what do you do when you can't get yourself jumpstarted?

I am very much that way as well. I would rather be here on myLot than doing anything else. I would say to you, and to me, pick one thing you need to do. Just a little thing, and get it done. Then give yourself permission to be lazy again. Same thing tomorrow. When you get in this habit, pretty soon you will not want to stop the things that you had been putting off, and will be very pleased with yourself for what you have accomplished. You could go a step further and either start a discussion about each thing completed, or choose a buddy and just report to that person. You could also just make a log of what you get done. I do not like to do lists, they make me feel like a failure. I do like "have done it" lists, because they show me my successes.

You could do a ist of small things initially and then tick them off bit by bit as you get them done this always gets me going because the further down the list i go the happier i feel with myself that i've achieved something and with that comes the enthusiasm to tackle bigger and better tasks. With regards to decorating rope a friend in then you can chat and stuff while you're getting on with it kills 2 brds with one stone. have a look in some mags or on the internet and think how nice yours will look once it's done. nothing better than a newlwy decorated room to come home to and feel all frsh and new. Good luck

I think that you will need to take a look at how to get stuff done over at Expert Village: http://www.expertvillage.com Psst- Here's something that you might not know about Libra-- We are usually the folks who are the Inspiring Spirits and Motivators... Most of the time, we forget this fact when it comes to our selves! :) I'm going to send you some stuff via PM that's guaranteed to put you in a happier mood, but you'd better not be eating popcorn or drinking soda while you are sitting at your computer!

Hi Opal26. Right my girl, first thing when you get up in the morning write down a list of what you are going to do and then one thing at a time get started on them and make it routine and that way its easier, I do every to routine and when I finish everything I sit down to Mylotting. Tamara

Hello Opal... I hope I take my own advice too. I guess, it would be a good idea to give a limit to the time spent in myLot everyday. Then maybe go out for a long walk, get some fresh air while you figure out what it is you need to do and why. As much as I want to say try doing it for other people but I think for now, it should be doing so for ourselves. So play your favorite music out loud and look around your apartment and pick one thing up and put it some place where you want it. Make a list and just try to do at least 3 of them and hopefully as the week goes by, you find yourself crossing off more items in your list.

I guess we are in the same boat. I think we need to sit down relax and think about what we are doing with our lives and try to rectify the areas where we think we are lagging behind. I have started practicing guitar daily for at least half an hour. I have also started concentrating on my writing and am thinking of diligently writing my novel. Another thing you need to do is set your priorities and last but not the least try to find work for something which you love doing. For example since I love writing I am looking for a freelance writer job.

[i]That happens to me also...Maybe the thing is just to do it and motivate ourselves to just put it on top priorities! LOL! This time, I need to focus and study the manual for driving so that I can take the test and get a permit but here I am, postponing it each day! LOL![/i]

Just start with a small spot and work to the next small spot. Give yourself a time limit...then take a little break and then back to work. I end up with the same problem and that usually helps me. Sometimes seeing a big pile of work just makes us not want to do anything. [b]~~IN SEARCH OF PEACE WITHIN~~ **AGAINST THE STORMS, I WILL STAND STRONG** [/b]

Join the club! For it seems, there are a lot of us with the same problem. I tend to make endless cups of tea instead of actually getting on with it (what "it" is). And right now, I just have to make another cuppa. Good luck to us all. I did get a bit of work done yesterday, though.

Believe me Opal it's not just you. I'm actually a very highly neurotic motivated person...LOL...But I tend to go through phases myself where it's not lack of motivation but just plain not in the mood. First, what I do is I have three listings...at the end of each month I make a generalized list of what I want to accomplish overall that month...then I break it down weekly...on a Sunday night I list the things I want to do that week...then each night I make a list of what I want to do the next day...now I don't beat myself up if I don't get everything accomplished...as sometimes if I'm working on a project it takes longer than I expected...I just carry what I did do that day into the next and make it my priority. I often find that if you actually write a listing of what you want to do it really helps. Also...sometimes the best thing???? JUST DO IT. Whatever you know you have to do, just get those buns moving and start...I sometimes surprise myself when I just get my buns moving and doing something. Like when I got my new bed that I knew I had to assemble...crap do you really think I wanted to do that? No sirree...I knew what a hard job that was going to be... not only that but all the other work involved ...like dismantling the old bed, taking it out of the bedroom, cleaning up...while I didn't make a list I visualized exactly how I wanted to get things done...and did it. And I didn't do it all in one day but did take my time about it--I had come to a realization I wasn't trying to do a marathon...as long as it got done, who cared how long it took. Like right now..I know I should be writing more articles for instance...but right now, I'm just catching up on my MyLotting and responding to the discussions I've started...almost done too...uh, I think...LOL Tomorrow though I do plan to go back to my writing.. I also want to have more time to do some reading....uh, like a book we both have in common....LOL

