Staying Motivated During Quarantine

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Lisa Alioto

21 July 2020 54 comments

It can be hard at times to stay motivated when you are working from home, staying at home, and basically being at home 24/7.  Days blends into each other and weeks go by with not much changing.

So how to you differentiate your days? How do you find ways to stay productive and motivated?

Set Goals

I find that setting daily goals for myself that will make me feel productive about the day really helps.  For example, today I will take some time to clean my kitchen cupboards or today I will brainstorm ideas of projects that needs to be completed around the house.   To me, setting goals that are achievable in a day so that you each day you can celebrate a success and that there is something to sets that day apart from the next is key.

Write Your Success Story

Keeping a weekly (or monthly) journal of what you completed each day is also a strategy that can work well.  There is nothing more satisfying than reviewing your list on a Saturday night and seeing a long list of quality projects that you completed during the week.  It will motivate you for continued success and drive you to find more projects for the following week.

If You Are Still Struggling….

Sometimes setting goals can be great but getting the motivation to actually do them can still be lacking.  In times like these it’s important to know what your go to strategies are to boost your mood.

Do motivational videos give you that boost?  Does journaling help put you in a better mindset?  What about an afternoon of soothing music enhance your mood?  Whatever it is that does the trick for you the time will be well spent on that activity.  It will help you get out of the rut you may have found yourself in and essentially give you a reset on your motivation and energy levels.

How do you Stay Motivated During Quarantine?

Are projects your go-to strategy?  Do you track them mentally or on paper as a way to keep yourself motivated? What other strategies have you found helpful for keeping each day distinct and a success story?

 

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54 thoughts on “Staying Motivated During Quarantine

  1. Setting goals has been huge for me this quarantine. I treat myself to takeout whenever I hit them. I like journaling your successes for the week though! I may have to do that as well.
    Thanks for sharing.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Great idea to treat yourself for meeting your goals!

  2. I have been setting daily goals whilst being stuck inside for the past few months, it has definitely helped keep me motivated and I feel good about myself too once I tick of the goals! Its definitely important to celebrate the successes too! Great post

    Chloe xx

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Thank you Chloe – it sounds like we have similar strategies! 🙂

    2. Kimberlie says:

      I do set goals, but I love your idea of writing my success story to help me remain motivated during quarantine. Thank you for the tip.

      1. Lisa Alioto

        You are welcome Kimberlie!

  3. I work from home so I’m still living in quite a structured environment but I can definitely see how these things would be really helpful if you had a lot of empty time on your hands. I think setting goals is important regardless of the situation x

    Sophie

    1. I completely agree about setting goals – it really keeps you motivating and shooting for something beyond the day to day.

  4. My lockdown days are pretty much the same as my pre-lockdown days, accept with added video chat sessions with my partner. As for motivation, I’ve always struggled with that, but the lockdown hasn’t had much of an affect on it

    1. Lisa Alioto

      It’s a nice perk to the day to have a video chat session, isn’t it?

  5. Staying in a routine helps. Writing drafts at the same time during the day, creating pins at the same time each day. And plenty of brain breaks!

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Yes – brain breaks are a must 🙂

  6. Things haven’t changed much for me during quarantine – I work from home anyway so the only additional challenge has been juggling homeschooling – thank goodness it’s the summer holidays now! Lisa

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I bet that’s a nice weight lifted off your shoulders for now! 🙂

  7. I love using lists to stay motivated. I usually break down my tasks into smaller ones too, so that I can see my progress as I check things off the list 🙂

    1. Lisa Alioto

      That’s a great idea – it really helps you stay motivated if you can experience successes along the way to achieving the ultimate goal.

  8. Great post! Staying motivated and focused can be the hard part. Writing things down and listening to motivational videos are good ideas. Doing projects around the house can also be a productive way of dealing with it. Blogging and posting positive posts keep me motivated. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Great ideas Denise – thanks for sharing!

  9. I’m no longer working at home, but while I did music was a huge help in keeping me motivated. I also created to-do lists and checked off each activity as they were completed. I may or may not have also treated myself depending on the activity that was completed.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Ahhh music – that is a fabulous way to stay motivated and mix things up a bit! Great idea!

