Need A Boost? 10 Ways To Stay Motivated And Energized
During this pandemic, it has become easy to fall out of routine and find yourself feeling stuck in a pool of laziness. Don’t let this stop your progress! Here are 10 ways to stay motivated and energized!
By: Lauryn Bass
During this pandemic, it has become easy to fall out of routine and find yourself feeling stuck in a pool of laziness. Don’t let this stop your progress! It’s okay to have cheat days; it’s always important to rest and take some time to self-indulge — but your journey doesn’t have to end there. When you find yourself lacking motivation and needing a boost, try these things to get you back on track!
1. Keep water in your space.
Staying up past midnight and sleeping in until 3pm has become such a routine that our bodies start to miss the essential water intake during the irregular sleeping cycles. This can lead to dehydration, which then explains the sluggishness that we all are experiencing. Keeping water in your system as much as possible during the day can help you keep your energy high.
2. Try eating fruit for dessert.
Late night sweet tooth is REAL! But it doesn’t always have to be full of calories. Try reaching for the foods with natural sugars to tame this craving in the midnight hours. You can even search up different ways to make cool snacks out of fruit that mimic the style of a classic dessert.
3. Find quick 10 minute workouts on YouTube.
Going to the gym during the pandemic is a NO-GO! This has led to many families incorporating an at-home gym. If you don’t have access to this kind of equipment, exercise videos are the way to go. Many trainers have posted various workouts that target specific areas of the body that are perfect to perform right on your living room floor. I guarantee a couple laughs along the way as you listen to each trainer who are also very good entertainers as well.
4. Commit to a personal challenge.
Challenging yourself can bring excitement and fulfillment once it is completed. Some can be mental and others can be physical, nonetheless, results of growth are always the end-goal. Some examples of challenges found in the threads of social media are the #GallonWaterChallenge, #JumpRopeChallenge, #SquatChallenge, #YogaChallenge, and #Plexers. There’s plenty to research and try that will surely get you out of a funk. Different challenges can range from 3-30 days and of course when you’re done, try another!
5. Try a challenge with your friends.
It’s always more fun to do things with others! We’re all quarantining together, so invite your friends to track their progress of a detox with you. Try an oatmeal-banana facial mask, stretching until you can do a split, a detox lemon-water, and take pictures along the way.
6. Pick up a new sport.
Social distancing doesn’t mean that you can’t go outside. So try a new outdoor sport! Roller skating has become super popular lately and can be practiced in the empty streets of your neighborhood or in your driveway. Find that dusty hula hoop in your garage from years ago and shake those hips in the sunlight. This is sure to get your heart rate going faster than when you’re sitting on the couch.
7. Keep records of your achievements.
The year of 2020 will go down in history. We need to have stories to tell our children about what all we experienced during the pandemic. In all seriousness, journaling or taking pictures are great ways to express the feelings of the memories that will be with us forever from this moment.
8. Visionboard to keep inspiration around you.
It’s always good to keep a visual representation of your goals in eye-view. As much as hearing your affirmations is a great way to keep things positive, seeing them in their true form is as well. Get out your arts and crafts to begin creating posters of where you want to be in life. Look at your art and work towards it!
9. Buy your dream outfit.
This is an old trick from the book for if you’re looking for a change in your physique. Trying to fit into those pants you’ve been eyeing or that dress you’ve been dying to purchase? Go ahead and buy it in the size that you’re trying to achieve. Try it on and visualize how much work you have to do until you reach your goal, and then use it as motivation.
10. Remember why you want to be healthy.
Your body has been through everything with you. In order to continue this journey, you have to give it all the tools needed for success. Everyone’s version of success is different, and once you find what yours is, your health journey will feel more like one of self-love.
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Walking Into Your Purpose As A Creative
For many creatives, quarantine brought a since of uncertainty, but also time to prepare and gain clarity on career endeavors. Walking into your purpose as a creative is a journey.
By: James Teague
Ever since the start of the pandemic for COVID-19, I’ve been focusing more on making creative content. When society decided to shut down and go into quarantine, I recognized there was more time to put my focus and energy towards working on my goals. Working towards my goals of planning and creating content during COVID-19 hasn’t been an easy task.
It has its moments each and every other week. One week I could be inspired and ready to tap in and put all my ideas together and have a plan. Then the next week I’m feeling lazy and unmotivated wondering where did all my creative energy go. One day during quarantine, I remember while working on this writing I had asked for some feedback. They asked me if I knew what my purpose was. When I started to formulate an answer, my mind was drawing a blank. At first, it threw me off for a minute. I was thinking about how even with my experience from the last 3 years which helped shape me all around as a growing young man that I still didn't know my purpose. After about those few minutes of wrestling with my realization,, I concluded that I still not sure about what my purpose was.
For several years, I’ve been on this personal journey discovering who I am and what God wants me to learn while I'm still here. Living through each stage of my life, I knew deep down there’s just so much more towards life than just simply waking up, going to work, paying your bills, and dying. The one thing that I know for certain is that God has blessed me with the gift of writing and storytelling. As a creative writer, when I put time and effort towards focusing on my craft, I can paint a real vivid picture with my writing. I would always hear about the concept “walking in your purpose,” and I would equate that towards having a job/career. I’ve been learning more recently that one doesn’t have to really equate to the other.
Even though at times I’m still dealing with “imposter syndrome,” I’m reminded through the messages God sends me whether from my peers paying attention to how I construct my social media or if I happen to see random messages that suddenly grab my attention. I'm working towards owning my role more as a creative content writer. Doing this I understand that it’s going to take focus, discipline, patience, and lastly faith in God & in myself. Becoming the best version of you doesn’t happen overnight. One of the bright sides about my COVID-19 experience was recognizing how blessed that I am during this time of the unknown. When I know that during a pandemic that I still have a stable job, stable income plus finally budgeting my finances and paying off on my bills, you really realize in these moments that sometimes it’s really just the simple things that matter.