Hah, hah, hah, I call myself in need of a long nap and I take one. Then I ignore all the mess and go out and do something a bit different...go some little place I've never been before, shop (whether I buy anything or not) in a different store, walk somewhere I have gone before or walk the same place but in the opposite direction. I'd make sure to eat only healthy foods for a few days and drink lots of fresh filtered water, and sit down and make a list with each thing I think I should do and a little explanation of why I think I should do it and what would happen if I didn't (like would the sky fall in?) and then tackle it one item at a time. Just say no to ruts! *smiles* *waves*

Hello Opal26. Haven't we all been in this rut where you are now? We're just never there at the same time, thank heavens. Well, here's what I do--get out a spiral notebook or pad of paper and make a list of everything I want to do, in no particular order. I skip a line between them. It might be 50 items, or just 4 or 5. Then, in the evening while I'm watching TV, I review the list. If I'm off work the next day, I pick 2 items on the list and circle them as the tasks I will do the next day. I lay the open notebook with the items circled in the middle of the dining table so it's the first thing I see when I arise in the a.m. Next morning, I get up, have breakfast, and get going on one of the tasks. There's no more thinking to it. The decision was made the night before. Now it's "go time." If it is a "huge" task, you may want to "chunk" it up by using a timer and setting it for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Work on the task for that amount of time. When the timer goes off, if you want to stop, then do. If you want to continue on, set the timer again. If you decide to stop, be sure to use the timer daily with that task until you've completed it. Next, rest for an hour (or 2), have lunch, then go on to the second task, using the timer if you need to. Working from a list always makes me more productive. That way, I don't keep thinking about the tasks, obsessing, and worrying about them. I know that, if it's on the list, I'll get to it. Take care and good luck.

You won't get a pep talk from me! That is because I have decided that if I am not inspired to do then I am simply not going to do it. Therefore I have spent the last few months not doing much of anything. I finally got sick and tired of doing nothing and now I'm doing something... but nothing that I don't WANT to do. I used to try to motivate myself to do stuff I didn't want to do and when that failed I would force myself to do it anyway. I was gut churningly miserable all the time, nothing was any fun, not even the stuff that would have been fun if I had waited till I was in the mood... and more than half the time when I forced myself in the end it turned out that it wasn't even necessary... some unforeseen thing arose that made the whole effort a waste and I would have been better off waiting for the inspiration. Nope, I am taking my sweet time with everything I do, and enjoying every minute of it!

Pick the most difficult thing that you have to do, stop thinking, and then do it. I do this sometimes on weekends. When all you want to do is relax and there are these necessary duties, I pick the most difficult one and, without thinking, just do it. Everything else becomes a lot easier after that.

If I don't get the drive I just lie down and try to be lazy any time of the day and let the conscience pricck me hard.When it's voice become unbearable I always get down and attend to the jobs waiting according to the priorities presto.

I kick back and relax and or meditate to get a jump start. I usually don't have that problem though being my fathers caregiver. I get so tired tending to him, doing anything else is a release of stress for me. So I jump right in head first and go at it. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

hi opal! sometimes, when i feel that way, all i have to do is take a bath to get me going. probably because it refreshes me making me feel ready and prepared to do tasks. of course those tasks wouldn't include cleaning the house or some dirty work. ^__^;; for those kinds of getting-dirty works, i just need to eat breakfast to get me started.

I was about to do something. After I finish reading your discussion, I totally forget it. Oh.. what is it? Once you start something, u will find it more easy than u think. There is a saying. The eyes are more lazy than the hands.

The discussion was started a month ago. Now, I guess you must have already made it. Wish u all the best for your work or something

Whenever I need a jumpstart I eat something sweet or better yet something chocolate. I eat anything chocolate and it helps me at least to get started