Motivation doesn’t have to be loud or exhausting. This gentle reminder is for anyone who’s tired, overwhelmed, and still doing their best in real life.
People like me.
Side story — and a true one.
When I was young, I was quite the thespian and frequently cast as much older characters.
In fact, I once played the Judge in Ten Little Indians. Spoiler alert: I was the bad guy.
I vividly remember doing my theatrical makeup to look “old.” Bags under my eyes. Wrinkles drawn on with an eyebrow pencil.
Now nature has taken care of that quite nicely.
Because I am. Older, more tired.
Even though I’m tired, I’m motivated not to do things perfectly, but to do things that make my life easier.
I’m not particularly disciplined but I know what keeps me going and what keeps my mind clear.
Here are a few things that motivate me even though I’m tired.
Clean & Tidy the House
👉 Keeping the House Clean (Not Spotless)
In my book, clean means livable and not spotless.
Clean means I can breathe easier when I walk into a room.
I have three cats and most likely I should vacuum every day. But I do not.
What motivates me the most to vacuum (please do not laugh) is trash day. Yes.
I like to get the house vacuumed and the cannister emptied outside before the trash is collected. So Sundays will usually find me running the vac around.
And you can see that I’m stylin’ wearing my emerald green pants, pink shoes and new knee brace.
Am I a mess or what? I’m obviously not dressed for cleaning on Instagram.
We do run the stick vac around to capture errant globs of hair, dust bunnies or crumbs off the kitchen floor, but a whole-house job is just once or twice a week.
Oh, and when I miss my Monday trash day deadline, I might get cranky. Best to get a little motivation here.
Cook Healthy(ish) Homemade Food
👉 Cooking Healthy(ish) Food at Home
We absolutely do NOT eat fancy here. But eat, we do.
And we cook food that we actually want to eat. Most meals are on repeat week after week.
Yes, I still manage to overeat. No, I still do not like to cook.
But the food we purchase, prepare and cook feeds us as kindly as possible.
I got up early Sunday morning and put together vegetable soup in the crockpot and baked a loaf of sourdough.
As far as comfort food goes, it’s pretty healthy.
It’s so much easier for me to be motivated to make a meal in the morning, so slow cookers are the way to go. By midafternoon my energy has flagged and I have no interest in meal prep.
Get Exercise
👉 Finding Ways to Move My Body
As I age, I’ve needed to find new ways to move my body without pain.
Running that vac feels a little like exercise. All movement counts.
Especially on tired days.
We’ve had such lovely weather, I hate to waste a minute of it.
So to be kind to myself, I rest and read for as long as I can sit still. And when the sun warms up a bit, I’ll don a long-sleeve shirt or jacket and get some fresh air and sunshine.
Over the weekend I was really tired, but I pulled myself out the door and walked to the park. There was so much good energy with a lot of birthday parties, and dog walkers and even a coffee truck I treated myself to.
The weather was almost like a perfect October day with leaves falling. I was SO happy I got out!
Some days I get a lot of exercise and some days it’s gonna be the vacuum. They both count.
Wrap Up
Motivation doesn’t come first for me. But the relief I feel with a job behind me does.
If you’re tired too, you’re not alone.
I’m not going to be entering any races or get on the cover of a House Beautiful, but this is real life and what works for me.
Thank you for joining me once again. And as always, may God bless you and yours.