Note From Tongal: “Getting Out From Under That Blanket” is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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The holidays have wrapped up and another set of New Year's goals have been set. Now, all we have to do is… get out of our warm beds, put away the junk food, and find the motivation to get back to work. It can be such a challenge when you feel unmotivated and uninspired to kick off the next year in high speed when you are in a post-holiday slump. So here are five ways to help you crawl out from under that blanket, put the junk food away and get back to work!
#1 Blind Adjustment
Everyone has their own morning routines. I am a night owl and am in a constant battle with the snooze button on my alarm. I either sleep through forty minutes of a song going off over and over while my dream has adjusted to include whatever song is playing as my dream’s new theme music, or I am jolted awake feeling like I have had a heart attack! I have found that tweaking my blinds open, so I wake up when the sun does, helps me wake up feeling refreshed and keeps me from sleeping in too late. That feeling of rejuvenation - minus the heart attack - goes a long way towards starting your day off right.
#2 Mini To Do List
We all have a mental list of “to dos” that we want to push to the back of our minds and pretend don’t exist. This leads to anxiety when the time comes where we have no choice but to face them. Every night before bed, I make a list of SMALL things to accomplish the next day. By small I mean something like “Write for 10 minutes,” “Email Kevin back,” “Make coffee.” When we start knocking the small things off of our list, we are left feeling accomplished and start feeling motivated to tackle the bigger tasks on our lists. Feeling accomplished leads to confidence and determination to go “Hey, I think I can write for 30 minutes! I won’t stop at 10, I got this!” Or even “I’ll email more than just Kevin. I will email Brian, Juli, and Jason too!” Pretty soon, you have a well accomplished day and you aren’t feeling that dread of avoidance that comes with pretending your to-do list doesn’t exist.
#3 My Prize List
So you have started to get back into a groove. If you find you are hitting midweek and are starting to miss the holiday treats, the warm hot chocolate and the time you had with your friends, family or the gifts you got, this is when you whip out the “I Deserve a Prize!” list. A lot of people don’t take the time to celebrate the small victories. The “I finished my blog post on time!,” the “I finished shooting that video,” or the “I’m on top of my emails, connections, and responsibilities.” We all have a lot on our plate with our different jobs, tasks, and requirements in our day-to-day lives, so why not take a moment to celebrate the small victories? It can be something as simple as having a stash of celebratory M&M’s that you dig into while playing your favorite victory song. Or maybe, watch a tv show during your lunch break, buy that book you have wanted for months or take a walk outside. It doesn’t matter what you do, just take a moment to be proud of yourself and your work. I find that stickers and chocolate do the trick for me.
#4 Your Yes Crew
We are always on our best behavior when others are watching. I am not suggesting you ask your mom to sit in your office and watch you work to make sure things get done. That would be stressful for EVERYONE involved. Rather, surround yourself with a few “Yes” people. I call these your “Yes Crew,” because they are the ones that go “YES!” when things go right for you. These people are the ones that celebrate your victories, cheer you up when you are down, believe in you and pick up the pieces when things get hard. These people are the biggest key to keeping motivated. When I am having a hard time, my “Yes Crew” give me the push I need to keep going. They know what is on my plate, and are the ones to check in and see how my projects are going. So have your “Yes Crew” check in on you throughout the week with an encouraging ear, or have them send you encouraging texts. Kind words go a long way. A “You’ve got this!” text in the morning can help shape your day for the better.
#5 More than One Basket
When working in the world of creating content, you are going to hear “No” on project proposals even if you feel like you have done everything right. And it is hard not to feel down when this happens. One trick you can use to help each “No” hurt a little less is to have several pitches, projects, and opportunities in the “Maybe” pile. Don’t put all of your hope in that one idea or else it will be a doozy of a day for you if you get a “No.” As soon as you have more than one project to tackle, suddenly that one “No” doesn’t feel as deflating.
So now that the holiday season is done, hang in there, get out from under that cozy blanket and get back to work! Wake up with the sun, tackle small things, get yourself some “I did it!” prizes, get a “Yes Crew” together and line up a few potential projects. Start the new year believing in yourself and your ability. You can do this! A part of you knows you can; if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have bothered to read this far. So get to it! Oh, and Happy New Year.
