What Will it Take To Keep You Motivated?
Life throws us curve balls all the time. You can’t always predict when you’ll get a new client who needs something yesterday, or when a family member needs your help, requiring you to drop everything else, and rearrange your schedule to accommodate their needs.
Though I’ve already gotten myself into a routine that allows some wiggle room by scheduling articles and posts in advance, I know that wiggle room is finite.
With twin grandbabies due to show their tiny faces any day, it’s made me even more crazy about getting ahead on my projects, which means I’ve fallen behind on more than I’d like while I’m allowing myself to fret over everything I need to get done.
Working from home can be a blessing and a curse. You can’t get away from the floors that need mopping, or the laundry that needs to be put away, or the boxes of cat food Chewy delivered that need to be stowed in the critter-proof bin before the raccoons help themselves.
Every time you walk out to the kitchen, or into the garage to find something for dinner, it all stares you in the face like a gigantic spectre of doom. In my case, it sucks my creative juices and worse, my motivation dry in a nanosecond, leaving me flopping around like a beached salmon.
You’re in Charge
I’ve learned from being self-employed, and as such, self-motivated that I’m the only one who can get myself back on track. It’s a simple thing, to do, conceptually. The reality is something different. All I need to do is sit down at the computer and pick up a task, be it writing, bookkeeping, bill paying, or whatever else is on my work plate.
I know on a conscious level the rest will take care of itself, and that I get weird bursts of energy periodically that allow me to knock out several menial tasks at once. That same ability to hyper focus works equally well when I have posts to write and schedule, or any of the multitude of tasks that literally stare me in the face the minute I enter my office/living room/zoom meeting venue these days.
The key to completing any task boils down to one thing. I have to start. Once I get going, it’s as impossible to stop the flow of words, or the need to get just one more thing done as it is to procrastinate.
Clear Your Energy Blocks and Motivation Will Flow
Everything is energy. You can focus on doing nothing and let your energy lie like a fish out of 
water, baking in the sun and wishing someone would come along and push you back in the water, or you can point that energy in a direction—any direction, then stand back and let it flow. The problem is, I tend to forget that and allow frustration, and it’s ugly step-sister, procrastination to fill the space.
Granted, one of my strongest motivators has always been a lack of time. The more a deadline hovers over my head, the more I’m inclined to knock out as much as I can, often forgetting to eat or bathe until the moment has passed.
Fortunately, I have ballet classes and line dance nights to not only break up the monotony, but keep my body healthy by limiting the amount of time I can sit at the computer and tune out the rest of the world. I have commitments, even if they’re mostly to myself right now.
I know I’ll spend a large portion of the holiday season with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandbabies, so the fire I’ve been looking for is finally lit. Though I’ll get some work done, probably late at night as I did when my daughters were young, quantity and quality are an unknown component right now. I can’t predict how much or how little my time and effort will be needed with the two little beasties.
Clearing Your Physical Space to Derail Obsession
I’m grateful for the way uncertainty and deadlines can light that fire, and keep me motivated, and pounding away at the keyboard instead of taking care of personal needs. I’d like to find a way to harness it all in a more consistent, less panic-induced manner however.
One thing that helps is to put things away and clean my space. If I have to keep looking at a pile that’s been sitting on my nightstand for a week, or boxes in my garage needing to be unpacked and put away, I’ll obsess over them and let commitments to myself slide in the process.
I’ve learned when obsession sets in, it’s best to take a few minutes to clear whatever de-motivated me so I can move on to what I truly want and need to do.
Clutter Comes in All Shapes and Sizes
In the last week or so, I’ve managed to clear quite a few of those de-motivators, including my overgrown yard. Working in the living room means I had to look out at the waist-high weeds every day. I found myself discouraged, and not a little hopeless until I realized the solution was to ask a friend to come help me. There’s something about companionship that makes an overwhelming task seem manageable.
Sure, we spent about 3 hours hacking and mowing away weeds, but now I look out over my yard and feel a huge weight off my shoulders. I’ve come up with a workable, and even permanent solution whereby he’ll come over every 2-3 weeks and we’ll work in tandem to keep one monkey off my back. It’s well worth a day of little to no writing to keep that primate out of mischief.
Everyone has something in their life that stands in the way of doing the things they want and need to do. Maybe it’s chores like me, or maybe it’s an aspect of your business that makes you roll your eyes and groan whenever you reach a point where it has to be done before it buries you in despair. The key is to figure out what is getting in your way, and learn to conquer it before it reaches Cat 5 hurricane status.
Making Room to Allow Your Business to Thrive
We all have an albatross or 3 when it comes to the business we love. I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to do it all.
For some, it might be as simple as hiring a housekeeper or gardener (or both). For others, offloading administrative work is the key. My dream is to ultimately hire someone who’s good at marketing, and probably publishing as well.
Sometimes, you need to start by making a list of the things you love to hate, or brainstorming with someone who’s not directly invested in how and what you do. It’s a good place to start offloading the de-motivators and clearing the way for a life and a business you’ll love. A life that will have you leaping out of bed in anticipation of another amazing day. A life where you’re motivated to take on every single task on your list.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.
If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.
