What’s Behind our Lack of Motivation?

Photo by Sue Ivy

“Boredom leads to daydreaming, and daydreaming can lead to creation.”
~ Robin Ince

Early last week, one of my brothers called and said he was feeling unmotivated and couldn’t figure it out since he had a long list of things to do. He manages a farm and owns two small businesses, so when I say long, I mean long.

I told him I’d talked to a handful of people in the past few days who mentioned feeling the same way. It seems to be where many of us are at right now emotionally. Most of us have no shortage of tasks to do, and may even have plenty of time since we’re not as busy in the outside world as we usually are, but we can’t seem to get moving. What’s worse is we don’t know why.

The day after my brother called, my daughter mentioned that she was offering an online presentation about boredom to the staff at her hospital. Clearly boredom is a thing right now.

(She was kind enough to share some of her information with me so I could share it with you here.)

 When we’re bored, time seems to slow down. We can lose hours with nothing to show for it. We feel sluggish and uninspired, perhaps napping more than usual. It can be an uncomfortable feeling, especially if it’s not typical for us. In my case, we were “not allowed” to be bored growing up. I mentioned in a previous post that we were groomed to be high achievers. A lack of motivation causes anxiety for us as it does for many people.

For most of us, when we choose to give ourselves a break, such as an occasional day off to binge watch our favorite show, we’re happy about it. If, instead, we wake up thinking about our list of projects, but just can’t get ourselves going because of a mood that seems to have descended upon us, it’s frustrating, and can make us feel out of control.

To manage all the complex processes that are going on inside of us, our bodies are designed to maintain homeostasis, or internal balance. It turns out that there’s an optimal level of what psychologists call arousal (no, not that kind!), which is defined as the state of being physiologically alert, awake, and attentive. It’s controlled by a specific area in the brain that acts like a pacemaker and adjusts our levels of brain chemicals to rev us up when we need to move quickly or calm us down when it’s time for sleep.

Both understimulation and overstimulation can cause boredom and lack of motivation, although they are more common with understimulation. Arousal and motivation have been topics of study for psychologists for quite a while. The Yerkes-Dodson law states that “an optimal level of arousal for performance exists. Too little or too much arousal can adversely affect task performance.” 

We’ve all had those heady days where we feel so energized, we’re unstoppable. We might describe ourselves as “hitting on all cylinders,” “on fire,” or “in the zone.” Don’t we just love them?

Arousal is an internal state which is heavily influenced by our bodies’ reactions to our environment:

Too little stimulation around us can result in fatigue, dissatisfaction, and lack of interest or enjoyment. When we feel that there’s nothing to look forward to and nothing to plan for, it can lead to a state of malaise that’s similar to depression. In this state, we may not be aware of feeling much of anything at all.

Too much stimulation in our environment is more likely to make us feel frustrated and irritable. It can lead to increased mistakes and a lack of productivity due to a lack of focus. If we get too anxious or overwhelmed, we can experience a fight-or-flight feeling of needing to escape.

Unfortunately, one of the unexpected side effects of this extended stay-at-home period due to the pandemic is that we’re not likely to be at an optimum level of arousal. If we’re alone or only have one other person in the house, we’re probably understimulated. We’re tired of looking at the same four walls and each other (much as we love our significant others, despite our unkempt hair). If we have kids and animals at home and the level of activity and noise is greatly amplified, we’re surely overstimulated.

Both situations can create distress in our bodies and our psyches, which can cause us to act out to relieve the discomfort. We may overeat and drink more wine (hence all the funny Facebook memes), engage in more risk-taking behaviors, or act more impulsively. Teenagers are especially susceptible, so it may be a good idea to try to help them understand what’s behind their behaviors and find some creative solutions for them.

Boredom is one of those feeling states that can move us to make a change. If we take steps to address our lack of motivation, it can lead to a spurt in creativity or productivity.

The first step is to acknowledge your feelings. The next is to evaluate your environment to see if it’s possible to alter it in a way that is more satisfying to you and more conducive to your productivity.

Pay close attention to what you see and hear around you for a bit. Is there too much stimulation around you or not enough?

If there’s too much, work to decrease the clutter, lower or block the volume of sounds around you. To reduce your anxiety, try deep, slow breathing, or practice mindfulness, which is being fully present in the moment without judgment. Notice something new around you using your five senses.

If there’s not enough, turn on some music, change the placement and arrangement of your furnishings, or add color or pieces of visual interest into your space. Engage with family, friends, or coworkers online or at a safe distance to prevent isolation. Engage your body by going for a walk or incorporating a home exercise routine. Engage your mind by reading a new book, finding a new subject to research, trying a creative outlet, or picking up a previous hobby.

Either way, setting a goal or intention for the day, and taking one small step at a time towards it can help.

I’m not suggesting any of this is easy. You’ve probably tried all the easy stuff already. Most of us just feel off kilter, out of our routines, and over this already!

All of these feelings are normal for the surreal times we’re living in. Our bodies and our psyches are doing the best they can to adapt to our external circumstances. We can help them by nurturing them as best we can until we reach the other side of this.

Hopefully sooner rather than later we can go out to work and play and live again. Now that is a motivating thought!

Affectionately,

Elaine