Are you struggling to complete tasks or reach goals, despite knowing how to make it happen? Lack of motivation is a common and understandable reaction to feeling overwhelmed and burned out. There are many reasons for lack of motivation, including stress, mental health, anxiety, confidence issues, and more. When you’re finding it difficult if not impossible to self-motivate, there are certain tricks that can help—here’s what the experts say.
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Movement Gives Self-Confidence
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Movement is one of the best ways to boost your motivation instantly—especially if it’s with like-minded people. “When you move with other people it creates a strong sense of ‘bigger than self’ possibility that makes people feel more optimistic and empowered,” health psychologist Kelly McGonigal tells CNET. “And it allows people to feel more empowered about facing the challenges in their own lives. And that’s an interesting side benefit of moving with other people, because there’s an embodied sense of ‘we’re in this together’ that translates into self-confidence and the ability to take on challenges in your life.”
Exercise and Depression
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For those struggling with depression, exercise can provide an instant lift in mood and motivation. “For some people it works as well as antidepressants, although exercise alone isn’t enough for someone with severe depression,” Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, tells Harvard Health. “Start with five minutes a day of walking or any activity you enjoy. Soon, five minutes of activity will become 10, and 10 will become 15.” “Pick something you can sustain over time. The key is to make it something you like and something that you’ll want to keep doing.”
Exercise Improves Focus
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Exercise can help if you’re struggling with focus. “In one of my lab experiments, I found that a single workout can help improve your ability to shift and focus attention,” Wendy Suzuki, PhD, neuroscientist and professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University, tells CNBC Make It. “This is an immediate benefit that can last for at least two hours after 30 minutes of exercise. I recommend activities that increase your heart rate, such as brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, playing tennis or jumping rope.”
Exercise and Anxiety
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Exercise encourages the release of happy hormones that help improve anxiety. “Studies have shown that every time you move your body, a number of beneficial neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and acetylcholine, gets released into your brain,” Dr Suzuki says. “It only takes between 10 and 30 minutes of daily physical activity to instantly lift your mood. No gym membership? Take a short walk, or use the stairs instead of the elevator. When I’m crunched for time, I’ll simply pace a few laps around my dining room table.”
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Exercise and Creativity
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If you feel stuck in a rut, exercise can help boost creativity. “I pretty much rely on running and walking to create space and clarity and to come up with ideas,” Alex McIntos, creative director of Create Sustain, tells The Guardian. “If I don’t exercise, I can really feel the difference. My body starts to feel sluggish and then my brain follows suit – I feel blocked and frustrated. Sometimes all it takes is a quick walk to knock that feeling on the head.”
Stop Obsessing
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Sometimes, the best way to boost motivation is to take a break and stop trying to force it. “An activity that supports incubation needs to take you away from what you were doing, boost positive feelings (or at least reduce negative ones) and be undemanding enough to allow the mind to wander,” Prof Kathryn Williams, an environmental psychologist at the University of Melbourne, tells The Guardian. “It is during mind-wandering (when attention switches from a current task to unrelated thoughts and feelings) that we are most likely to draw connections between diverse ideas and have novel thoughts – the epitome of divergent thinking.”