Being deprived of motivation is no joke. There are days when you just don’t have the energy or grit to do what you need to do. But, as we know all too well, life goes on. Motivation or no motivation, we still have to go to work, we still have to hand that paper in by its deadline, and we still have to show up to the boxing session we signed up for. Life is full of commitments that you have to fulfill, whether you feel like it or not.

So, how can you rally when you have no energy or motivation? How do you beat the stress that seems to keep you paralyzed in thought? How can you become excited about starting your day when you can’t bear the thought of rolling out of bed? How do you bounce back in the ring after a bad boxing match that left you feeling discouraged?

Whatever your goals, these tips will help you thrive when you're feeling unmotivated.

Just Do It

One good tactic is to JUST DO IT.

If you’re waiting for a burst of energy or inspiration to come your way, you might be waiting for a long time. One of the best ways to rally and overcome a lack of motivation is to simply just do it. Often, energy and inspiration will stem from the action itself. So, stop thinking so much, tie your shoes, put on your gloves, and step into the ring.

Set a Time Limit

Sometimes, just doing it just doesn’t work! If you’re feeling exhausted and demotivated, taking that first step can seem near impossible. In that case, set a short timeframe to get something done.

For example, if you have work emails to go through, set your timer for ten minutes and get to work. If you're not in “exercise mode,” take 15 minutes and do what you can in that time. In fact, research shows that it may be more beneficial to do your work in shorter bouts, rather than all at once.

On those days where you just can’t get your motivation up to par, try out the Pomodoro Technique. This method works by doing tasks in 25-minute sessions, with a five-minute break in between each session. This approach is quite effective because committing to a shorter timeframe will feel less overwhelming and much more doable.

Get Prepared Ahead of Time

It’s easy to back out of something if you don’t have a strong commitment to it. If you prepare and get ready ahead of time, it will feel more like an obligation and might keep you motivated to stick with it. If you have a workout planned early in the morning, take your workout clothes and shoes out the night before. On nights you have to cook dinner, have a recipe planned out and maybe even prep some food in advance.

Preparing ahead of time means you're already halfway there. It also creates a sense of obligation and accountability, which are excellent sources of motivation.

Focus on Your Why

When you sincerely want something, you will go to almost unlimited heights to reach that goal. The problem is, most of us lose touch with our why. The daily grind distracts our minds and saps our energy. You may simply need to reconnect with your reasons for wanting to take a specific path.

How can you renew your why? Take some time to reflect upon your goals and the meaningful reasons you want to achieve them. Write them down and keep that list somewhere you can easily access it. Every so often, pull out your list of why's and review them. Creating purposeful goals helps you stay on track and rally through any energy lapse.

Accept How You Feel

Sometimes, what’s more un-motivating than being unmotivated is feeling bad about being unmotivated. In truth, we all experience episodes of feeling unambitious. It’s part of being human. The trick is not to let those feelings hold you back.

Putting that extra pressure on yourself in a time when you're feeling apathetic can make it even harder to pull through. Take a few deep breaths, accept how you feel, and move on. Recognize that your feelings are legitimate and all you need to do is relax and get through it.

Dig for Inspiration

The funny thing about motivation is you need to motivate yourself to get motivated! Just like a car, you will run out of gas and need to refuel to keep your heart and mind in the game. One way of refueling is to feed your psyche with inspiration.

You might like to look through inspirational quotes, hear success stories, or read encouraging biographies. Whatever your favorite source of inspiration, make sure to give yourself a daily or weekly dose to keep your spirits up and your ambitions high.

Use Journaling to Clear Your Mind

A lot of times, a lack of motivation comes from a clouded mind. Life is a rollercoaster, filled with tons of ups and downs, and that is often reflected in our thoughts. Journaling is a great way to let out emotions and clear the mind, which helps you to become calmer and more focused.

Journaling helps to clear your “mental RAM,” or your mental capacity to retain thoughts, similar to a computer's disk space. Clearing those thoughts through journaling helps to reduce stress, increase problem-solving, release emotions, and it even improves physical health! Getting rid of all that baggage that normally weighs you down will greatly increase your motivation, energy, and productivity.

Fake It Till You Make It

If you don’t feel like doing anything, try going by the adage “fake it till you make it.” Rather than sitting there and thinking “I don’t feel like it,” merely pretend to be motivated and energized.

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy gives an incredible Ted Talk on the power of nonverbal communication. She and her colleagues researched high and low power poses, specifically searching for how nonverbals effect self-thoughts and behavior. They found that participants who did a series of high power poses both increased their likelihood of risk-taking and decreased their levels of stress, two powerful attributes of confidence.

Long story short, if you pretend to be something, whether that’s confident, powerful, and yes, even motivated, you actually change your brain chemistry, convincing yourself that you are in fact what you are pretending to be.

Take a Breather

If we gave up every single time we “didn’t feel like it,” none of us would get anywhere. That said, there are occasions when you benefit from simply taking a rest. If you push yourself to work when you absolutely can’t, chances are you're not going to get the results you want.

Give yourself a day off every now and again. Play hooky. Relax. Do something for YOU. Then, get back to work with a clear mind and a renewed energy.

Don’t let excuses hold you back. Get motivated and call Gloveworx today to book a session!