I've been seeing some version of this A LOT on Facebook lately: “It looks like everyone is getting things done but me during stay-at-home. Where is everyone getting the motivation?!?” I responded specifically to one from a friend of mine from college posted and asked, “What are you trying to get motivated on?” His response? “...EVERYTHING.” So as promised, I’m sharing with you what immediately came to my mind as to HOW I get and stay motivated during this. And keep in mind these are things that are part of my life OUTSIDE of Covid. Because, as stated in my previous post - theater is PART of my life. It’s not ALL of my life. (BTW - if you haven't read Part 1 yet, go do that first! Good stuff in there ;) How I Stay (Or At Least Look Like I Am) Motivated:Number 1 - A Peek Backstage - Change Your Perspective Something you should know about me and my business… I have help with my social media because of my business so I LOOK like I’m doing more than I am probably. You think I’m taking an hour to put together perfectly crafted posts on the daily? NOPE! That’s all planned out, in bulk batches, ahead of time, and while the ideas and words are mine and I have posed for the pictures - I have help from someone else (Hey Sydney!) who makes all the magic happen consistently. Why? Because I know I am a BUSINESS - as an actor, as a health coach, and as a teacher. Legally I’m an LLC and all. So I hire help for things like my social media presence that I would just NOT be able to keep up on otherwise. So I totally just outed myself. Why did I do that? Because I want you to understand that when you set yourself up and THINK of yourself as a BUSINESS - you realize that you are allowed to not do everything yourself. Not only that - you CAN’T do everything yourself. You just can’t. And SO MANY PEOPLE stop doing things to move themselves forward because there’s JUST SO MUCH that they can’t even decide what they SHOULD focus on… so they freeze and focus on nothing. I can’t be an awesome mom, a solid performer, a great teacher and health coach for my clients, AND spend hours a day creating social media posts. I. Just. Can’t. It would take too much of me mentally and I’d be drained every. damn. day. So I get help. You might not be at the point where that makes sense for you - and that’s fine! But I want you to at least know what you’re comparing your motivation against. To be fully transparent - there are 3 other people on my team besides myself that keep my business functioning the way I need it to so that I can do OTHER things that need to be done. Like meet the guy who installs gutters to get an estimate (which was what I did today… I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT GUTTERS!!!) If you can’t hire things out (totally makes sense right now!) - sit down. Make a list of ALLLLL the things that would feel REALLY GOOD to get done. And remember that things like “Clean my room” count. Doing the laundry counts. All of those day to day things help to create more mental bandwidth and SPACE for you to be creative once your motivation starts kicking in again. Number Two - Another Peak Backstage - Scale Your Motivation There are PLENTY of days when I’m not productive. And I do my best not to judge myself for that and to utilize times when I can find motivation. Even a SUPER small thing can start the motivation (like starting a load of laundry, sweeping one room, etc.) If you can’t find a big thing to do, start small. SHOULD you finally create that website you’ve been meaning to create? Maybe. But will sweeping that one corner that’s been collecting cat hair for a month feel WAAAAY more fulfilling right now? If so, go do that! Plus, you get an extra check mark for getting off the couch today. YAY CHECKMARKS! Also - DON’T in any way beat yourself up for not working on performance stuff. You’re already a good performer and everything in the theater world is put on hold. Give yourself space to find motivation in other things and performance will return. The virtual space is saturated right now with “karaoke” and “cabarets” and that’s all well and good. But if you’re not feeling it, don’t force it. It won’t lead to your best performance and remember… the internet is forever. Do your best to put good quality stuff on it and don’t fret if you’re not as prolific as Screechy Karen over there with her 15 karaoke videos. Number Three - Your Space When we’re not in pandemic mode, what my space LOOKS like really tends to take a back seat. I did at one point finally barter with a student of mine to have him come clean the common areas once per week (which I’m TOTALLY missing right now), but in general, my house does not have tons of storage space AND I have a toddler. So there’s stuff EV. ERY. WHERE. And honestly, just looking at it is EXHAUSTING. And it’s actually been exhausting me for a while I’ve realized. BUT - I’ve been so busy and interior design is so deprioritized on my to-do list that I didn’t realize how much it’s affecting me. But, I’m home now. All the time. So I can’t really ignore it any longer AND I have time to actually DO something about it. If your space feels SANE (whatever that means to you), motivation is MUCH easier to find. So right now, while you’re not running to workout, then work, then walk the dog, then rehearsal, and maybe eating something somewhere in there and then rinse and repeat tomorrow.... Maybe NOW is the time to really take stock of your space and actually CURATE it to be functional for you post-pandemic. Everyone seems to be doing this right now. And I know a lot of the people throwing up the “OMG look what I made!” posts are, like, FANCY projects. But yours don’t have to be. Choose some really specific and feasible upgrades that will make your space feel pleasantly calm and homey. We all have to be at home now - make sure it’s somewhere you ENJOY being. There is a corner of my bedroom that I have redone that I find particularly pleasant. And all I had to do was buy two corner shelves (like… $20 max) and install them (WIIIIIIIIIIICKED easy turns out) and put up a hook for a curtain rod to hang a plant from. Seriously, it completely changes how I feel about this room and now I LOVE being in there. Number Four - Get Out! - (Watch the movie but also do the thing) Make sure to get outside every day. I go insane when I can’t. Unless you are literally in a country, state or city where it is unsafe to go for a walk - do that. If you’re super nervous about it, just walk out onto your front porch and breathe the outside air. Do it with a mask on if that feels better to you. If you’re feeling EEEEXTRA adventurous, choose a morning to wake up early and beat the crowd to a nearby walking or nature trail. (Crazy… I know). Most of us have literally never been indoors this much. And thanks to those who HAVE, we have plenty of research showing that it is not great for our mental state overall. If you literally can’t get yourself to do anything else on this list, do this one. Get your butt outdoors every day for 5 minutes. After a few days, increase it to 10, then 15, etc. I would bet you a bucket of donuts that just getting yourself out of your house or apartment, which probably feels stale and stagnant after being there for weeks, will eventually kick start your motivation to do SOMETHING. SOOOOOO..... Ya know that saying "don't compare your every day to someone else's highlight reel"? Truer words were never spoken right now my friends.
You do you. One day at a time. And try to make each day better than the one before. Sometimes it'll work. Sometimes not. But either way, you're doing this RIGHT. And as always, leave a comment and let me know how YOUR motivation is going.
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August 2020
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