4 Tips For When You’re In An Exhausted Funk & Trying To Get Your Motivation Back

Man, has it been a week. 

I just flew back from my hometown outside Kansas City the other day after being gone for a week. If you follow me on IG, you may have seen that my parents just sold the home I grew up in. 

I don’t consider myself an overly sentimental person (I was ready to throw just about everything into the dumpster out front all in the name of downsizing).

But helping my parents purge a house full of 28 years of memories was more exhausting than I bargained for. Exhausting not just physically—my climbing muscles came in handy for tossing all those giant trash bags out into the dumpster—but also emotionally exhausting. 

If you’ve experienced packing up a place where you have decades worth of memories, then you probably know what I’m talking about. My last tour around the house to say goodbye left me more teary-eyed than I’d like to admit!

Once I got back to LA the other day, I was wiped out. My expectations to immediately get back into work mode the moment I got off the plane were not at all realistic. 

I realized I needed time to process yet another big change that’s happened since the start of the pandemic (how we seem to measure time these days). 

And it made me think, it’s possible you might be feeling exhausted too. You might have a lot going on right now and wondering when you’re going to get a break from the stress. 

Or you’ve hit that wall and are feeling burned out and not sure what to do next. 

Maybe you’re a recovering perfectionist like myself and feel like you should be doing more, but you can’t seem to get motivated. 

I’ve been there, and so have many of my clients before we started working together. 

So, here are 4 tips for when you’re in an exhausted funk and are trying to get your motivation back:

1. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is you’re feeling. Shoving your emotions down to continue the hustle will only work for so long. Give yourself permission to slow down for a day and process your emotions. 

You’re human, after all. You’re supposed to feel a range of emotions (even the so-called “bad” ones). 

2. Prioritize REST. If you’re not getting the amount of sleep that you need, what’s getting in your way? What needs to change so that you can prioritize this? 

One of my clients was struggling with this and found that setting an alarm an hour before bed helped her stay on track with her bedtime routine. 

3. Stay hydrated. Your body needs plenty of water in order to function optimally. Thinking clearly and making decisions becomes harder when you’re dehydrated, so make sure to hydrate consistently throughout the day. 

If this is something you struggle with, try a motivational half gallon water bottle (I use this one) or add flavor to your water with sliced lemon or fruit. Caffeine-free teas are also good. 

4. Get your body moving. You know, what Elle Woods said: “exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy!” 

If you don’t have an exercise routine in place yet, going for a walk around the neighborhood for 30 minutes is a great place to start. 

And if this is where you really struggle in terms of motivation, then you’re just like many of my clients. My clients say that having the extra accountability and support checking in on them helps them finally get going on their movement goals, and I find it’s often a turning point in their overall confidence and motivation. 

So, which one of these do you think you need to work on a bit more—1, 2, 3, or 4? 

How are you feeling this week and which one of these things you think might help get you going in the right direction?