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M$1 January 12, 2009 10:12 PM

How do you motivate yourself when you feel overwhelmed?

What do you do when you have so many things to do that you don't know where to begin and find yourself doing nothing at all instead. I'm looking for some tips, other than make a list and try to get through one item at a time.
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January 12, 2009 11:58 PM
Wow! I am living this one.... I found a few tips on Flylady.com that I really found helpful- especially this one: get a timer and set it for 15 minutes. You can do the hardest task for only 15 minutes, right? So whether it's paying bills, cleaning, working out, whatever, do it for 15 minutes and then do something else- take a break, listen to a song, etc.

If you problem is cleaning/sorting/organizing, I also like setting a goal of picking up 10 things. That's it.... 10 pieces of trash, 10 things to throw in the hamper, fold 10 pieces of laundry, put away 10 Matchbox cars.... you get the idea! Then again, reward yourself with a 5 minute "break" and then go at it with a fresh perspective. Better to get going and get a little something done than to start at it a walk away....

Hope these ideas help...good luck!
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January 12, 2009 10:22 PM
Take some time off from your tasks! When you take some time off, you get back at it (whatever you were doing) better when you are refreshed. Here are some things you could do while taking a little break.

1. Watch a movie: Watch an inspirational movie. Think about how this movie relates to what you're motivated to do. Watch a documentary like "The Secret" and feel motivated.
2. Read a book: Grab any inspirational book, even if you have to go to the library to get it, read this book and you will be more motivated. Books by Eckhart Tolle such as "The Power of Now" are always good.
3. Think about your Purpose: What are you meant to do and what is its purpose? If you do not feel motivated, ask yourself, "Why should I be motivated and what is the purpose?" If you do not have a purpose, you should question why you are doing what you are doing. Thinking about your purpose is very important to helping you motivate yourself.
4. Call an old friend: It's important to talk to a friend who is supportive of you. If you have a business, talk to your business partners as well. It's important to share your goals with someone else, as they may have been in your shoes previously. After letting your sharing energy out, you will feel better and stronger.
5. Listen to an audio production or podcast: Try to listen to something motivational, or even watch a video online that's motivational, and close your eyes to listen.
6. Read quotes: Read motivational quotes from such sites as http://www.motivateus.com or http://www.motivationalquotes.com as reading about motivation, will only help motivate you.
7. Stretch: When you stretch, you will be letting out energy, and re-energizing yourself.
8. Take a deep breath: Breathe, and think about what your goals are.
9. Eat Healthy Snacks: Nibble on a piece of broccoli or carrots, anything healthy, and think about your goals.
10. Lastly, if you made a to do list, hide or do not view your list and think about it, in your mind what you need to do. Hiding the list makes you think about what your goals are, and what you need to do to reach them. If you are always relying on a list, then you may be missing what's really important on your mind, and not on your list. Approach the what's on your mind list little by little before you even tackle the longer list that may have caused you to feel overwhelmed.

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January 12, 2009 10:24 PM
Things that get me motivated:

1. Hanging out with/going to lunch or dinner with people doing interesting/epic things. If you hang out with people who are killing it you'll be more motivated to kill it.

2. Watch some films, or read some books, about people who've done epic things. Some recent documentaries: Man on Wire, Deep Water, King of Kong, and Murderball might get you excited.

3. Exercise and eat something healthy afterwards. Sound body, sound mind.

4. Celebrate small victories. Many folks spend a LOT of time looking at the list of things they haven't gotten done as opposed to celebrating all the things they have accomplished.

5. Don't worry about completing each task--worry about making progress. Is something done or not is very binary (i.e. "build the world's first human powered search engine" -- yes/no?). I like to break things into steps and try to get each step done. If I hit a massive road block I will move on to the next item.

6. Accept that some things will be imperfect and let them be. My office at home and at work are currently a total mess--but Mahalo Answers is little fairly good--that was my decisions. Let's one area suck while making another area rock.

7. Rock out to some motivating music.

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January 12, 2009 10:31 PM
I know exactly what you mean. I tend to want to learn more, do more, experience more and even sleep, and they expect me to do that in only 24 hours a day? But, like London Elektricity would say, "I remember the future". What would happen if I would not do x, y and z? I imagine myself in the future, not doing what I should do, and how would my life look then.

Yes, I make lists that contain different areas of my life. I prioritize and then create a schedule for them, until I do those things automatically, without feeling the need to look at my schedule to know "what should I do now". But for all of that to work, you have to know EXACTLY what you want, and I think here is the main issue. Most people have a vague idea of what should they do, where should they go, and what should they accomplish, but the reality is that most people don't know what they want. And "if you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't".

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January 12, 2009 10:36 PM
Small pieces are key, because you can see tangible progress. What can you do in 30 minutes to move things forward?

Taking some time out to think about why you want to do the things you're needing to do also helps you to reconnect with your motivations. You may find that you aren't motivated because you truly don't want to do whatever it is that you're putting off. Knowing that helps you understand that motivation doesn't matter in that case.

Momentum is also useful. Doing something mindless and easy but productive, like cleaning the house, can help you just get moving.

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