13 Ways to Find Motivation for Self Care When It Feels Like Too Much Work
One of the most common barriers to self care for many women is actually finding the motivation for self care.
It can be easy to read about self care and say you’ll start tomorrow…but then tomorrow comes and goes with no real change in your self care habits.
I have gotten caught in this cycle throughout my own self care journey as well so I understand the struggle completely.
However, because I have experienced that lack of motivation so many times, I have also identified several ways to help keep me motivated even when I feel like I just don’t have the time, energy, or motivation for self care.
Benefits of self care
Before we dive into how to stay motivated for self care, it’s important to learn about the benefits of self care and see why you should want to build that motivation.
Self care has numerous benefits for both your physical, mental, and emotional health.
These benefits vary based on the type of self care you participate in, but may include:
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Improved mood
- Increased productivity
- Boost your immune system
- Relieve pain or discomfort
- Increased self love and self awareness
But there are also so many other potential benefits to self care. Like I said, it really depends on the type of self care you choose.
Overall, self care is critical to reducing stress and anxiety, boosting self love and confidence, and improving your physical health and well-being.
And I can say from experience, if you work at building a consistent self care routine you will see these benefits throughout your physical, mental, and emotional health to gain holistic wellness.
This post is going to give you 13 ways to find motivation for self care when you feel completely unmotivated.
1. Determine the right self care activities for you
Finding the right self care activities plays a large role in boosting your motivation for self care.
Find activities that are exciting to you so when life gets hard or busy, you’ll still look forward to your self care activities.
Don’t just do a self care activity because someone told you it’s healthy for you. Do a self care activity because it’s something you want to do and believe it will benefit your own personal needs.
For a comprehensive list of self care activities to find the right ones for you, read more here.
2. Figure out what’s been holding you back
If you’ve been feeling particularly unmotivated to do self care lately, I recommend figuring out the cause of your lack of motivation. That way, you can identify a plan to address that cause.
A good way to get to the root of any problem is through journaling. Writing in a journal on a regular basis will help you identify issues as they come up. It will also help you reflect on your experiences.
Notice thought and action patterns when you feel a lack of motivation. Then use those patterns to create a plan to boost your motivation and follow through.
For example, do you feel unmotivated after a long day of work? Maybe sneak a little self care into your morning routine instead.
3. Build self care into your schedule
When it comes to building motivation for self care, planning ahead is key! The best way to ensure you follow through with self care activities is to build it into your schedule.
To help you incorporate self care into your daily schedule, fill out the form below to download a free daily planner and weekly self care schedule.
As a bonus, you’ll also get two other life-changing self care resources including monthly journal prompts and a stress management checklist.
Fill out the form below to download your free self care resources now!
4. Set self care goals
Setting healthy goals gives you something to work towards. Goal setting also keeps you accountable for your actions, so you will be more motivated to work towards that goal.
Set self care goals based on what area of self care you want to focus on.
When setting goals, it’s important to set S.M.A.R.T. goals, or specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based goals.
If you’re unfamiliar with S.M.A.R.T. goals, I have outlined in detail what each letter means below:
S – Specific: You want to decide what exactly you want to do. Make your goals particular, not vague. For example, don’t set a goal “to run more”, set a goal to run 5 miles instead.
M – Measurable: Make goals easy to measure success and track progress. So in the previous example, a goal to run 5 miles is measurable because you can measure how long you run. You can also track your progress as you work towards your goal. For example, you may determine at some point that you are now able to run 2.5 miles so you’re halfway there!
A – Attainable: You also want to make sure the goal you set is realistic for you to achieve. This is so important because if it starts to feel like your goal is impossible then you will be much more likely to give up. For example, if you set a goal to lose 20 pounds, it is not realistic for anyone to lose that much weight in two weeks.
You also will want to consider what else is currently going on in your life. With the previous running example, it may not attainable for you if you’re also recovering from a knee injury.
R – Relevant: It is also important to set goals that are relevant to your life, values, and lifestyle. When you set relevant goals, you will feel more motivated to work towards them and achieve them.
T- Time-bound: Lastly, you want to set goals that are time-bound. This last item means that you set a time frame for when you want to achieve the goal. So closing out the running example, you may set your goal to run 5 miles by the end of the year.
For more information on setting goals and achieving them, read more here.
If you are struggling with self care motivation, I really recommend using a guided self care planner to help you set goals for yourself. I use this self love and goals planner to help me establish S.M.A.R.T goals and actually achieve them.