  10. I have found setting goals to be so helpful while working from home!

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I think setting goals is a great strategy for staying on track, busy, and productive!

  11. For me writing out my schedule of no more than three things to do has been very helpful! I am able to successfully finish those task and celebrate a win! The beginning of quarantine was very hard and it took me a while before actually implementing my goals.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I’m glad you found a winning strategy – congratulations 🙂

  12. I think I’ve been pretty motivated during quarantine in terms of my personal projects. The thing I’m struggling with is balancing all of the tasks and projects to make sure that I stay on top of all of them. I’m still working full time but mostly at home. So, that frees up some time for other things, and unfortunately, I try to take on too much sometimes. But these are great tips for staying on top of things.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I’m glad you found them helpful Laura!!

  13. Thank you for this post, Setting goals is so important.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      It really is, isn’t it! Thanks for sharing your comment Adenike!

  14. Jojo Reyes Jr says:

    Good read. Staying motivated to move on during the Covid-19 crises is important. This pandemic should not stop us from being productive every day 🙂

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Completely agree Jojo!! It can be a challenge but it’s so important to “stay in the game” even now!

  15. Its really an important topic for discussion. Everyday we are coming across suicides in different parts of the world.

    Thank you

    1. Lisa Alioto

      It’s very sad isn’t it! Especially now, the resources out there should be promoted and easily accessible to help people in need.

  16. I write out lists in my planner. The problem I have though is staying motivated through interruptions.

    1. Maybe a plan that allows for interruptions – or one that has a plan for getting on track after interruptions – would help?

  17. Lockdown has been such a rollercoaster hasn’t it! Some days I’m super motivated, some days I’ve not got dressed until lunchtime. Setting goals really helps me, even if they’re really small! Becca x

    1. Lisa Alioto

      It definitely does, doesn’t it Becca? 🙂

  18. I find that speaking to my friends about my goals helps me to stay focused on the end game as well. Thanks for sharing these tips, Lisa! 🙂

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Great way to stay accountable to them Ming! THanks for sharing!

  19. I’ve really struggled staying motivated during the last few months but I’m definitely finding that setting some tasks for the day and goals for the week is helping me just keep my focus. Sometimes I don’t care what I’m doing, as long as I’m doing something! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Yes, me too. At least something somewhat productive. 🙂

  20. Nice post. I usually set goals to keep me motivated. Reading inspiring quotes and books as well as watching motivational videos has also helped.

    1. Lisa Alioto

      This is a great list of ways to stay motivated Anita – thanks for sharing!

  21. I’ve definitely found that setting goals is helping me stay focused with what I want to do each week and working towards different projects. It’s been hard keeping it up though. Great post!

    Lindsey | https://aramblingreviewer.com/

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Thank you Lindsey – glad you enjoyed it!

  22. I find setting goals is so important!

    https://www.emilyclareskinner.com

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I agree completely Emily!

  23. I set small daily goals like emptying the dishwasher or tidying the lounge to keep me motivated but not get too overwhelmed 🙂 xx

    1. Lisa Alioto

      I do something similar – then I feel Iike I’ve made progress during the day! it’s a good feeling!

  24. Nothing works better for me as setting goals and keeping in mind what I want to reach and why I am doing that! 🙂

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Yes! That works well for me too Sandra Ans!

  25. During lockdown I completely lost track of what day of the week it was but that was ok because I had routine. I have dogs so I had to walk them then during the day I would find other things to get on with. I started painting and found out I’m quite good at it. I also started on a photo album.

    Helen
    Tea in the Tub

    1. Lisa Alioto

      Good for you Helen – it sounds like you are handling this very challenging situation very well.

  26. I definitely agree that being organised is important whilst there has been many months of working from home. So, I have found ways to break up my weekdays at the start of lovkdown by following a live workout online that’s on at the same time and so it becomes a habit. Some of the classes that I was joining moved online and so help me to remember which day of the week it is too!

    1. Lisa Alioto

      It sounds like you’ve developed some great strategies!!

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