Hey Reader

Despite ending last week feeling accomplished, this week my motivation has...slipped a bit 😅

With wanting to make as much progress as I can in our 3 Months to Change Your Life challenge, I don't want this slump (or what I'm calling a "mini-slump") to derail me.

(I figure if I call it a mini-slump, I won't let it get any bigger 😝)

While getting back on track is my number one priority, I had to start with examining why I felt this way 🤔

Part of it was just logistics.

After the decluttering project last week, I ended up saying goodbye to over 1000 items from my physical space.

The issue is though, while I've chosen to let them go... they haven’t all left the house yet 😂

There are piles of stuff in hallways and literally the middle of the floor, lightly screaming at me saying "you haven’t finished this" every time I pass them.

On top of that, decluttering took so much time and energy that other goal areas got pushed aside. This has left me feeling behind in all those other things I want to work on.

You’ve probably had moments like this too.

Motivation dips. Progress feels slower. You start wondering if you’re even doing enough and beating yourself up for not doing more.

My mantra for the week is "if being hard on yourself worked, it would have worked by now", so let's explore other ways forward that don't involve mental self-flagellation 👀

The idea - Don't let low motivation hold you back

One of the most common misconceptions about people who achieve their goals is that they always feel motivated to work on them.

While we often find ourselves thinking "I should do this, but I'm not motivated enough to do it", perfect goal achievers don't have that issue.

While we're stuck waiting for motivation to strike, those perfect goal-getters never have this problem. They have endless drive to take action and make progress.

The truth is though, these perfect hypothetical people aren't real 😝 Nobody is fully motivated all the time, but we also don't have to be.

We all do things every day that we’re not especially motivated to do.

You’ve probably brushed your teeth, cooked a meal, or put your laundry away this week. Not because you were inspired or excited, but because it’s just what needed to happen.

If we're not going to wait for motivation to appear though, what can we do instead to help ourselves take action?

1. Reconnect with your why

An essential part of my goal setting is getting clear on the reason behind the goal.

I don't like doing things that feel pointless or time-wasting, so making sure my goals have clear reasons behind them is essential 👏

This reasoning can also act as a great motivator for taking action on our goals though.

If you're feeling demotivated to work on a goal, try revisiting the reason you wanted to work on it in the first place. Often really exploring that reasoning can remotivate us to do the work.

2. Assess your progress

Sometimes demotivation hits because it feels like we're not getting anywhere, even when we are.

Taking a moment to look back on how far you've come can be a super helpful way to reignite motivation.

Sure, maybe we haven't hit the end goal yet, but I bet there’s been progress in your habits, your mindset, or even just your understanding of what works for you.

Keeping track of your progress is a very important part of our 3 Month challenge, and for goal-getting in general.

Try jotting down a few wins or improvements you’ve made recently; even small ones count!

3. Start small

Goal work can be super demotivating when it feels too big or too difficult.

If the next action I need to take feels too daunting, I'll just defer starting it indefinitely.

Often this is to the point where I may as well have just said I stopped working on the goal altogether 😂

If your demotivation is coming from a place of "this is too hard", consider what you can do to make your next goal action easier or smaller.

It could be just tackling a tiny part of a larger project, or just working on it for 5-10 minutes.

4. Make it novel

Sometimes the reason we start to feel demotivated and fall off with our goal work is because of boredom 😝

Especially for those goals that require repeated daily or weekly actions, doing these same things over and over can leave us feeling uninspired.

If you feel yourself slipping on completing routine-style goal actions, consider whether this is because they feel monotonous.

How could we add some newness or novelty to make it more exciting, and thus more likely we'll get back to doing it regularly? 🤔

Some common options include a change of location, or adding something new to the way you complete the task.

5. Borrow motivation from someone else

If my motivation can't be relied on, I'll just take it from someone else 😂

As our self-talk can turn pretty negative when we're demotivated, sometimes borrowing a more positive voice can help.

Having someone else acknowledge that I'm doing good work and making progress is a big motivator for me; I don't want to let them down by quitting now!

Borrowing motivation from online content also works here too.

One type of content that really helps motivate me is from people who have achieved something I'm working towards. This is especially helpful if they've shown the process as well as the result.

This is definitely evidenced by how many decluttering videos I watched to get me hyped for my own decluttering project 😝

Let's take action

Am I the whole way out of this mini-slump? Not yet. But by using the tips above, I'm getting there 😊

If you're currently in a bit of a motivation slump, or want to safeguard future-you from falling off with your goals, pick one of the strategies to try out:

• Reconnect with your why
• Assess your progress
• Start small
• Make it novel
• Borrow motivation from someone else

If you have another favourite way to keep taking action when your motivation disappears, hit reply and let me know!

Pssst...The Summer Creative Retreat is coming

If you've been feeling a little stale in your creative pursuits, or just want to try something new, then the Summer Creative Retreat is worth checking out 👀

This annual event brings together awesome artists (and me) from a range of creative styles in 60 online live workshops.

The best part? It's free! 🥳

If you’re feeling uninspired or just want a fun way to try something new, this is the perfect creative reset.

My session is about sketchnote memory keeping, but there will also be classes on watercolour, digital art, lettering, collage, and more 😈

You can attend for free during the live event, watch the replays during the week, or grab the Permanent Vacation pass for lifetime access to all the workshops (which is on sale until the end of the live event 💪)

If you're curious and want to see the full line-up, hit the button below!

Until next time!

- Jess

Sick of setting goals that don't get achieved? Learn the system everyday goal-getters are using to make EPIC things happen.