Feeling Unmotivated and Overwhelmed? Listen to This.

If you’re feeling unmotivated, then this is for you, especially if you’re feeling unmotivated because of overwhelm. Many times we can reach a point of lacking motivation or desire to do anything because there is so much on our plate, so much on our minds, and so much going on all around us. So in this episode, I’m going to share why that happens.

And practical steps for what you can do about it. Let’s get into it.

Welcome to Calmly Coping. My name is Tati Garcia. I’m a licensed therapist and speaker who specializes in helping high achievers feel calm, balanced, and confident from within, so they can finally stop overthinking everything. If that resonates, then hit subscribe. Let’s dive into the episode. I usually do an entire outline for my episodes.

Plan them up front. This one is different. And I’m doing it impromptu, no script or planning or anything, and that is because I am currently in this state. I found myself this morning feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated, just wanting to do nothing, clear my schedule and let go of all of my responsibilities.

However, I did not necessarily follow that urge. I took a step back and I explored what was really going on, how I was actually feeling, and took specific steps so that I could get to the point. Where I am sitting down filming this podcast episode for you right now, so let’s talk about that. Many times we can be so caught up in going through the motions and getting things done, whether those are work responsibilities, personal responsibilities, things that come onto our plates unexpectedly, all of the expectations that accrue in our lives as a result of being human, and that can then result in us not really.

Recognizing or taking a step back to reflect upon how we’re actually feeling about these things and how they are actually affecting us. We can be caught in this state of just kind of like continuing to push forward and maybe ignoring our own needs for rest and recharging or ignoring our boundaries because we’re so focused on these outcomes of.

Where we’re wanting to get, whether it is looking forward to specific goals you have in your career or your personal life, or maybe it is looking forward to the weekend or your vacation when you can finally let go and relax. So until then, you’re kind of just pushing and grinding forward. There can be so many of these moments, and oftentimes we can then numb ourselves through it by scrolling through our phones, distracting ourselves with binge watching movies and TV shows, and true crime, definitely guilty of that by drinking alcohol or binge eating or overworking.

Any of these things can be ways of numbing ourselves essentially and distracting ourselves so that we are able to avoid. How it is we’re actually feeling and continue to push through. However, at some point, all of us reach a limit, and maybe that limit is one moment or day of feeling really overwhelmed and unmotivated.

Or maybe that is if you’re chronically in this state, reaching a point where you’re just done and burnt out. And I do want to clarify what I’m talking about is not the only reason why somebody might be unmotivated. I’m specifically focusing on people who are feeling unmotivated because of overwhelm.

High achievers especially, who tend to push through, do more, put more pressure on themselves, and then reach a point where they’re feeling exhausted. And drained and like they have nothing left to give. And this can show up in differing degrees, like I just mentioned. The extreme end would be burnout. And I actually have an episode plan because that was one of the responses in my poll that I put out where people were interested in hearing about this topic about is it depression or is it burnout?

That one’s gonna be coming next week, but essentially it can look like varying degrees on this spectrum from just a little bit unmotivated to, I can’t give anything else. So now that we understand more about how we get here, let’s talk about those practical steps that I mentioned before. And number one is awareness, which if you’re watching or listening to this, then congrats.

You’re already here. You have become aware that where you are and how you’re feeling is a problem, and it’s something that you’re wanting to address and explore. So that awareness can also look like reflecting upon how am I feeling right now? What’s going on internally? Whether that looks like identifying and naming your emotions.

I’m feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, frustrated, resentful, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. That can also look like physically in your body. How are you feeling? Do you have a headache? Are you tired? Are you feeling and experiencing brain fog or difficulty focusing? And if you already struggle with things like anxiety or other mental health struggles like A DHD or depression.

Being in this state can essentially exacerbate those symptoms that you might already struggle with. It can essentially be a trigger for those symptoms that might already be showing up for you to either a lesser or a different degree. So once you have become aware, step two, and this is a step I highly encourage, even if you’re the kind of person who is like.

I don’t like journaling. I don’t know what to do. I don’t like writing things down. The reason why I highly recommend this is because when we can get things out of our head and onto paper, it actually is a way of confronting everything that is going on within it is a way of not just acknowledging it, but confronting it in the sense that you are actually recognizing, wow.

Look at all of these things going on inside. Look at all of these responsibilities on my plate. No wonder why I’m feeling the way I am. So this is what I did about a half hour ago. I wrote down all of the things that were on my mind, and this includes things that I had done earlier this week that were still kind of weighing on me or that I might still be recovering from in addition to things that are coming up that are on my plate, things that I have been planning for myself.

And anything else that was on my mind and was either weighing on me or stressing me out in some way. I wrote all of that down and then I looked at that list and I was like, wow, this is a lot more than I had really thought. Because I know myself and because I’ve been through this pattern before and again and again, this was an opportunity for me to recognize, okay, wow, I am starting to do it again.

I’m getting in this cycle where I am. Overloading myself and it’s time to take a step back and reassess. And so my next step was I put a list or I made a separate list and I named it P one, which is just kind of. Priority one and I wrote down what are the top three priorities for the next two days?

’cause it’s Thursday today, so I’m thinking the end of the work week. Once I did those priorities, which one of ’em is preparing for an upcoming talk that I’m doing? The other one is scheduling next week’s podcast episodes. So giving all of the information to my assistant, making the thumbnail, doing all of that stuff so it can be scheduled.

