When the reality of COVID-19 sunk, finding the motivation to keep up with work and other duties has been a challenge for a lot of people. 5 months later, it seems like there is still no clear end in sight. Many of us are still working from home, and have no choice but to stay distant to our family, friends, and colleagues.
With so much uncertainty about the future, staying motivated is becoming more and more impossible for a lot of people. It may seem like it will never end, but things will get better eventually.
Here are 4 ways to stay motivated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Break tasks into smaller chunks
There are days when you are motivated, and then there will be days when you’re not in the mood to do anything at all. That’s okay.
Setting small, realistic goals for yourself. Make sure they’re not too big. Otherwise, you’ll feel overwhelmed. Create a list of tasks that need to be accomplished each day, and break them down into smaller tasks. This way, you can experience small wins.
Reward yourself when you accomplish a certain task. Not only will it motivate you to achieve your goals, it will also help boost your mood.
Keep moving
Now that many of you are working from home and busy with the start of the school, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind right now. Mind you, though, exercise is one of the best ways to get your energy pumping and keep your stress levels in check.
Schedule exercise into your daily routine, even if it’s just 30 mintues a day. There are lots of ways to exercise at home. You can jog in place, do gardening, go up and down the stairs or dance.
Declare war on distractions
Most people would say “I’m busy”. But the truth is that, they have a lot of time on their hands. They just don’t use their time efficiently.
It’s time to declare war on distractions and improve your productivity. For many of us, social media is one of the biggest distractions. You check in on your account, only to realize that you’ve been scrolling on your newsfeeds for an hour now.
Turn off your smartphone or put it on silent mode when it’s time to work. This way, you’re not tempted to check on it everytime there’s a notification. Also, try to focus on the task at hand. Multitasking is a waste of time. You’ll end up with half-baked output and waste more time by doing two things at the same time.
Don’t forget to include relaxation time
One of the biggest benefit of working from home is that your working hours are no longer restricted by the conventional 9 to 5 schedule. If you are someone who works best at night, then you can relax in the morning before jumping into work later. If you’re most productive in the early hours of the morning, get up early and working during the first half of the day.
No matter what time you choose to work, make sure that you carve out time in your day for relaxation.