5 Ways to jumpstart your motivation when all you want to do is Netflix and Chill
It happens to the best of us. The motivation you once had for something can be derailed, leaving you reaching for the remote instead of jumping into your project. You start out super excited about a new habit or project. Maybe you set a goal for yourself that you were eager to achieve. But then you hit a roadblock, or the work was harder than you expected. Perhaps you had an established routine you loved, but lately you have let it slip off your schedule.
Or maybe you are just so overwhelmed with everything on your list, that it is just so much easier to slip into distraction (watching tv, scrolling social media, playing games on your phone) than to dedicate time and energy to things that engage, challenge, and restore you.
No matter what your goals are, here are five ways jumpstart your motivation when all you want to do is Netflix and chill.
Get moving (bonus points for fresh air)
I like to think of this as the inertia principle of motivation. An object in motion will remain in motion, while an object at rest will remain at rest. Once you have settled onto the sofa and have the remote in your hand, it is a lot harder to get up and get moving. However, if you get moving – try 10 minutes of yoga, a walk around the block, or pulling 20 weeds in the garden – it becomes much easier to transition into your activity.
It is important to remember we are not talking about vigorous exercise for an extended period of time. You want to aim for short duration and low to moderate exertion. The goal is to shift your energy from low and slow to up and at ‘em.
If you head outside to get moving, the fresh air will also help in revving up your energy. Think about when you are driving and you start to feel drowsy. One of the first things you do is roll down the window and get a little fresh air blowing on you. It works the same way when you are taking a walk or out in the garden!
The next time you reach the point where you need to decide between a productive activity and settling onto the sofa to zone out, get moving!
Break it down into incremental steps and set a reward for reaching goals
I use this technique a lot to jumpstart my motivation when I am tackling a particularly difficult or involved project or when I am trying to establish a new habit.
Start by breaking your project or goal into incremental steps. For instance, if you want to walk 10,000 steps a day, but right now you only get 3,000, set goals of: 5,000 steps for seven days, then 7,500 steps for seven days, and finally 10,000 steps for 10 days. Before you get started, assign rewards for reaching each milestone. Perhaps you would get yourself a new pair of walking shoes after the first goal, a container of your favorite ice cream after the second, and the updated fitness tracker you have been wanting after the third.
I like to tie the rewards to the goal. For example, when working on a project for work, my rewards are often little self-care luxuries during my normal work day. Rewards for healthy eating goals could be new kitchen gadgets or a subscription to a CSA or rescued produce box.
The important part here is to make sure the incremental goals are realistically achievable given where you are starting, and the rewards are something you WANT, but don’t NEED. These are meant to be carrots, not sticks. The other important piece to this technique is that if you reach a goal, you get the reward. Period. The end. If you don’t deliver on your promise to yourself, you subconsciously undermine your motivation to reach your next goal.
Get an accountability partner
Knowing that you have someone else you are accountable to other than yourself can be a great motivator!
Go back to the example of getting in extra steps each day. Do you have a family member or neighbor you could set a matching goal with? Someone who could go on a daily walk with you? Suddenly, those steps are not just a chore, but a chance to catch up with someone who has a standing appointment with you!
Maybe you want to eat healthier meals. Do you have a friend who is also interested in a healthier diet? Try shopping and meal prepping together once a week. Not only will you have your food for the week prepared in one single day (fewer excuses to just order takeout when you have had a long day), but you can split up the tasks of menu planning, creating the grocery list, and preparing the food!
When picking an accountability partner, make sure it is someone who is equally dedicated to the goal you have set. You will both have moments when you want to throw in the towel, but if you are both dedicated to reaching your goal you will be able to support each other through these slumps to stay motivated and on target. If your accountability partner isn’t particularly invested in the goal, they will be less likely to encourage you to keep going when you have a few off days.
Focus on the why
By shifting your focus to the why, it can really help you jumpstart your motivation.
You don’t want to walk 10,000 steps a day because you want to walk 10,000 steps a day. You want to do it to feel healthier, to be in better shape to play with your kids, or to reduce risk factors for a disease.
The same goes for that stack of books you keep meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to. Do you want to read them to advance your career, to learn a new way to care for yourself, or to have instant topics to reach for in conversation with new acquaintances?
Once you focus on why you want to reach your goal, it becomes much easier to jumpstart your motivation. Use any tools that work for you to remind you of the why. Perhaps it is a note you tape to the remote, or a message or photo you set on your phone’s lock screen. It is a lot easier to get those extra steps or make that healthy meal when you focus on the ultimate why behind making those choices.
Reevaluate your goal
Ok, so this is last on the list, but is probably the most important question. If you are struggling to jumpstart your motivation, a big question to ask yourself is “did I set the right goal?”.
Do you have a good why for the goal you set? If not, it might not be the right goal for you. If you want to dive in deeper to set better goals, check out the Wheel of Life and Core Values exercises.
Are you pushing too hard, maybe you need to build in time to rest and recharge instead of being in constant motion. This doesn’t necessarily mean Netflix and chill. You might need to be doing restorative yoga each evening instead of going for a run. Or perhaps you can read a book at your own pace instead of taking an online course that needs to be completed in two weeks.
What we want and need shifts over time. Just because something worked for you in the past, it doesn’t mean that it will work for you in the future. When it feels like you are pushing a boulder up a mountain to get motivated on something, take a step back and ask yourself if it is the right goal for you right now.
Remember to gift yourself with grace
No matter what technique you use to jumpstart your motivation, remember you are human. You will have good days and bad days. Sometimes you just need a day to Netflix and chill. It happens.
And when you do have one of those days, gift yourself with the grace to let it be, and then let it be in the past. Don’t dwell on it, and don’t punish yourself for taking a day off. (If you are using the reward technique, make sure to build in the option for grace – in the steps example, notice I didn’t say consecutive days – it may take you 8-9 days to get your first seven day goal.)
And if you find one technique isn’t working for you, try another! Some techniques work better with different goals. And because we are all different, each of us have techniques which jumpstart our motivation more effectively than others.
