How do you motivate yourself?

I suppose I'm lucky I actually enjoy cleaning and wish I had the energy to clear out my cupboards more than I do.

Daftbag1....I'm not qualified to give you the help you need, but please reach out to someone today! .....a hotline, your therapist, a relative, a friend, or even your neighbor. What you describe is severe depression. For your own sake, please pick up the phone and make that call!

I'm nor a woe is mine girl, I think Im very lucky and have what I need but I do have psychiatric illnesses, and my motivation has died for everything except eating. It must be 6 weeks since I had a bath (or shower), I don't smell & the house and garden are very messy.I was having therapy before Covid, but it's stopped, and no idea when it will start up again!

Lancslass1 I must admit I’ve done that too ?

If you mean mundane, repetitive tasks like housework, I break them up into small (more manageable) tasks and then I can also do things I like doing, such as an art project or just taking a break to check on Facebook or Gransnet.

I'll work on my art for awhile, then go back and finish doing the kitchen or cleaning a bathroom etc. It's more interesting to work that way and by alternating with more pleasant activities you end up in a better mood which in and of itself is motivating ...you get the gist.

I'm advised by my son to make a list. So I've put that on a list.

Well, although I consider myself to be quite motivated I'm certainly going to use a few of the tips on these comments! Thank you GNetters ?

I too make lists of ‘to dos’. It is great to tick things off. Also I put the least rewarding or palatable jobs first. Get them done and the rest is a doddle

I’ve just realised that somewhere during lockdown I’ve stopped making lists, after a lifetime of compulsively adding to them and crossing stuff off. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or bad, but might explain why I never seem to get anything done these days.

I have a list of what I’m going to do each day but sometimes I’m not motivated at all and just have a lazy day.

I am a "list" person, I cant relax until the job is done.This morning, changed beds, hung washing out, its dried and will not be ironed.
Now for a cup of tea and a cake, job done.

Find all your tips for getting things done very inspiring, especially realising and remembering there are always people worse off than you. But it isn't so easy when the arthritis is so very painful and the tasks are piling up!

Gma 29, I am a list maker too.
My lists are lengthy because like you I break the jobs into bite sized pieces.
They are numbered.
I also cheat .
If I have already done something before writing the list I wrote it down just so that I can cross it off!

I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to do housework so I pretend we are going to have visitors.

My concentration is not so good after being in lockdown for about three months. I knit for a while, become bored and pick up my Kindle and then get bored with that.

Sorry, I missed the point about motivation. I like to get things done now rather than put them off, even things like cleaning the oven, since you never know when an opportunity will arise to do something nice or unexpected visitors will arrive!

I am an all or nothing person. I can work constantly for days on a project in order to get it done and then have a couple of days doing very little. At the start of the lock down I spent weeks spring cleaning and in the garden. Lots of sewing and knitting projects. Then a couple of days reading. A couple of days writing letters and emails. Then I made lots of food for the freezer.

Now I am rather fed up and lonely. I miss having people to stay and being able to pop out to the shops to have a browse around. But I know I am lucky to be alive and healthy and not alone. My husband is great and there is Houseparty and the phone, but somehow those are not as satisfying.

I get out of bed , do what needs to be done and then have the rest of the day to do what I like doing. No motivation required for me.

I just get fed up with myself when I have flat days, so tell myself to get a grip ! I too like making a “stuff to do list” and working thro it ASAP. I walk a lot, bake a lot and just keep busy. I always count my blessings, have a lovely family and lots of lovely friends, but the bottom line is, i remind myself that I’d rather be over the hill than under it ?

Well done BB49. I'm impressed. My motivation tends to come from the satisfaction that I know I will have as another item is deleted from my 'to do' list. My irritation with myself comes from the silly amount of time I spend thinking about a chore when, in fact, it sometimes only takes me about half an hour to complete. Jeepers!

'fraid I just get on with it! today I shall be baking, lter on today I shall be sewing the laundry bags - am looking forward to the laundry bags being finished so I can get on with other things, i.e. a painting needs repaired after GS decided to walk all over it!! (I know it shouldn't have been on the floor!

Being in the vulnerable ge group - 85 - and a widow living alone, I have kept myself busy with clearing out 'clutter' and trying to keep the large garden under control as well as my two dogs happy. However, after 3 months I was beginning to feel that I would never go out again. So yesterday I made the decision to go shopping, fill my car with petrol and drive the long way to the shops.
I now feel revitalised!! The car parks at the shops had few cars and there were no queues to get in. Did all the shopping I needed in air conditioned comfort (it was very hot and humid here) with plenty of space. Today I feel so pleased that I took that step and do not feel so worried about going out again, albeit following all the safety guidelines.

I love a list, and always make sure I achieve at least one thing from it each day however big or small.

Yesterday our friends helped us erect a new shed but had to leave before it was finished.
My partner is disabled so unable help.
I looked at the shed and thought “ i have to do this girl (Im 71) Two hours later the shed was finished. All trims in place, painted and having climbed the ladder, the roof was felted. I was motivated by the thought of being able to put all the garden clutter away.
All completed in the heat of the sun !!
Sorry for being boastful but i was quite proud if myself!

I make lists. It’s probably a bit over the top sometimes, but I find writing down a few things everyday gives me a sense of some purpose, and then crossing things off gives me a sense of having achieved something, and not wasted the day.

It’s really helped me these past weeks when there were mornings I couldn’t see the point of getting up.

I break tasks down too, so I’m not faced with a huge job, that’s off putting before you start.

I'm more than happy not having the motivation I once had. In the last of my septuagenarian year I feel fully entitled just to do things as I see fit and not because I have to. Why, when I'm happy doing nothing ?

Like many here I worked damned hard in the past so now I just please myself. There's only so much housework you can do (living on your own ) There's more than enough going on in the family to keep my brain ticking over and I'm at their beck and call should the need arise so what more do I want ?

Life is never boring !