How do you motivate yourself during the pandemic?

Is it hard to motivate yourself? Are you experiencing feelings of emptiness and boredom? Don't worry - you are not the only one! Global Knowledge gives you tips to change that feeling in this article.

The New York Times even writes this feeling has it's own name: languishing. With languishing we mean the slow feeling many people are currently experiencing. It is situated somewhere between flourishing and feeling down.

How does languishing express itself? You might be unable to motivate yourself to do things that normally energize you. Or it might take you extra effort to get out of bed in the morning. Languishing is, according to the NY Times, as if every day is like the previous one and you're just dragging yourself along.

Why do you feel this way?

It's not strange this feeling of languishing is coming up now. We have been stuck in the pandemic since last year and the elimination of specific Covid-19 measures is often delayed. For many people it's still unclear when they get vaccinated. It looks like the end of the pandemic is near with the vaccinations and elimination of restrictions ahead, but it's unclear when we truly leave this period behind us.

And don't forget: you have probably experienced some stress and anxiety at the start of the pandemic. Because of this high in emotions, you might hit a lot now. There is only so much tension and stress one can experience before going a little numb.

Done with these gloomy thoughts?

It's nice there is a word for the feelings you might be experiencing, but how can you deal with this sad, slow feeling? Global Knowledge's languishing expert gives ou tips in this article. This is how you get yourself out of this funk.

1. Start your day with some (light) exercise
   
   Our languishing expert knows how hard it can be to motivate yourself to work out, especially in the morning. But starting your day with some movement, helps. Even if you don't do anything useful all day, after a work-out, you get the feeling you've done something productive.
   
   When you exercise, your body starts producing endorfines: if you start your day with a work-out, you start your days happy and refreshed. Exercise in a way that fits your needs: if you aren't big on work-outs or sports, just go for a walk, ride your bike or do a couple or practice some yoga. Ride your bike to the office, instead of taking your car.
   
   Usually, exercise makes you feel better straight away, but keep it up for a couple of weeks to really benefit from these changes.
2. Spend less time on Zoom or in video meetings
   
   It became one of the key words of the pandemic: Zoom fatigue. According to this article, Zoom meetings can be very exhausting for our brains. And exhausting your brains will not help you feel better
   
   Because of this, Global Knowledge reccomends the following: spend less time on Zoom. Have meetings on Zoom if you have to, but skip meetings you don't really have to attend. Try and swap video calls with people for going on a walk with them.
   
   If you decide to attend one of our courses in the Virtual Classroom, our trainers make sure you get plenty of breaks, so you won't leave our course feeling the Zoom fatigue.
3. Make sure you have something fun to look forward to
   
   It helps to give yourself some perspective. We gain more freedom as more people get vaccinated: a reason to be optimistic. But sometimes it can be hard to make these fun activities happen, because you have no plans.
   
   Try and write down goals for yourself. You can come up with short term ('I am going to go for a run four times this month') or long term goals ('if it is possible this summer, I will go on holiday to France). Book your holiday, don't delay your plans - lots of hotels will give you the opportunity to cancel your trip free of charge.
4. Please stop multitasking
   
   If you do multiple things at the same time, you never completely finish your tasks. Our brains aren't made to do multiple things at the same time: according to this article, it's even better if we focus one one taks at a time.
   
   A languishing multitasker is probably even worse than a regular multitasker. You might not get your work or assignements completely done. This unaccomplishment might make you feel even worse than you would under normal circumstances. This is why you should do one thing at a time, so you actually finish what you were doing. And if things are going well at your work (or in your private life, after all, you can multitask when you're cooking too), you will feel better instantly.
5. Learn something new - boost your skills
   
   Learning new things gives you more energy. This is what got people through the first months of the pandemic: they baked their own bread for example, or learned how to rollerblade or paint. Learning something refreshes your perspective.
   
   Attend a training course before summer starts, for example. This gets you out of your routine (switch it up!), you get to meet other participants (getting to know new people gives you energy!) and you will learn something new. Soon, you will even be able to attend a course on location. Attending a course at Global Knowledge is extra interesting now: if you book a Virtual Classroom course that runs for four days or more before 30 June, you will receive a Nintendo Switch!
   
   Find out more about this promotion and which training courses you can attend with it via the button below.

^{In the process of writing this article, the following sources were used: Elle, NYTimes, Transcend nieuwsbrief, Psychologie Magazine.
This article was written by Charlotte Boudesteijn, languishing expert and content specialist at Global Knowledge}