Coasting Through Covid
During this time, with cancelled or postponed seasons, school completely online, limited interactions with friends and teammates it can be difficult to stay motivated. When there is a lot unknown, how can you have a clear vision of your future? Not having your normal day to day schedule makes it easy to procrastinate and coast through the days.
Now that school is online you may be a bit checked out. You may have more distractions as you pretend to listen to your teachers over Zoom when really you are scrolling through instagram. Or maybe you’re not fully understanding the lesson so you just pretend you get it rather than put in the effort to seek more instruction. Even working out by yourself, just isn’t the same when you don’t have your teammates to struggle through it with as your coach is yelling at you to sprint through the line.
So how do we stay motivated when there are plenty of excuses to come up with and it’s so easy to coast right now?
Remember your why! Why do you want to do well in school? Why do you want to stay fit and on top of your game? What were your goals that made you begin striving in the first place? Remember these reasons and write them down. Put them somewhere you will see them every day. When you aren’t feeling it, look at your reasons why and get after it.
Find one positive. There are plenty of reasons we can come up with not to do something, not to ask the question, not to do the workout, not to put in the effort. But I’m sure you can come up with ONE positive reason that you should do something. And once you find that one reason you should, run with it and use it as motivation to do the thing you don’t want to do.
Reward yourself. It’s okay to reward yourself along the way. Got your first “A” of the semester? Reward yourself. Worked out 4 days a week for the first time in a while? Reward yourself. It’s okay to acknowledge the things you're doing, and the accomplishments you have made. By rewarding yourself it will keep you motivated to keep going and keep putting in the effort.
Create a routine. Schedule out your day. Write out everything you want to do or be doing in one hour increments. Even if you don’t completely stick to your schedule, you will feel better having the structure and feel a sense of urgency to check off each thing you have scheduled. So, schedule your school day, put in homework time, workout time and include down time. Most of all forgive yourself if you don’t get it all done, and remember that tomorrow is a new day.
Find a buddy to keep you accountable. Whether it’s a friend, sibling, or parent, find someone that will hold you accountable and keep you on track on days where you can’t find the motivation. Find someone that will give you the tough love you need and remind you of your goals and your reasons why.
Navigating this new normal is difficult and it’s hard to remain motivated when you don’t know what normal will be anymore. But adapting and pushing yourself to roll with the punches shows the mentally strong individual you are. Keep grinding through and remember your why every day you wake up!
If you would like to chat more about motivation and dealing with the new normal, schedule a consultation. Let’s get you motivated to achieve your goals!
