Here’s why your lack of motivation has a purpose… and how to make the most of it
Earlier this week I texted my friend:
Motivation = Zero.
My schedule this week was lighter, with fewer commitments and more open space.
As I started to plan my week my immediate inclination was to think, oh great, I have time to tackle some of those projects and random to-do list tasks that often get pushed from week to week.
But every time I would think about starting one of them, I felt a visceral resistance to even beginning.
I knew I could choose to override the resistance and push through, but that would be me trying to force flow.
And I learned long ago that:
1. Forcing flow never works
2. The resistance is there for a reason.
But I also didn’t want to feel like I was “wasting” my week doing nothing.
So I found myself wondering:
How do I still let this week feel productive?
What is the reason for this resistance?
How can I find purpose in this week (even if it looks untraditional to standard productivity definitions)?
That's when I realized... The best use of my week was using that space as time for my brain to integrate what I’ve already done.
Almost like getting a software upgrade that allows my brain to then have the capacity for what comes next.
Here's why this works:
There's a difference between being in flow and forcing flow.
It's that moment where you keep telling yourself "just one more thing".
Where you're doing, but nothing is going smoothly.
When everything feels harder than it should, and nothing is clicking into place.
That’s usually the point where you’ve shifted out of flow and into force.
And here’s where this gets important:
Often in those moments what would actually support you most is NOT doing more (despite what your brain might be telling you).
Instead it might look like:
Diving down a rabbit hole of something that interests you
Putting Netflix on and blobbing for a bit.
Going out with friends.
Letting yourself enjoy something just for the sake of enjoyment.
You're not alone if you feel like making that choice to do the "not productive thing" is hard.
Because your nervous system might not yet feel fully safe with that kind of productivity pause.
We’ve been conditioned to keep going.
To equate movement with progress.
To believe that if we stop, we fall behind.
Or that we need to keep doing in order to prove that we’re doing enough… that we are enough.
So choosing to stop, before you’re completely depleted, can feel....uncomfortable.
Even when it’s exactly what you need.
But this is something you can actually practice.
You can teach your system, over time:
I can pause.
I can step away.
I can enjoy something… and everything will still be okay.
And those moments matter more than they seem.
Because they start to shift you out of that constant “keep going” mode…
into something much more sustainable.
Where your energy isn’t coming from pressure… but from alignment.
Because “enough” isn’t just about how much you’ve done.
It’s about recognizing the point where "doing more" actually becomes counterproductive.
And beginning to understand that the pause IS a form of productivity. Not by what you can see on the outside, but by all that's being accomplished on the inside.
You're not shutting everything down.
You're choosing from a place of discernment.
Knowing which definition of productive is perfect for the moment you're in.
And that by choosing to take the pause when you need it, you're actually able to do more once your body and brain are "back online" again and ready for the next phase.
