Need A Boost? Start Self-Caring.

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​​​Okay, so here’s the deal on motivation…

If you lost your mojo, can’t get out of your own way, procrastinating, and just can’t get it together, and you’re not self-caring at this point, don’t expect motivation to come knocking at your door.  The truth is, if you’re not self-caring, you’re not even in the game of motivation.

Lack of motivation is usually due to fatigue and stress.  So we know to combat this we must self-care.  Now, self-care is not just about taking bubble baths…(lol) it’s much deeper than that.  You can start with the regular rituals; meditation, exercise, diet and sleep – these will all help build and boost the immune system and therefore enhance Serotonin, Dopamine, etc., levels in your brain. 

Also, eating too much junk food and abusing alcohol and drugs will mess with your brain of course, so that will affect your motivation.  What you need to understand is that  motivation is neurobiological as well.

Now, another big thing is to make sure your environment is conducive to wellness.  That means, less is more.  Your living space and work space should be neat and tidy and organized –  no clutter.  Studies prove that clutter messes with your brain – i.e., gives you clutter of the mind and causes stress and overwhelm, therefore, diminishes productivity.

Now, once you’re starting to get back into the game of motivation and you’re feeling much better – the key to productivity is to have your eye on the future – meaning, you have to have a goal.  Hope for something to go after.  Without this, you will just be surviving not thriving – and we don’t want that. 

So you must begin with a Life Goal. Now that may seem contrary to what we’ve been told all these years – such as we need yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily first.  After you devise your life goal, then you start working backwards toward the other goals.  Without a life goal, you’re just skimming through life without a purpose and there’s no bigger productivity killer than that. 

So there you have it.  Remember, self-care is self-love.  Start today – it’s never too late.

The Psychology Of The To-Do List

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There are many benefits to writing a to-do list.  However, despite the gain, there are some people who will resist them.  Let’s take Mary for example.  Mary is an artist with a very active lifestyle. Her professional and personal life combined has her going in many directions.  Mary told me that she was starting to feel overwhelmed and some of her tasks were falling through the cracks.  When I inquired if she was using a to-do list to help her plan out her day, she informed me that “occasionally” she would scribble a few things down.

Although Mary was made aware of how a list could help manage her stress, she still resisted using one for a very long time.  She said, it stifled her flexibility. She felt that if she kept a list, it would tie her down and restrict her creativity. This is not an unusual response ( at least I found in my practice) with very creative people. They have adopted a belief that putting their thoughts down in order will somehow interfere with their creative flow.

Gradually, though, Mary came around. The busier  her life became, the more crucial it was to have some sort of running agenda on hand. Before long, not only did she embrace her to-do list but Mary even started scheduling some of those items onto a weekly calendar. In other words, she reluctantly become a planner.

Looking back, Mary admits that it wasn’t the actual writing of the list that she found so difficult, as it was the transition of doing so.  She now understands that she had emotional blocks surrounding her beliefs about to-do lists.  Once Mary was able to work through her roadblocks, she had a  different perspective of drawing up a list.  She is now in agreement that planning helps her get things done more efficiently and does not interfere with her creative nature.

Here’s the psychology of the to-do list – studies have shown that people perform better when they have written down what they need to do.  There are three reasons for this:  they dampen anxiety about the chaos of life; they give us a structure, a plan that we can stick to; and they are proof of what we have achieved that day, week or month. (the guardian.com)

Simply put, the brain loves order. That’s why being organized makes us feel so good.

If you’re interested in finding ways to make your life easier and more manageable, you can schedule a consultation with me by CLICKING HERE.