what to do when you feel like doing nothing (unmotivated, burnt out, unproductive)

What do you do when everything feels exhausting, overwhelming and you don't have the energy to do anything? The truth is it really depends on where you feel stuck. And from a high performance coaching standpoint, we all have five different areas where we might feel unmotivated, overwhelmed or stuck and prevents us from getting out of this low energy state into a higher, more productive area. And for high performers, this is especially true because of constant pressure to perform. Long hours, never ending to do lists, the demands that we put upon ourselves. And it's a very human thing too. So it's not just high performers. But good news is if you can figure out why you are stuck in a low energy state, then we can help you easily get back on track. Ultimately, like if you've ever had in your life a time when you just didn't want to get out of bed, or all you wanted to do was sleep, or read books and or hole up and watch Netflix, watch movies, then you know what happened there, what was really going on. And for most people in my coaching practice, it can be counterintuitive. But that feeling of low energy and feeling unmotivated is really a call to action because motivation starts with momentum. And so we need to pick our next actions strategically, carefully and thoughtfully if we want to get back into a higher level of being right where we are happy and looking forward and excited to what's happening in life and not dreading or avoiding or just feeling stuck. So we need to shift from inaction to action. And that could just be a quick five minute walk outside. It could be doing a quick journaling session to get clear on what you really want, ideally out of life in that moment. It could be doing the thing that we're avoiding, right? That painful past, that painful conversation that we don't want to do, we're dreading. But once it's done, we can get on with our lives and move forward. Or maybe it's reprioritizing our to do live to do our life's work and not the busy work. And that could be delegating. It could be getting stuff off your plate altogether, eliminating it. It could be just rethinking like what's really important right now in my career and in my life because for so many people we just accumulate things. And if things don't get knocked off that to do list, that could be a huge drain on our psyche. And it could also just be engaging socially to get the social support we need by seeing a close friend, by seeing a family member, a coach, a mentor, a therapist and having that person to talk to. And I will say if you are looking for some social support right now, I do offer a free strategy session. So if you are not feeling as motivated as you want to be, or you feel overwhelmed, or you feel stuck in your life, I can walk you through a high performance coaching process and I will go into five areas that I look for when people aren't feeling motivated. We would do the same thing on this free strategy call for you. All you have to do is hit the link below, fill out an application and then we the time and for an hour we're digging into your life, we're trying to figure out the best ways for you to move forward. And I know people love this strategy call and I'd love to offer that to you. So check that out at the link below. But what are the five things we would talk about during that call? Right. The first thing when you're feeling stuck, when you're not feeling motivated, when you don't feel like you have momentum in your life, is you're not clear on something right there. There's either you're not clear on who you are or you're clear on who you are and what you're doing doesn't align or match up with that. So you're not in alignment with what you're doing out in the world or you just don't know what you're doing. It could just be you're got so much going on, it's unclear on the thing that you really need to focus on to advance your life. And so the act of being like asking yourself this question, right? And I suggest in your notes, you write this down is to think about what is the most important to me in life right now? Is it spending time with the family and really being a role model for your kids is really doubling down on your career to become a weapon at it so that you're undeniable and you get promoted. Is it something else? Are you so focused on your health right now because you had a health scare or you had a family member have a health event and you're like, I have heart disease in my family, I need to make sure I get in shape, right? There's all these different holistic parts of our life that work together, right? So our health, career, our general well being and our relationships are important we should be focusing on. But what's most important right now and sometimes just being very clear on, oh, the one number one thing that I need to do today, this month, this week, this year, can get people out of that funk. And sometimes all the energy that's expended and trying to figure out what's next can be solved by just spending a little time thinking, what's my intention here? What do I really need to accomplish? And so for a lot of folks, that first, that gets them back in the game, right? Second thing to consider is your energy, right? Are you taking care of the basics? Are you sleeping enough? Are you drinking enough water? Eating nutritious food, moving your body. And sometimes we say motivation starts with momentum. I said planning three minutes of a break where you're just outdoors in the sun can make a whole huge difference on your energy level. And sometimes when we're clear about what, what we want or what we need to do or what the number one thing is, that energy that comes behind or that lack of energy is what stops us. And so fixing that problem where I know what I need to do next and now I have the energy to go do that, that'll solve the majority of that particular issue. Or we don't feel like we want to do anything, right? And so again, like that motivation starts with momentum. So plan, schedule something where you're moving your body today, right? Do that today. And I think you'll see a difference. Even if you feel like you are motivated and you want to take it to the next level, adding a little bit of movement in your day can go a long way. We know that from the high performance research. That's key. So definitely check that. The third thing that I look for when people say they're not motivated is what are they avoiding in their life? And that's a huge question. And humans are masterful at creating blind spots, especially on these things where you're like, I'm clear on what I want to do or what I need to do. What the number one thing is have the energy to go and make it happen. But something still isn't clicking right? And usually it's oh, I have to fire that employee or oh, I have to have