But I can't help to think that even with what I've manifested and accomplished, I can do so much better on my walk as a writer as long as I can focus more on being consistent and executing my plans on making my dream life come to fruition. I’ve always been writing since childhood. I first started writing fictional dragon ball Z stories and then in high school I graduated to writing music reviews and talking about the school sports teams. I wrote for my university's school newspaper and covered important figures at my university and in the city. I also continued writing music reviews. Then after graduation, I joined Elite Daily that summer and started doing freelance writing on life topics that millennials were dealing with such as dating and my own personal experiences. And yes you guessed it, I was covering topics on music and entertainment.
Throughout the course of my time I’ve written for different publications and platforms. The more I think clearly on the content I've done, I realize that I actually know what it is I want with my dreams. Really I can sometimes just lack the direction of really knowing how to start and where to take my ideas. I'm constantly looking and searching for the answers. It gets frustrating when the answers don't come to me at that exact moment. I’ve learned more on this journey that sometimes it just takes time for an answer to reveal its. Patience has really been a virtue to me in this process.
The thing that keeps me committed to my journey as a creative is keeping my focus on God and allowing him to lead the way on what my options are. As creatives, when we're working towards our higher selves, it's important to understand that God is forever tied towards our gifts because he is the one who ordained us the role that we currently have with “walking into our purpose.” When you’re having a hard time wanting to know and understand what it is that God wants you to do with your purpose, the best thing to do is practice what Matthew 6:33 says. “Seek out God & then eventually God will find you.” When walking in your purpose (whether you're a creative or not), it’s important to really understand that this walk takes time.
We don’t have the answers for the questions that we ask God. Through time and devotion, eventually God will reveal his answer to you when the time comes. We all are living in seasons. Sometimes the current season that you’re in is just the “waiting season.” Until it’s THAT season, live and create one day at a time. Do whatever it takes and do whatever makes your spirit feel good. This isn't a normal time at all with COVID-19 going on. Only time will tell once we realize that we’re finally starting to walk in our purpose.
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9 Tips For Increasing Your Energy in Low Times
During this rising pandemic, it can be easy to fall into a funk or experience lack of motivation. Here are 9 tips for increasing your energy in low times!
By: Lauryn Bass
During this rising pandemic, it can be easy to fall into a funk. With this new social isolation, a lot of us are challenged with our priorities. The atmosphere of summer is being toyed with the work that is being stacked on our heads. Students and adults are having to telecommute within the comfort of their beds which may lead to distractions or a lack of motivation. This transition has plenty of opportunity to go left or right, but it is up to you to steer the course into a successful direction. All that is needed is a shift of energy in a couple of different ways.
1. Keep Water In Your System
Staying hydrated will keep you on task. When the body gets dehydrated, the body becomes lethargic. It slows down progress when the tank isn’t full, so fill up on some h20!
2. Set Goals
Work tends to pile up as things are balancing out. For example, with online classes becoming the predominant form of teaching for students who are used to on-campus learning, to compensate for the homework, lectures have transitioned to packets, worksheets, and other unnecessary assignments. As you try to tackle each project, plan how to reach the long-term goal with short-term goals.
3. Take Breaks
In between each set increment, take some time to breathe. Get up and move around. Sing or do a little dance. Check on your notifications, plants, pets, or just walk around to unwind for a minute before refocusing back to your target.
4. Get More Sleep
Now that beds are a lot more convenient to use, take advantage of power naps! Get that little wink of sleep in between the day’s duties. Also, at night, try to get more sleep. Aim for that 7-8 hour mark of shut-eye so that while you're busy with objectives, the bed won’t be calling your name.
5. Eat Clean
Don’t fall into a pit of unfulfilling foods. With the scarcity of food, try to snack on items that give you lasting energy over sugar-filled items that run through you. Indulge here and there, but keep your meals centered around nutrients and vitamins.
6. Go On DND
This alone time can open up a space for creativity. Ideas can flow and there is ample opportunity to build new things. Take a break from social media and allow your time to be used up by other interests of yours that may have become an overlooked hobby.
7. Stay Optimistic
Fake news is real honey! Trying to fish through what is made up from the darkness of the truth can be very overwhelming and begin to spread negativity. Continue to keep high-spirits by constantly reassuring yourself. Staying grounded can be achieved through reciting positive affirmations or posting them around you to keep you uplifted. Things ARE going to get better and you WILL succeed!
8. Reach Out To Friends
Even though you’re separated physically, communication with your besties can be achieved via technology! Find innovative ways to call them as we did with Oovoo, Houseparty, and Skype. Send iPhone games, start streaks, schedule FaceTimes and truly catch up with your loved ones in an intimate way that may not have been explored when life as we knew it was on a different track.
9. Exercise
Get yourself moving! Even if it’s for 15 minutes a day, take a nice walk, jog, or run! Stretch and use joints that would be dormant on a norm. Dance, jumprope, bike, skate, etc. The list is endless!
The coronavirus may have shut down society but it does not have to shut you down! Little by little, this challenge will be overcome with our perseverance. This reality check is only helping us come face-to-face with who we are as people and helping us use what we have learned and built for better. With these few reminders to attach to our day, society will soon return to a new way that we appreciate and we will be stronger from it.
Meet Lauryn Bass, contributing writer to 247 Live Culture!