be done. Over and above the normal stuff that already makes me cranky (i.e. unloading the dishwasher…) It is just so painful. You’d think someone was making me staple my tongue.
I feel all this pressure, like if everything is NOT perfect, it will be my fault that the house doesn’t sell. This is irrational, like most thoughts that run through my head. And with a little effort, we can achieve a state of house bliss, but I must say, this house selling thing is getting old. I’m just tired of it.
I’m boring myself with my complaints. Bleh.
One. step. at. a. time. I do the same thing: overwhelm myself by thinking about ALL that needs to be done. But when you just break it into baby steps, things get so much easier.
I use the timer. I’m just an anxious person, and I feel much better knowing that I can STOP my horrible task when the timer beeps! And then I make it into a game. Yes, I am childish and I have a hard time staying motivated doing un-fun things. So I play loud music and try to get my “chore” done before my timer beeps.
And then I get timer-break-time. Ten minutes of whatever I want. Which usually means I sit on the floor and drink coffee and eat fruit. Sometimes I cry, too, if I’m really stressed.
I say I’m doing all this timer game stuff for the kids, but we all really know I’m undisciplined and I am parenting myself. So, maybe it will work on you, too!
Thanks for the tips Wendy! I love the timed break idea. When I let myself take a break, I look at the clock and realize an hour just went by…