Click here to get the best printable goal setting planner!
5. Work on building habits
Habits are a powerful tool because they are things that you do without even thinking about it. Habits are natural and make incorporating self care into your day easy, even when you feel a lack of motivation.
Build habits to keep yourself motivated for self care even when life gets in the way.
The best way to build a habit is to stay consistent and complete the action regularly. Then over time, it will become a habit that you naturally do without thinking too much about it.
6. Focus your self care efforts
Another way to stay motivated for self care is to focus your self care efforts. If you’re trying to do all of the self care things all of the time of course you’re going to get burned out!
When you build self care habits and set self care goals, focus on one or two at a time.
Once you build up a habit, then you can shift your focus to something else and add a new habit at that point.
If you’re looking to establish a nightly skin care routine, focus on just that instead of trying to get your skin care routine in every night while you also start meditating for the first time, create a new exercise routine, etc.
If you try to do too many things at once, especially if you are new to self care, then you will get burned out and not want to do any of your self care activities.
7. Communicate your goals to others
One of the best ways to find motivation for self care is to communicate your self care goals to others.
Communicating your goals to others will make you feel more motivated to achieve them. You’ll feel more accountable, especially as your friends or family check in on your progress and ask about those goals.
Starting a conversation about self care with others is also a great way to find inspiration and learn about new forms of self care from others that you may want to try.
8. Track your self care habits
Another way to stay motivated for self care is to track your self care activities.
You can do this in a personal journal, on your phone, or sign up for the free Self Care Seeker 30 Day Self Care Challenge for a free journal and habit tracker.
Click here to sign up for the 30 Day Self Care Challenge now!
Tracking your habits will keep you motivated because you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you check something off.
A perfect example of this in action that you might be familiar with is Snapchat streaks. Do you feel that sense of panic when the timer comes on and your streak is at risk?
Tracking your self care activities will work in the same way.
9. Reward yourself
Another way to remain motivated for self care is to reward yourself when you achieve your self care goals.
Not only do you deserve a reward after all of the hard work it takes to achieve self care goals, but rewards will keep you motivated, too.
When you celebrate your achievements and let yourself feel successful, you will be more motivated to go after your next goals because you know how great it feels to achieve something.
10. Do self care with friends
Another way to find motivation for self care is to do self care with your friends or family. Doing self care with others might make it more enjoyable for you, especially if you’re extroverted.
Doing self care activities will also help to keep you motivated and accountable. If you tell a friend you’ll meet her at a yoga class after work, it’s a lot harder to bail than if you were just planning to go alone.
You won’t want to let your friends down or go back on your word, so you’ll be more likely to follow through on your actions.
For a list of self care day ideas to do with friends, read more here.
11. Find simple self care that fits your schedule
A lack of motivation for self care can come from being tired or busy. To combat this, find effective self care activities that won’t take up too much time or energy.
You’ll feel more motivated to engage in self care when it’s only going to take a few minutes of your day.
There are plenty of self care ideas you can do in under ten minutes, like a few minutes of meditation for example.
For simple self care ideas you can do in under ten minutes, read more here.
12. Set yourself up for success
Another way to maintain your motivation for self care is to set yourself up for success ahead of time. When you’re planning self care activities, do things to set yourself up for success.
Planning to workout in the morning? Set your exercise clothes out ahead of time.
Planning to start meditating? Download a guided meditation app.
These actions only take a few minutes, but will have a huge impact on your motivation for self care.
13. Be forgiving and patient with yourself
Lastly, an important piece of motivation is also to be forgiving and patient with yourself.
Building healthy habits and doing self care consistently takes a lot of time and effort. You’re going to have slip ups and miss days. That’s totally okay!
Be forgiving with yourself throughout your self care journey. Be patient with yourself as you work towards your goals and look to see the benefits of self care.
While self care will help you improve your physical, mental, and emotional health these benefits will not manifest over night.
Be patient and don’t give up after a week just because you aren’t seeing the benefits right away.
Those are the 13 ways to find motivation for self care even when you feel completely unmotivated.
Self care is important. You deserve to be cared for and that starts with caring for yourself!
However, along your self care journey you will likely feel unmotivated at times. This is a very common barrier to self care.
By following the 13 tips in this post you will be on your way to kicking that motivation into gear and becoming a self care master.
Comment below with your favorite way to stay motivated for self care.
For more ways to improve your self care motivation, read more here:
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