An Unexpected Strategy To Get You Through Motivational Slumps

The bare minimum can do more to keep you in the game

When it comes to tips on motivation, there is no shortage of sources on the internet. Whether they are memes, inspirational quotes, Youtube videos, or Spotify playlists, inspiration is available in any form you choose. A common thread in these sources is that you have to get up early, envision your accomplishments, and keep grinding, even when you don’t feel like it. Some motivational sensations push that the secret to success is never quitting, and always rising to the challenge.

But, what if you get sick? What if your kids get sick? What if you mentally can’t take it?

Instead of despairing that you’re just not cut out to be a writer, or you don’t have what it takes to accomplish your goals, I’d like to suggest another solution.

When the going gets tough…instead of ‘the tough get going,’ it should be ‘the tough do the bare minimum to get by.’

Take care of yourself

While the internet can be a helpful reference point, i’s also a heavily filtered version of real life. For most adults, it’s often not even a question of motivation, but a question of priorities. If my child is sick, am I going to write instead of taking care of them? Of course not. If I’m sick, is it better to push through to get another article out, or take care of myself? Toni Morrison famously wrote her first book at night while her sons slept, but while impressive, those types of narratives hide the truth.

You need sleep. You need to take care of yourself physically and mentally. You need to address your priorities (family, career, health, etc).

And sometimes, or a lot of the time, taking care of those things means you will not have time to write. And that’s OK.

And, unlike in the movies, it might not be just a day or a weekend. You might need to take a break for a week or a month. That’s OK too. Despite what you read, your audience will not vanish just because you didn’t publish as often as before.

Instead of kicking yourself for not keeping up with your 10-article-a-week goal, switch to neutral. When you’re running low on fuel, don’t ‘put the pedal to the metal.’ Instead: coast.

Here’s how:

Cut what you can

This is going to be different for every person. For me, that means:

• Not worrying about cleaning other than the basics (dishes and laundry)
• No overtime at work
• Not volunteering for things (at work or otherwise).
• Not planning elaborate activities for the kids

How you cut things is not as important as how you feel about the things you’ve cut. The point is to cut things that cause you stress.

When you’re going through a tough period, this is not the time to lean in. Instead, you need to take a deep breath and recalibrate. Regardless of the things you choose to cut, this will mean saying no. No, I’m not going to do a Montessori activity with my child this weekend. No, I’m not going to offer to do something extra to support a colleague. No, I’m not going to reorganize my closet, even though it needs it and I’ve been telling myself I was going to do it for months.

It would be amazing if we could have an endless amount of time and energy to please everyone in our lives. But we don’t.

Reconfigure your goals

My goal is to publish 5 articles a week on Medium. But I made that goal knowing I wouldn’t be able to reach it all the time. The weeks or months where I’m struggling, I drop it down to 3. Or I only do shortform posts. Or both.

Once again, it doesn’t matter how you reconfigure your goals, it matters how you feel after you’ve reconfigured them. Feel good? Keep them where they are. Still stressed? Reduce your goals again until you can think about your week without your shoulders scrunching up to your ears.

Acknowledge your accomplishments

Any progress is progress.

So what if you didn’t double your followers this month? So what if you didn’t earn x amount of dollars? Over the long term, it will not matter if you had a slow day, week, or month. What will matter is that you had continued growth, regardless of how small.

Instead of beating yourself up over not reaching a certain goal, remind yourself of what you have accomplished. Another two people signed up to receive emails when you post something. An article got curated. Even small wins are wins. Focus on those instead.

What this looks like

You’re crunching out 10 beautiful articles a week. You feel on top of the world. But then your dog gets sick. And you have a big conference coming up at work. Your best friend goes through a divorce and comes to stay with you. Instead of leaning in, you take your foot off the pedal and coast. You cut the stressors, reconfigure your goals, and are grateful for the small steps in progress.

Then your friend moves out, your dog recovers, and you get through your busy conference at work. After coasting and recovering, you’re better able to throw your energy into your passion project again. Instead of having burned yourself out, now you can gather momentum to focus your energy until the next time you need to pull back. This cycle goes on and on, as does your writing.

Takeaway

Motivation shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing process, but a cycle. When you have time and energy, by all means, kill it. But, when you don’t. Don’t.

Don’t waste your time and sanity fighting an already uphill battle. Wait until you get to the top of the hill, and then sprint down.