If You’re Feeling Down, Here Are 11 Tricks To Motivate Yourself

“I have found a way to trick me into doing stuff: If I’m lying on the couch, basically feeling like complete shit but I know I should rather go buy groceries and cook a meal I tell myself: I’m going to feel like shit no matter what. If I continue lying here, I’ll feel like shit, if I go buy groceries and cook, I’ll feel like shit. The only difference is that doing stuff and being active will probably help me long term. So if I’ll feel shitty no matter what, I might as well do the thing that will help make me feel better eventually. It kinda helps me to deal with the shitty feeling and I can get myself to do the stuff I should be doing. Doesn’t work all the time but often enough.” — mr_irritatingpants

“I pretend that I’m a robot to do very small singular tasks at a time. I really get myself into the mindset that my own motivation doesn’t matter at all.” — pls_send_serotonin

“If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly. A perfect example is brushing your teeth: Haven’t brushed your teeth in months? Just go to the sink, stick the toothbrush in your mouth, and scrub for a few seconds. Don’t aim for perfection, just give it a half-assed attempt for 5 seconds. You’ll start to build a habit of brushing, and you’ll start to brush better every time. And also, do things one step at a time. Getting out of bed does not equal you needing to clean the entire house, but maybe that coffee table needs to be tidied up a bit? Maybe toss the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, but it doesn’t need to be run today. Point is, you’re doing things that have positive rewards to them. You’ll start to see those rewards as something you want more of. Eventually, cleaning will become less and less of a chore, and more about keeping the things you have clean and nice looking because you actually like them. Wallowing in bed really is counterproductive, but wallowing in bed one day isn’t something to beat yourself up over. Learn to forgive yourself and keep reminding yourself that bad days are ok to have. Things are going to get better.” — Samura1_I3

“I find that checklists help me. The act of writing them and getting to cross things off helps motivate me as well as hold me accountable without adding any anxiety or pressure.” — epaerl

“I have a little mason jar, every time I do something — eat breakfast, take a walk — I add a dinosaur to a jar. It makes me super happy when I drop in a dinosaur and hear it *clunk* together with the other ones.” — rcsepetalz

“I play ‘medieval peasant’ so I have to physically react like a medieval peasant to everything in my house that I use. Use an electric toothbrush? I have to wonder at the magic. Clean running water? I have to shriek in joy, now I won’t get the plague! Food in the fridge? Oh my life is bountiful! Automatic lights in the building? Ah! The light knoweth when I doth move!!! Plants on the windowsill? They must be thirsty have a drink, oh my what a beautiful pot this must be sorcery! People look at you like you’re crazy but the confusion on their faces is worth it and medieval me is very pleased with my life.” — sheepinthewoods

“Celebrating the little things. I’m currently trying to do ‘five a day,’ and to non depressives they probably seem tiny but to me they are huge. Like today I got showered, got dressed, made a lunch from scratch, went for a walk, and put some laundry in the washer (bonus point, it’s hung up too!). Whoo, successful day!” — colliewob

“I honestly just try to make the next hour, next few minutes, whatever amount of time, better for my future self. Lots of ‘I’ll be glad I did this later.’ Even simple things like cleaning ONE mug at night so I don’t have to clean it for coffee.” — DeathsSpit

“Sounds stupid and super weird but silently imagine you’re being recorded for a tutorial or a time lapse for simple tasks. I know it’s stupid but when I’m so down and everything I do seems so tedious I imagine this. I describe what I’m doing in my mind as I’m doing it as if I’m teaching someone else. It just makes it more entertaining to cook or do my daily routine.” — LetsFightRn

“I trick myself into thinking I want to do a thing. Same way you might hype up a dog before going for a walk, but telling myself, ‘Oooo, time for a shower! Are you excited or what?!? How amazing it’s shower time, hooraaay! Go get your towel! Get your towel! That hot water’s gonna feel soooooo good, go get it! Go get the shower!’” — biotinylated

“I turn on the kitchen timer for 20-25 minutes and get as much done as possible. The rule is that I have to keep working and can’t sit down. It’s amazing how much you can get done. I also give myself very small tasks and cross them off the list when I do them.” — [deleted]