Having a nice chill, lazy day is healthy (in correct portions), but we don’t want to make it a routine. Just because so many things have been ‘put on hold’ doesn’t mean your life should be too. So here are my 4 simple tips for staying motivated!
1. Set goals
Settings goals… yes, we’ve all heard it before and I can confidently say we’ve all tried to set them before. Whether it’s a New Years resolution to eat healthier or saving up for a special gadget, we have all tried (and often failed) to genuinely pursue something better.
Firstly, you need to know what you want. Something realistic. Something you CAN do. Something that is measurable. For example, going from doing 10 push-ups to 20.
Next, you want to put it in a time frame. Using the push-up example, you could say you’d want to complete your goal within 4 weeks.
Now lastly, you want to act and organise. Anyone can say “I want to do xyz” or “I could easily do abc”. But it can be especially hard to actually incorporate something into a routine – this is where I like to use a daily planner or even a simple calendar in my phone as it holds me accountable to myself to actually complete the task at hand.
2. Do what is good. Not what is easy.
Now this one is tricky because its all about the right mindset. I don’t know about you, but when I’m rolled up in a blanket watching Netflix I find it virtually impossible to do anything else… even getting food or opening the door for a pet feels like a marathon.
The solution is to know that if you were to take action right now, your life will be better later.
That sounds like a bigger deal than it really is. In practice, it just involves going “yeah nah I should probably do that” and then actually doing it. Because when you leave things hanging and don’t address them, they can snowball up and cause even more chaos. A perfect example is not doing that homework. Leaving it last minute only to find out it was harder than expected results in you either handing it in late, or it being low-quality. And so, I guarantee you that if you address issues when they arise, you will be happier and less stressed.
3. Learn something new.
You’d be surprised by how much you can do from home. It can be as simple as reading a book about butterflies or as complex as learning how to code. My personal recommendations on things to learn (which should all be accessible within the household or online) are..
1. Philosophy: Simply search up philosophy basics, find a particular idea/thought that you think is interesting and learn more about it… there’s endless resources on every topic (It’s also very impressive when you speak about it in class or even at parties, just saying)
2. Song Lyrics: We all have songs which we love so much, yet don’t know the lyrics well enough to sing along. Well now is your chance! I really hope someone who reads this will learn Rap God by Eminem by the time isolation ends.
3. Arts and Crafts: Self-explanatory, learning how to make origami is a massive flex.
4. Cooking: I am shocking at cooking. So there’s no better time to learn how to make either a super simple omelette, or an extravagant roast dinner than right now when I can’t go to restaurants and the bank account doesn’t enjoy Uber Eats.
4. Build routine.
This one is a bit more simple, but I think it is easily the most important thing to incorporate into your day-to-day lives. Including routine in your life holds you accountable for your actions and prevents you from being lazy.
Step one: Wake up the same time every day — This is crucial as it sets your body clock in order which will make you more productive and eager to do stuff during the day.
Step two: Make your bed and get changed — If your room is a mess, odds are most other things around you will be too… I want you to actually do something during the day, so getting changed out of your pyjamas not only gets you in the right frame of mind, but also prevents you from retreating back to bed or your couch
Step three: Block out your day — Again, this is why I have a daily planner, it helps me sort out what I want to do and ensures that I don’t forget anything.
So there it is.
4 tips to staying motivated. These times are not very fun, but that doesn’t mean we pause our lives and retreat into bed to eat and watch Netflix for a few months. Anyone has the ability to come out of isolation as a healthy, intelligent and positive person, ready to explore and challenge the world.
