I’ll be honest with you. The past two weeks have been a mess.
I’ve been feeling burnt out, exhausted, and like I have nothing left to give. My to-do list is growing longer and longer by the day, and I can’t seem to write a single sentence without second-guessing it.
I’ve also spent way too many evenings doomscrolling on Instagram and feeling worse because of it.
And as if this isn’t enough to deal with, I’m also feeling guilty AF right now.
Guilt for not being productive enough. Guilt for resting when I should’ve been working. Guilt for not feeling motivated when I have a whole list of things I genuinely care about doing.
The problem with getting your mojo back is that you can’t force it. Motivation comes and goes in waves, and the harder you push against the low waves, the longer they stick around.
What you can do is get better at spotting when you’re in a funk, and have a handful of things that actually help you climb out of it.
Here are mine.
P.S. If you’re new here, hey! I’m Thalia. I help burnt-out girlies in their 30s unf*ck their life through 1:1 coaching and self-paced tools. Every week(ish), I share content on burnout recovery, self-development, finding joy, and career growth. Subscribe here so you never miss a debrief.
Signs you’re in a funk
Being in a funk is different to having a bad day. It lasts longer, it sits heavier, and it doesn’t really go away with a good night’s sleep.
When I’m in one, I’ll write the same task on my to-do list three days in a row and never actually do it. I’ll open my laptop, stare at it, and close it again. I’ll scroll Instagram, feel worse, and somehow find myself back on the app twenty minutes later.
And John will get the brunt of my mood for absolutely no reason, bless him.
Sound familiar?
Here are a few other signs you might be deeper in one than you thought:
- You’ve opened your laptop three times today and closed it again without doing anything
- Your to-do list keeps getting moved over to tomorrow
- You can’t tell if you’re tired or just bored
- You’re procrastinating instead of actually doing
- You’re spending way more time scrolling than usual, and feeling worse every time you close the app
- You’re snappy with people you love for no real reason
- Everything feels like it takes twice the effort it should
5 ways to motivate yourself when you’re not in the mood
Quick caveat before I get into it. These aren’t tips for motivating yourself to chase your big life goals.
That’s a whole different conversation about clarity, vision, and what actually lights you up.
This blog post is about daily motivation. aka the motivation you need to get out of bed in the morning, open your laptop, and do something with your day.
P.S. I encourage you to save this post (like now!!) so you can come back to it whenever you need to.
1 | Journal it out
I know, journaling shows up on every wellness blog going. But hear me out.
When I’m in a funk, the worst thing I can do is sit with the feeling and try to think my way out of it. That just leads to even more spiralling.
What actually helps is getting it all out on paper.
Journaling gives you the space to get to the root cause of your low mood and start to untangle it.
So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated, grab your journal and write.
- Write about an experience where you felt extremely motivated
- Write about something good that happened today
- List 3 things you are currently grateful for
The point isn’t to solve everything. It’s to get the nonstop negative thoughts out of your head so you can see them clearly.
2 | Lean into your strengths
When I’m unmotivated, my default is to focus on everything I’m bad at. The Instagram strategy I can’t crack. The newsletter open rates I want to improve. The skills I should be learning but never have time for.
The list goes on.
And it’s mad, because focusing on your weaknesses during a funk just makes the funk worse. You’re literally giving yourself more reasons to feel inadequate.
So flip it and lean into your strengths — the shit you’re actually good at.
Here’s what to do next:
- Write down 3 things that come naturally to you
- Look at your to-do list and find the tasks that use those strengths
- Those are the ones to do today (the hard stuff can wait)
3 | Focus on ONE thing only
If your to-do list has 12 things on it and you’re already overwhelmed, you’re not going to get any of them done.
You’ll do the thing every burnt-out girlie does, which is stare at the list, feel paralysed, and end up scrolling Instagram for an hour.
So pick just ONE thing.
Not the most important thing. Not the hardest thing. Just one thing that, if you got it done, would make you feel like you’d accomplished something.
It could be:
- Replying to one email you’ve been avoiding
- Taking a 20-minute walk
- Making yourself a proper meal instead of snacking
That’s your goal for today.
If you finish it and feel like doing another, great. If not, that’s also fine. One thing is a win when you’re in a funk.
4 | Do something that recharges you
Self-care has been so commodified that we’ve forgotten what it’s meant to do.
A face mask isn’t going to fix a funk. Neither is a £30 candle or a spin class you don’t want to go to. Those things are fine, they’re just not the same as what you actually need.
The good stuff, aka the kind that lasts more than 20 minutes, usually comes from something that engages you fully and doesn’t involve a screen.
For me, it’s reading (fiction obviously). When I’m in a funk, nothing pulls me out of my head like a good novel.
But for you it might be:
- Cooking a proper meal from scratch
- Painting, drawing, or doing something with your hands
- Going for a long walk without your phone
5 | Celebrate the small wins
One of the main reasons why I get unmotivated is that I don’t give myself enough credit.
And what do you do when you’re in a negative state of mind? You scroll on Instagram, of course! (Total sarcasm by the way — you do not scroll on Instagram because nothing good comes from doomscrolling.)
Instead, reflect on the progress you HAVE made.
When you focus on the good things, you can start to break negative thought patterns and feel more like you again.
So every evening (or at lunchtime if it’s been a rough morning), write down 3 wins from your day.
And then:
- Keep them in a journal so you can keep track
- Say them out loud (you don’t need to shout it from the rooftop, but at least verbally acknowledge your wins)
- Share your wins with a close friend or loved one to make it feel even more real
Final thoughts
Motivation isn’t linear, and pretending it is just makes it worse.
The girlies on Instagram who post about their 5 am morning routines and colour-coded calendars don’t always have their shit together either. They’re just not posting about it.
Don’t let the highlight reel make you feel like you’re the only one who can’t get it together right now.
Pick one or two things from this list. Don’t try all five at once; that’s the opposite of what you need.
And remember, a funk isn’t a personality trait. It’s just a phase. This too shall pass.
You’ve got this.
Thalia xx
