1) HAVE A SOLID MORNING ROUTINE

Now, you’ve probably heard this 100 times, but now more than ever, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of picking up your phone and being victim to all of this crazy stuff that is going on, and that is NOT going to make you feel productive for the rest of the day. 

It doesn’t need to be this crazy, over the top routine. Just a few simple things that you know are going to kickstart your brain and get your body moving before you get distracted by what the world is telling you is going on.

For me, that looks like moving my body, journaling, and getting ready.

2) HAVE A CLEAN AND CLUTTER FREE SPACE

Because you are going to be spending so much time in your house, you want to make sure it is clutter and distraction-free. 

Even if you don’t have a designated office space, that is fine. Just make sure wherever you are doing your creative work is clean. 

Not to mention, the act itself of cleaning can be incredibly soothing. 

A clean space just makes it so much easier to breathe, to think, and to be creative.

3) HAVE AN EXCITING PROJECT TO WORK ON

While you have more time than you usually would, choose to use it wisely. 

Whatever it is that you’re doing…

Maybe it is building a business or a side hustle, which by the way, if you are trying to build a business and are feeling overwhelmed, I created a FREE 3 part video training just for you (let’s get rid of that overwhelm).

Maybe it’s some other type of creative project. 

Whatever it is, just make sure you have something fun and challenging to take up your time. 

The more time you spend in a flow state the happier you will be (proven fact). But, also, the closer you will be to achieving your goals.

Whatever it is: take a course, learn a new skill, launch that program. 

Trust me, once this craziness is over, you will really regret it if you didn’t take advantage of this time while you have it.

4) BASICALLY, BE ORGANIZED

You want to be ultra-diligent with your calendar and planning method.

Parkinson’s law states that a project will essentially expand or contract based on how much time you allocate to it. 

So, basically, if you give yourself 2 weeks to launch that podcast, it’s going to take you 2 weeks to launch that podcast. Whereas, if you committed to making it happen…say…tomorrow…you will get it done.

So, use your calendar wisely, schedule your days, schedule all your creative projects, but also make sure you are scheduling your downtime and your time to work on yourself. Because that is super super important in these times of stress.

5) HAVE A MIDDAY RESET

Something that keeps me motivated is having an active midday reset. 

Whether it’s doing a quick clean of your space or my preferred method of having a boogie around my house. Or, maybe take your dog for a walk.

Just the act of shifting any funky energy that has come up throughout the day will help you to reset your mind and reset your body so you can use the rest of the day to be more productive. 

6) PLAY THE PHONE IS LAVA

Nothing is more un-motivating than being distracted by the constant influx of craziness on social media and in the news right now.

Honestly, if you really want to stay creative, productive and motivated while you are stuck at home, anytime you find yourself mindlessly picking up your phone, get rid of it as quickly as you possibly can.

Of course it’s important to stay up to date with what is going on, but you don’t need to be on your phone 100 times a day. It’s going to rob you of your creativity, of your inspiration and it’s going to leave you feeling really unmotivated. And, probably, really stressed out.

So make sure to put your phone away, out of sight, out of mind, and then you can allocate some time at the end of the day to check it and keep up to date with everything that’s going on (AFTER you’ve worked on your creative projects and gotten some things that make you feel good done).

7) HAVE A SUPPORT NETWORK

But, also, the reality is, that being stuck at home can be really lonely. 

So you want to make sure you have a positive network that is supporting you. People that you can sit down with and express how you’re feeling. Whether it is someone who is living with you or you call a friend up on FaceTime. 

It is completely fine to feel emotions, like I’ve said, the world is crazy at the moment, but bottling up those emotions is really really unhealthy. 

So if you are living alone or are bottling up your emotions in some way, just make sure you do reach out to someone to chat it out with so you can get back to feeling motivated and productive.

8) GIVE YOURSELF SPACE TO RESET

And, finally, as important as it is for you to stay motivated and productive so you don’t fall into this quicksand of Netflix and snacks, it is also important to give yourself space. 

A coach I once had told me:

Motivation is like a bow and arrow. Sometimes you need to pull back to be able to move forward with power.

So, just be really discerning here. So plan, be organized, work on creative projects, but also, don’t feel guilty if you need to just chill out for a bit. 

It’s totally ok to be human. It’s totally ok to experience emotions. Don’t go one way or the other. 

Don’t use work to distract yourself from how you’re feeling, but also don’t allow yourself to wallow in your emotions and feel like it’s the end of the world because, honestly, I really don’t think it is. 

Nothing is the end of the world, until the end of the world and you can still use the time you have now so that future you is thankful for how active and motivated you were to take action.