that heart to heart talk with my spouse on something. Or there's I'm dreading the work it's going to go into making this project finish up successfully. That's going to be long hours, it's going to be physically demanding, emotionally demanding, those types of things. And so we do everything else except the thing that we're dreading. And nine times out of 10, that thing that we're dreading isn't as big as we think. And we just got started on that a little bit of momentum. Again, motivation starts with momentum. So if you just started the project, you just started the conversation, you find it's not a lot of energy or a lot of investment to complete it and then you can move on with your life. And that's a great feeling. So it's super important to take stock of, am I avoiding things in my life right now and when can I address it? This week? Ideally you address it today, but give yourself a week to to do it. But get it done as soon as possible, right? Don't say, in seven days I'm going to do that. If the next time you can actually do this is tomorrow morning, put it on the calendar, get after it and you'll feel that weight lift off of you. So it's super important to do that. The fourth thing that I look for when people are not feeling motivated or burnt out or, or just not motivated to do anything again is to take a look at their to do list. And high performers that I've worked with in corporate when I was a software engineer or in my coaching practice tend to get a lot of work. They're like a lightning rod for work. And so what happens? The to do list grows and grows and grows and sometimes it grows so big you don't get to accomplish the things you need to do timely and things that are just hanging over you. And this is a great time to take a look at all the things that you're responsible for, all the things you agree to and be like, are these things important to me? Like again, what is the most important in my life? So having that clarity question answered from point number one is super helpful. But if that doesn't help you prioritize your to do list, it's thinking, what are the things that I have to do myself right? Like it requires me my unique skills or my unique place in this organization or in this relationship that it's only up to me to do right. So it could be having that tough conversation with your spouse. You're not going to hire a consulting firm, outsource that if you want that to go well, it needs to be you to address that personal relationship or you are the only one that knows and how this part of the company works process wise. So in order to avoid a lot of mistakes or a lot of churn, it needs to be, you need to be aware of those. But for everything else that does not require you to do it right, it's how urgently does it need to get done and if it needs to get done soon, but you don't need. It doesn't need to be you. That's something you should delegate or get some help with. So this is. If you're working in a business, who do you have to hire to free up that time? Or who on your team or who in your life can take this responsibility off your plate so that you can focus on the things that are really going to move you forward. And sometimes just that exercise alone can be very freeing for folks. Take a look at your to do list. If you are clear on the number one thing, if you have the energy, if you don't see any blind spots that are things that you're avoiding, that you do this. And then finally, if you've gone through all of those different areas, sometimes it's a social aspect. Maybe we've been focusing on our work or our health, that we've been neglecting time with family and friends and we just, we're social beings so we need that social interaction. So maybe it's looking at your current mix of activities and not work life balance, but the work life mix that you have and scheduling time to go to a museum with a friend or scheduling time to go on a date night with your spouse or other types of social things. So maybe you just need a little bit more social help, right? Support. Just seeing friends can be it if it's deeper. Like maybe you need to talk to a mentor or a coach or a therapist, depending on the severity of what's going on. Because maybe it's. You're. You have depression and you know, I'm a coach and I'm not equipped to handle depression. Right. So I would refer out to a therapist in a particular way. Or maybe it's you're just not clear on your career and so someone that you admire, that you trust, that's in your field could be the best person to talk to to get a little bit of that clarity or just that support. Because on the other end, so many people don't have those trusted relationships where they can fully explore an idea without feeling judged or without feeling there's like an agenda. So like mentors, coaches and therapists are really good at being that impartial third party that wants your SDU to come out and have processes or questioning or can provide support to help you figure that part out. So idea in reality, motivation starts with the momentum and knowing which one of those areas of. Is it a clarity thing? If, if you need more clarity, schedule time today to journal to get your thoughts out. See if that clears it up. If it's an energy thing. Schedule some movement after taking stock of the ABCs of health, sleep, hydration, nutrition, exercise, which doesn't equal ABCs, but you get it. If you think you're avoiding things, plan as soon as possible to tackle the thing that you're avoiding. To get it over with, through it so you can move on with your life. If you are struggling with the overwhelming to do list, ask what do you need to do? What can you delegate? Or what can you eliminate from your to do list altogether? That's not important anymore and that'll help you. Or if it's you just don't feel supported or you need extra support on those first four things because you can't do it by yourself, talk to a friend, a family member, a mentor, a coach, or a therapist, depending on what you need to do. But again, motivation starts with momentum. Whatever you do, pick one thing and act on it today if you can, or as soon as possible. And you'll feel the shift of oh, I did a little bit more. I showed up to do this for three minutes. And the 80% of the time you'll continue a little bit longer than you think. And once you start getting a little bit of momentum, you'll feel unstuck, you'll feel excited, you'll feel like you are over that hump of low energy, of not wanting to get out of bed, of not wanting to do anything because you feel exhausted. That's the video today. If you enjoyed this video, I have another video over here talking about how to handle burnout. So another angle on the conversation we're talking about today. Hope to see you there. If you like this video, please don't forget to subscribe or share this with a friend and we'll see you in the next video.