It has been around 8 weeks since lockdown was placed upon the UK. When the news first broke out, you may or may not have seen your motivation rise with an idea of great opportunities to work on things you wouldn't have a chance to in your normal hectic everyday life. These opportunities could have been fitness related or having the chance to reconnect with friends on never ending zoom quizzes or even wanting to take up a new language to learn. As time has dwindled on in lockdown, our motivation has probably taken a few hits and it is becoming increasingly harder to do things that you really want to tackle in your life.

I want to say it is perfectly natural if you feel this way. There are a number of reasons why I think our motivation could be decreasing and I'm going to give a few ideas on how I feel we can tackle this feeling and battle through this tough period.

So, why are we losing motivation in these times?
As I said there are a number of reasons why I think this is happening.
(1) There is a clear feeling of fear - this is public health crisis that has never been experienced before. People are fearful of their own health and their loved ones.
(2) There is higher levels of anxiety amongst people. Anxiety about their businesses shutting down, travelling to work and working in a safe environment, and how these times will affect their finances and our economy.
(3) We face even more distractions than we did before lockdown. It has never been easier to binge 4 netflix seasons inside 2 days, and spend generally too much time on our devices.
(4) There is a lack of a 'reward' with our lockdown routines. Some of us are privileged enough to be used to rewarding ourselves with going to restaurants, having nights out, and being able to spend time with friends after a long week.

How can we find our motivation and keep it?
Unfortunately I don't have any easy solutions to combat these feelings I mentioned above but I do have certain routines and habits in my life which I believe can be utilised to help you find your own motivations.
(1) Set up a daily routine with tasks/workouts/goals for the day. I write mine on pen and paper and keep it visible so it doesn't slip my mind. Studies have shown you are far more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down opposed to those who don't. With workouts, I recommend trying to do them in the morning as you are less likely to face distractions (less phone calls, emails, and that TV series you can't get enough of! -- I'm currently addicted to Ozark). The workout doesn't need to be long haul, even less than 30 minutes will improve your energy and enable you to have better focus throughout the day.
(2) Sleep. I am a huge advocate of sleep and it has never been more important than now. Please don't listen to bullshitters who say things like "I'll sleep when I'm dead," like I used to do. It's counter-intuitive and only really puts you closer to dying :D. A good night's sleep will improve your mood, memory and recovery, whilst lowering stress and blood pressure.
(3) Plan for the future. Whilst this is our current situation, it will not be like this forever so have a think about what you want to achieve in the future (write it down!). Give yourself something to work towards and look forward too.
(4) Reach out. This is something I have been trying to improve on myself, it's easy to let relationships slide right now. Something like a text or a quick phone call is a great way to let somebody know you are thinking about them and goes a long way in alleviating both of yours frustrations, and stress.

Have a great week!