Motivation and Procrastination

[NoPoet]

Hi all, these days the anxiety and depression are genuinely starting to take a back seat. Instead I find myself putting things off and just not doing things. In June I signed up to a writer's course which helps you to get stuff published, but I haven't finished the second assignment yet (in fairness the assignments are very hard).

I've been working part time for a month in order to concentrate on becoming a writer and incidentally escape from a job I hate. I am not making enough progress; I just go out with friends and make excuses for not writing or physically working out - I'm also gaining weight thanks to the mirtazapine and my poor self-control. I have stuff to sell on eBay which is worth a fortune and I keep putting it off. I have debts that I can pay off but don't work hard enough to earn the money.

I want to work out, I want to write, I can churn good quality short stories out in one to two days. My CBT is now concentrating on where the "roadblocks" are coming from but there has been no progress so far. I've signed up for some overtime at work (first time ever!) but only a puny 6 hours, where full-time colleagues are putting in for 30!

It's driving me bloody mad! Has anyone got any tips for this? It's the ONLY problem I am not making progress against!

[theharvestmouse]

I'm suffering from a similar problem, I am managing to work full time but its a struggle to get up in the morning and . I have so many things I want to do but am lacking that motivation.

[NoPoet]

Hi Harvestmouse. My sister - who does not suffer from any type of anxious illness - told me that she knows someone her age who is now a dancer for major stage productions and even got a speaking role in the recent Gareth Gates production, but she's been dancing since she was a little girl and has devoted her whole life to it.

My sister, who is 30, said she regrets never following such a life, but now she feels too old - like she's wasted too much time - and she feels like she can't be bothered at the epic amount of work it would take to get into dancing as a career.

So, a sense of "not enough time"/"wasted too much time" and "can't be bothered (with the horrendous workload)" are not exclusive to those with anxiety. The problem is, HOW do we beat it?

[MrRedShirt]

So, a sense of "not enough time"/"wasted too much time" and "can't be bothered (with the horrendous workload)" are not exclusive to those with anxiety. The problem is, HOW do we beat it?

Stop sitting around thinking about how to beat it, and just do what you have to do. There's no magic button or technique. Thinking that there is, is probably the problem.

[bottleblond]

I have to agree with MrRedShirt on this one.

PP.....

I tend to think you 'disect' things more than is needed.

The more thought to put in to anxiety, the more it will bite you in the ass. Let it go and try to just do things rather than scrutinize your every thought and feeling.

Lisa

[KK77]

Stop sitting around thinking about how to beat it, and just do what you have to do. There's no magic button or technique. Thinking that there is, is probably the problem.

Yes, the problem is in asking the question itself, because by the time you answer it you could have done the task.

JFDI might sound a bit corny to some but you really can't go far wrong by following it :D

[nomorepanic]

Woohoo JFDI lol

[suzy-sue]

Overcoming a lack of motivation, in most cases, is essentially overcoming procrastination. By simply getting involved in any given project you will begin to see progress which in turn will further motivate you.
It is the underlying dread that perhaps our efforts won’t bring the results we seek that weaken our motivation and make the first step usually the most difficult!
As the others have said JFDI ..Nothing changes by just thinking about it .It could be seen as another form of avoidance ..Sue

[NoPoet]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. If "JFDI" was a viable solution for me, I wouldn't have hit such a massive roadblock with it, I would have just blitzed straight through it - but I appreciate the advice. Some things I can JFDI, probably more than some of my mates to be honest, where some more important things simply end my progress like I've run into a wall.

I've been chipping at the wall though and I've found a morass of negative thoughts on the other side of it. The CBT is at an advanced stage; the irony of progressing with CBT is that you clear away the clutter fairly quickly and this leaves you with the horrible aspects of anxiety, the things that actually make you ill. It requires a lot of courage to even acknowledge them, let alone deal with them.

So for example, work has stalled on my writing because of reasons like:
"There's too much to do - it's like climbing Everest with only sandals and a loincloth for protection."
"You're going to fail - the only end is failure. You're wasting your time. You haven't got enough time."
"You're worthless - people will laugh at your work - it's crap - I hate and dread the feeling of failure..."

And so forth. Genuinely nasty stuff.

[Pezant]

The more thought to put in to anxiety, the more it will bite you in the ass. Let it go and try to just do things rather than scrutinize your every thought and feeling.

[NoPoet]

But I don't usually scrutinise myself over this - I'm scrutinising it now because it's become such a problem. The issue could be described as a kind of "blankness" that causes intense worry, agitation and symptoms of anxiety when I come to do important tasks.