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Motivation can be difficult to control. Here’s how to get it back when you’re feeling unmotivated.

Motivation is weird. Some days you have it and feel great, being able to get stuff done quickly and effectively. Other days you don’t, and everything you do feels borderline impossible. Motivation is linked to your mood; if you’re feeling burned out or depressed, your motivation will be lacking, and it’s a difficult cycle to break.

Paradoxically, in order to get your motivation back, you have to do stuff, even when you don’t feel like it. It’s also important to address the cause of your lack of motivation since this can worsen with time and invade other areas of your life. Due to the year we’ve had and the stressors that we’re facing, lack of motivation is growing increasingly common.

Here are a few tips that can help you get stuff done

Motivate yourself with rewards

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While it won’t completely resolve your problem, rewarding yourself for completing tasks can help you get things done and is also fun. It’s also an extremely malleable trick since rewards mean different things for each person. Complete a task and reward yourself by watching something you’ve been meaning to watch or prepare yourself a cup of coffee or tea in your favorite mug. If you need to motivate yourself to work out or go for a run, save your favorite podcast or audiobook for these moments, using them as encouragers.

Share it with other people

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Sometimes what you need is to hold yourself accountable, which can help if you share your goals and objectives with others. If you’re working on a creative project, share that with some friends that can help you stay on track. If you need motivation for your fitness, get a friend to help you and keep you accountable.

Be kind to yourself

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Lastly, being kind to yourself is always important, especially when you’re going through a rough patch. Lack of motivation affects all of us and it’s not a reflection of our personality and it doesn’t mean we’re lazy. Be kind to yourself and this moment will pass.

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