Mastering motivation
You’re probably here because you often find yourself asking “How can I stay motivated?”
If you’re relying on motivation to stay consistent, that’s exactly why you keep falling off after a few days or weeks.
First thing we need to cover: motivation is not always the issue. You have goals that you want to achieve, and it’s not that you don’t want to get them done. You need systems to help you get them done, even when you don’t have the motivation.
You’re not always going to feel inspired and energized in your goals, and that’s the normal cycle of life: You have highs, lows, and “meh” days. Implementing these systems can help you start moving in the right direction to build momentum, or make it easier to stay on track when you’re motivation is low.
Initiation Ritual
This is a quick ritual you can do to help you get started in any task for your goals. This eases you in so that you’re not overwhelmed by the bigger task of getting it all done at once
Examples:
10 min walk outside before training - this gets you moving, you mentally feel better because you’re outside, and it can be part of your warmup. Your body and mind feel primed to get started
A hype song that you listen and dance to in your home or car before you go workout! This can get you out of a funk and lean into the fun
Putting on workout clothes. That’s all you need to worry about first - a good outfit that is comfortable, but makes you feel confident to move in.
Focusing on the first set only, not the whole workout. Picture a large staircase. The climb is long, and seems endless and overwhelming. What if you just focused on the first step? Then after that, just the next step? It’s the same idea here
10 minutes dedicated to prepping veggies, fruits, or other foods before starting meal prep. Once you get started, you’re usually more inclined to keep going.
Only starting with protein first - not the entire meal prep, but focusing on seasoning and preparing your protein for the week.
Comfort pairing with meal prep: watch a favorite show, or listen to your favorite podcast while prepping. Some pods I listen to: Life’s a Joke, The Office Ladies, Diary of a CEO, and Fantasy Fangirls — just to name a few.
Clean space trigger - If you’re someone who works better in a clean space, this can be a trigger to get you ready for work.
“Minimum Standard”
Instead of needing to check EVERY box, every single day, determine your non-negotiable floor. These are the minimum goals you need to get done on the days when life is chaos, things are out of your control, or you have an insanely busy week. This will keep you on the path instead of feeling like you need to wait and start over again.
Examples:
Hit protein goal
Drink 1 gallon of water
Walk or do mobility for 10 min
Prep as much as you can so tomorrow will be better
Hit calorie goal
Workout for 20 min
Get to bed by 10 pm
Pre-track meals for tomorrow
Prep foods for tomorrow
Friction Reduction
Remember in Frozen 2, when Anna says “Just do the next right thing?” We’re going to implement that here: make the next choice the easiest choice
Gym outfit laid out the night before
Meals prepped and ready to go for tomorrow
Meals pre-tracked the day before
Writing out what groceries are needed before leaving to shop
Workout already written before entering the gym (Contact me so you don’t have to do this step alone)
This removes the thinking when it comes to the task of actually getting it done. You have everything in order and ready to go
GAUGE your day
Not every day needs to be high performance, nor can it be. It’s unrealistic to think that everyone operates at the same standard every day — especially as women (and especially coming from someone with ADHD). You can identify your “high” days, “meh” days, and “shit” days to help gauge how you’re feeling, and be able to adjust as needed.
High days = high output (train hard, carry more, push)
Meh days = maintenance (normal standards, not getting any PRs)
Shit Days = minimum maintenance days (hitting the non-negotiable floor I mentioned earlier)
This helps prevent burnout so you don’t quit when it’s not always 100%.
Environmental Design
Set yourself up in the right place to succeed: your environment should push you toward action automatically
Keep healthy food visible, junk out of sight. I keep a bowl of clementines on the table, blueberries and carrots or cucumbers in the fridge at eye level. When me and my husband are snacky and looking for food, we reach for the fruits and veggies because they’re right there. Easily accessible, and you don’t have to prep them. They can hold you over while you’re putting together your next meal.
Reduce distractions. This one is HUGE. How much time are you wasting away, just doomscrolling? Take it from the girl with ADHD - you need to remove the distraction that costs you time and attention. Remove phones from the bedroom, or put them away so they’re out of mind. Reduce the amount of notifications you receive from each app or group chat. Set up “Down time” on your phone to remind you to limit scrolling or work. This will help with your nervous system truly resetting and resting at night
Natural lighting / low lights. This helps with circadian rhythm, thus, your sleep schedule. Turn the lights down low as it gets dark, and reduce screen time as you wind down. When it’s time to get up, use a sheer curtain to see sunlight coming in, or draw back the shades. I recommend a Hatch Alarm so you don’t have to rely on your phone to wake up (making it easier to remove from your room).
An Accountability Loop
Motivation can drop when there’s no external pressure or feedback. Give yourself a timeline, and use ways to check-in with yourself, or others, to stay on top of it.
Options:
Post workouts/content publicly
Set deadlines that involve other people - such as writing a contract out for what needs to happen, and by when. State the consequences of not getting it done. State the rewards of completion
Check-ins with a coach (Coaching Plug here)
Get real feedback from people who will be honest with you.
When you use these accountability loops, it’s also important to reflect: what can you be doing better? What are you doing well? Questions like that can help you revise systems to be more effective for you.
Emotional Awareness
Can you identify when you’re extremely stressed, experiencing burn out, or recognize when your nervous system is begging for a reset? Sometimes “lack of motivation” is actually:
Overwhelm
Decision fatigue
Fear of not doing it perfectly
If you’re not in tune with your emotions and mental health, you will constantly wonder why you’re struggling to make this work. I highly recommend journaling to help you become more introspective and curious to learn more about yourself (Plug: My clients have access to an awesome journal entry template so you’re not having to write based on nothing).
Weekly Reset System
These don’t always have to be on Sundays. Have a non-negotiable weekly reset, as this is monumental in you being able to stay consistent.
Once per week:
Plan workouts (or look over what you’ll be training that week)
Prep food basics / shop for groceries
Clean/reset your space (clean all your training gear, set it up so it’s easy to find)
Schedule the days and times you will train and make it like an appointment: non-negotiable.
Gauge your week: are you super busy, and know that you will need to be more prepared or flexible than usual? Or, is your week open and easy going?
You’re not starting from zero every day, and you know what to expect.
My final suggestion: Just try 1 - 2 of these systems at a time if you’ve never implemented them before so you can see what works for you. Adjust as needed, and brainstorm on how you can make it work for your life, and your schedule. If you can learn to be adaptable and willing to try new things to succeed, then it’s a guarantee that you will.
Keep showing up!