What to Do When Your MOTIVATION CRASHES

It’s inevitable that our motivation will hit rock bottom at some point in the workweek (or everyday, also okay!). We pump through the day on high alert, speeding through our ever growing to-do’s and then suddenly, you can’t anymore. The mind wanders into the clouds or you find yourself scrolling and scrolling away on your phone. You’re tired, you want to take nap, but you can’t. You got deadlines .

I know that feeling and have battled with ways to get over this hurdle. When the emails are flowing in like waterfalls and you still need to complete eight things before you can shut down for the day, stepping away from the computer seems like a bad idea. But that’s exactly what you need to do. Besides, you’re far from being productive sitting there staring at your phone either way. After trying out some techniques, I’ve pulled together the three things you can do in 5 minutes or less that will ACTUALLY help you get back on your well oiled machine. Do them all or try one at a time. Do it everyday or only when you feel yourself crashing. Either or, these tips and tricks will help you hit that reset button and keep the day going.

1. Do a 5 Minute Yoga Flow To Pump Some Blood Back In Your Brain

I invited Yogi guru and friend Arina (@arina.negishi) to share some yoga poses that will help activate some good blood flow through the body and brain.

1. Rag doll pose: Grab both of your elbows and bend your body all the way forward. Let it hang for thirty seconds.
2. Downward facing dog: Place both palms on your mat and push your hips up, leaning into your toes.
3. Plow pose: Lie down on your mat and kick both legs over and above your head (similar to picture above but with both legs)
4. Shoulder stand or legs on the wall: Lie down on your mat and kick both legs up, pointing your toes at the ceiling. You can support your hips by holding them up with your hands.

2. Change Your Outfit

For anyone (basically everyone right now) working from home, we tend to stay in our comfort clothes if not our pajamas. Physically removing yourself from that look and stepping into something that makes you feel more put together can trick your brain into thinking you’re about to do something different. If you are one of those people who properly get dressed in the morning (kudos to you, you fully functioning adult!), it can still help your mind reset for the next set of tasks ahead. If you absolutely LOVE what you are wearing right now, take a moment to step away from your computer anyway and plan out what you want to wear to your next event/hangout/outing. It will make you think of fun things ahead and bring your motivation back up again.

3. Step Into A Different Room With Your Journal and Write

I think it’s always beneficial to take a step back and realign your intentions with yourself. Remove yourself from the room you work in, grab a notebook, and sit down somewhere comfy. Write down your intentions for the day, for the week, the year, your life, and then some. Write about who you are seeing on Saturday or how you plan on taking a trip upstate later this month. Write down what you still need to do before then. Organize out the next few weeks in your planner. This will help map out where you currently stand in your life and grab you out of that hazy mental state you were just in. You will come back to your desk with a fresh sense of perspective and motivation.