Motivation.  Or lack thereof.

Unmade bed. Laundry to be done. Floor needs vacuuming. Dishes in the sink. Projects sit curing.

Sometimes I suffer from lack of motivation.

Blame it on a demanding full-time job and being a single mom.  Or on a collection of health issues that result in lingering chronic fatigue. Or that often I just need to sit and do nothing to recharge my creativity.  Or all of the above.

Whatever the cause or collection of causes, I’ve grown comfortable with it.  It’s part of me and who I am. That’s not to say that I don’t envy people who seem to have a much higher energy level than me, because I do.  But at the end of the day, I have a nice life and plenty to be thankful for and so I’ve decided to get real with myself and recognize that I’ve got a lot on my plate and this is my pace.

So how to do I get anything done?

A couple of years back, I worked with a personal growth coach who encouraged me to get rid of my to-do lists. Sounds counter intuitive to get rid of lists of things to do when one wants or needs to do more or gain some direction in life. However, his theory was that a to-do list self-imposes a lot of unnecessary pressure and that the things that I feel are important will automatically rise to the top and will be the things that I choose to do. So I’ve dumped the to-do lists and let things happen as I feel them.

I also do a lot of project start and stop.  I don’t always just push through a project until completion. Probably not the most effective way to work, but the way I see it is that I work effectively and efficiently all day at my day job.  In my creative time, I want to feel it…I want to do what moves me, and so I do. Not always efficient, not always logical, but always inspired.

Inspired.

Now that’s motivating!