Number three was. Filming one podcast episode. So originally, actually I was supposed to film three podcast episodes, LA last week. I like to batch ’em so that I can just work in advance and not have to prepare to film every week. And I ended up procrastinating that. And for me, those are signs that even if I’m not consciously aware of it yet, when I push things back and procrastinate.

It’s probably a sign that I’m starting to feel overloaded and I’m starting to have too much on my plate. So I pushed it back to Monday. Then I, I was supposed to do three on Monday. I, I just filmed one on Monday and then I was like, okay, I’ll do the other two on Thursday, and then I pushed it back again to Friday.

So this has been a, a thing that’s been ongoing. So what I did. In filming, in creating this list, I was like, well, in reality I just have to record one episode because that will be the one for two weeks from now. ’cause I need lead time to give it to my editor to do, and then lead time for the scheduling to happen.

And then I was like, well, I’m doing this now. And I felt that it was relevant to. Share this because maybe you’re in a similar place where you’re feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. And don’t wanna do anything. As a result, making this list for me gave me this spark of motivation. I was meeting myself where I was, and I had the motivation.

I was actually gonna record this tomorrow, but I was like, you know what? I’m feeling that desire now, so I’m just gonna do it now. And luckily, my schedule. Was able to allow me to, to make time for that. Of course, this is not always going to look the same. You know, maybe you’re unmotivated because there’s things on your list that you have no desire to do, and that’s perfectly okay.

That’s part of being an adult and part of being human. However, I think that if we can just break it down to. The priorities and then assess with all of the other things that you’ve written down. And I actually created a while ago, a guide called Goodbye Overwhelm that I think will be a really excellent companion to this episode because it walks you through step by step, this process of doing the brain dump, prioritizing what’s on the list, making it into tasks, identifying how you’re feeling.

And all of that along with some productivity tips. So if you’re interested in getting that guide for free, you can go to calmlycoping.com/overwhelm or click on the link in the description. So once we have prioritized, then we wanna make a plan and schedule it out. So for me, that looked like. I planned out doing this episode now, but for you it can look like different things.

Maybe you want to plan things out over the next couple of days, and those will be your non-negotiable priorities and maybe other things that aren’t as much of a priority can go on the back burner can even be deleted from this list or can be revisited when you have more space and time. On the weekend or next week when you have more availability or whatever that might look like for you.

So step one is to become aware. Step two is to do this brain dump of what is on your mind. Step three is to prioritize the top three priorities in the next couple of days. And step four is to plan it out. And that includes scheduling things out. That also includes deleting things, reassessing things, pushing things back to reassess in the future, and then an important piece of this.

Is to allow yourself to let go of anything that is not your focus for today. Put this in a system that you’re already using. So I personally really enjoy using Todoist and Google Calendar as my planning tools. I’ll also use Notion for kind of more in depth planning and things where I have to write out or, you know, manage my products or programs or marketing use whatever systems you’re already using or if you’re looking for one and a system to create.

I do have a podcast episode that I filmed a long time ago. On how to get organized with high functioning anxiety that I think you’ll find helpful. And an important piece that I recommend encompasses this entire process is self-compassion. Being high to yourself and just recognizing that you’re feeling this way for a reason.

Whether there’s a lot on your plate, literally, and maybe, maybe not literally on your plate, but as far as like tasks and responsibilities. Maybe there is a lot on your mind emotionally, or maybe there’s a lot that you’re recovering from, or you’re in a period of transition and a lot of changes are happening in your life.

All of those things are going to affect the way you feel and the way that you can show up for the responsibilities and goals that you have in your life, and to expect ourselves to show up in the same way and just be able to knock things off. Like where computers every single day is unrealistic. So coming from that place of self-compassion is recognizing that you’re human, that it’s natural to have these emotional responses and cognitive responses that could include changes in your ability to focus or think clearly or make decisions as well as energy changes and, and so much more in response to the potential stress or just.

Feeling overloaded in your life. That doesn’t mean that you failed. It doesn’t mean that you’re lazy. It doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you. It’s just a natural consequence of what you’re experiencing. And so I, I like to have that focus of, this isn’t about blame or judgment, it’s just about.

Cause and effect, right? It’s about this has happened and this is the consequence of this, and how can we use this information to then learn from it for next time. So for me, this might look like being realistic and for the millionth time. Readjusting and having more boundaries around what I am taking on and what I am expecting from myself.

And that doesn’t mean that I’m lowering my expectations. It just means that I am being more realistic with the time and energy I have. If you are somebody who tends to have unrealistic expectations, I actually just recorded a podcast episode on that that came out, I believe, three weeks before this episode.

I will also link that in the description. So my suggestion, if you’re in this place, be kind to yourself. Follow this process and notice what happens. It’s not a cure, all right? You know, we can’t just magically snap our fingers. And all of the stresses and problems in life are gone. However, we can take steps to reflect on what’s happening, manage the things that we can control and let go of the things that we cannot or we’re choosing not to right now.

And that can help us experience and feel more peace of mind, calmer from within, and more of a sense of clarity when it comes to the way we’re approaching our days. And our lives. Again, I wanna mention that goodbye overwhelm guide. So if you’re interested in getting the step-by-step process that I just mentioned in addition to more tips and tricks, then you can go to calmlycoping.com/overwhelm or click on the link in the description.

And if you enjoyed this episode. I highly suggest checking out my episode on do You Have Unrealistic Expectations, along with my other episode on what to do if you’re feeling unmotivated. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and until next time, be calm.