“Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors.”

For many people, motivation is the reason why we do things and involves goal-oriented behaviors. It can be the difference between sitting down and completing that hard task at work or filling time with social media to avoid addressing that hard assignment until another time.

Motivation can be a hard thing to establish when we are feeling drained or emotionally worn out. However, when we are able to take small steps to promote motivation, what we find is that it builds over time.

Here are some ways we can jump start our days with motivation:

Don’t Hit Snooze

• Waking up in the morning can be hard, so it’s important that you schedule time for a good night’s rest. However, once it’s time to wake up, get up! Many times, when we keep hitting snooze on our alarms that can impact our overall mood and contribute to the morning fog.
• Therapist Tip: Put your phone on the other side of your room, so you have to get up to turn it off

Set Your Alarm to an Enjoyable Sound

• Annoying alarms can also impact our morning attitudes. Pick a sound that is something you like to listen to not something that is abrupt or startling.
• Therapist Tip: Pick a song or even a podcast that is calm and peaceful to reduce morning stress.

Lights On!

• Turning the lights on right when we wake up signals our bodies that it is daytime and that we need to begin the day. It actually can help us to wake up faster!
• Therapist Tip: Set your smart light to turn on at the time you want to wake up.

Exercise or Stretch

• Exercising in the morning can seem unthinkable for some of us. However, doing at least some moderate stretching has been shown to improve our mood and increase energy overall which helps with motivation throughout the day.
• Therapist Tip: Find a workout that fits with your schedule. Have time for a morning run? Great! If not, maybe you can find a short at home work out to jump start your day.

Dress to Impress (Yourself)

• Picking clothes that make us feel happy is another way to not only start our day off on the right note, but also boost our confidence. Having an outfit that we are looking forward to wearing is a way to help us feel more prepared to tackle what the day has in store.
• Therapist Tip: Set out an outfit the night before your day to relieve stress in the morning of trying to find something that you want to wear.

Nourish Yourself

• We have all heard it before, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” However, it really is important to give our bodies nutrients and replenish energy after waking up as our bodies don’t stop working when we fall asleep. A balanced breakfast can help with concentration and improve our overall mood as we start our days.
• Therapist Tip: Drink a glass of water! Our bodies can become dehydrated when we sleep so hydrating right when we wake up is equally as important as having a balanced meal.

Make a Morning Routine

• Setting a morning routine is a huge factor in promoting motivation throughout the day, but it does not have to be activity packed. Allowing for time to do things such as meditating, making our beds, exercising, and eating breakfast are all important factors in starting the day off on a positive note.
• Therapist Tip: Factor in time to make a list of all the thing you would like to accomplish for the day. Daily lists can help us to stay on task in areas we are trying to focus on. It also feels really good when we can cross something off our morning list as the day goes by.

Finding motivation in the morning can be dauting. However, when we set intentional small goals that promote a healthy morning routine, it can greatly impact the level of motivation we feel on a consistent basis.

If you or a loved one is experiencing challenges with motivation outside of what you consider to be normal, please reach out. Our staff is ready to support you as we discuss ways to overcome these challenges. Contact us at 1-833-QHCARES or visit our website at https://qhealthonline.com/