a long time ago, maybe like 12 years ago at this point, i was reading this blog and someone was talking about advice their mom gave them for tough times:
get up and start your machines.
it meant - get up, start your laundry, your dishwasher, do your ironing - but do the things that get your space and head cleared out so that even if that’s all you do that day, your space is somewhere where you can tolerate being.
i don’t actually even like that advice - it’s not particularly eco conscious, i hate doing laundry and will 100% avoid that forever, and i haven’t ironed in years, but there’s a kernel of truth in there that i’ve taken with me ever since.
if you want to get moving, start moving wherever you feel like you can because, objects in motion tend to stay in motion - and objects at rest tend to stay at rest.
how many times have you gotten up and had a to-do list that started with something really hard, so you just…..didn’t do it? in some ways, it’s physics - it takes a lot of force to get an object that just got up and is sleepy and tired and groggy and get it to write new words on the page! but if you already have tackled your email, opened up your document, made a few notes, reread some paragraphs - it might just be easier.
even if the tasks aren’t related, doing one thing usually leads to doing more things. so say your to do list looks like this:
write 2 new pages
start laundry
answer 6 emails
grade 2 papers
workout
there can be a tendency to go in order - especially if there are things that seem like a “reward” - but if you stall out because you can’t seem to get those 2 pages written, then you still have 5 things to do. but if you jump around, you might get some energy from the workout, feel better without the emails hanging over your head, and have clean clothes to wear to start tomorrow. 3 things done is better than no things done. any motion can help get you moving.
the question i keep coming back to is: what feels possible right now? and trusting that anything i get done is going to remind me that i can do things. and that the more confidence i have in my abilities, the easier it will feel to try the hard stuff, too.
do what you can, and be proud of what you do. but if you have the resources, put them in motion. movement will breed more movement. and that will only help.