Does your inner two-year old ever have a temper tantrum or a hissy fit, and refuse to do even one more thing?

Do you ever get so darned busy with stuff to do, both in your business and in your personal life, that you run into a tremendous wall of resistance?

If so, you will definitely understand why my weekly Sunday newsletter sometimes doesn’t get into your Inbox until some time after noon ET instead of around 8 or 9 am.

As I was looking around for some inspiration to get myself moving, I happened upon an article on Hubspot by Lindsay Kolowich entitled How to Motivate Yourself When You’re Absolutely Exhausted.

The article includes 10 ways to motivate yourself when your get up and go has gotten up and gone. Yet another gift from a generous universe.

The very first method Kolowich suggests is to just get started.

DUH!!!    Isn’t not being able to get started the problem in the first place?

But then she goes on to quote a study by psychology researcher Dr. John Bargh that explains the process behind this phenomenon:

Before we start on a big project, our brain attempts to simulate real, productive work by focusing on small, mindless tasks. The result? We don’t get started on the tasks that are most meaningful. And the longer we procrastinate, the more anxious we feel.

Thankfully, once you get over that hump of just starting a task, you’re more likely to work until it’s done. That’s a phenomenon called the Zeigarnik Effect, which is best defined as “the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued and left incomplete.”

That’s why, sometimes, we don’t need a particular thing to motivate us — we just need to get started, and a more focused and productive mental state can follow.

The second suggestion is to make or rework your to-do list in what Kolowich intriguingly calls the right way.

You can find the explanation of how to do this, plus the 8 other helpful suggestions (some of which might resonate particularly for you) when you click on How to Motivate Yourself When You’re Absolutely Exhausted.