Episode 137: 4 Productivity Tips to Overcome Your Lack of Motivation as You Quit Teaching

Are you feeling a lack of motivation lately? Is it difficult to stay focused?

Lack of motivation comes from so many places. It comes from lack of routine, stress, from there being so much on your shoulders that you can’t get excited about doing anything else.

That’s why, on this episode of the Ditch the Classroom podcast, I’m sharing four productivity tips to help you stay focused on why you are doing what you are doing, along with prioritizing what you are called to do.

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Have any questions for me? Feel free to send me an email at arianna@ariannavernier.com or on Instagram @arianna.vernier! I love chatting with y’all and helping you hit the ground running. Are you ready? Let’s go.

Love,

Arianna

Full Episode Transcription:

(00:07):
Hey. Hey y’all. Today’s episode is all about overcoming your lack of motivation. I know we just wrapped up Thanksgiving, We’ve got Christmas coming very quickly, and it can be hard to feel motivated in, you know, starting your virtual assistant business so that you can start working from home and quit your teaching job at the end of the school year. So I just wanna let you know that lack of motivation can come from so many places. It comes from lack of routine. It can come from stress, from there being so much on your shoulders that you can’t get excited about doing anything else. So today’s episode I’m gonna share with you four productivity tips to help you stay focused on why you’re doing what you’re doing, along with prioritizing what you’re called to do.

(02:05):
So the first tip I have for you is to mix things up. Sometimes things just get monotonous, which can feed that lack of motivation. So think about how you can change your schedule around or do something fun and different that would just make it more fun to do whatever you are not motivated to do. So this some examples are work at a coffee shop. You can maybe take a half-day and go do something for yourself. Any of those things just to like kind of break up your routine. Number two is to tackle that your highest payoff items first. When you try to tackle everything on your to-do list, sometimes we like to try to do the easiest things first, but by the time the afternoon comes around, you’re over it and you’re not actually doing the things that are going to move the needle and allow you to, you know, quit your teaching job or whatever it is you’re trying to do. And so if you’re in one of those unmotivated seasons, obviously you still have to get things done. So if you can make your to-do list and then take what’s income producing, growth producing or time sensitive, and move it to the top of the list and do it first, that way, even if you don’t finish your list, you’re still getting the most important tasks done and you’re gonna just feel amazing.

(03:32):
Number three is to revisit your why. Ask yourself, why am I doing what I’m trying to do? Why am I pursuing this virtual assistant business so that I can quit teaching? What is my why behind wanting to do that? Write it down. Put it somewhere that you can see every day. This is a huge motivation driver. If you can remember on the days where it’s a little bit of a struggle, exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing that’s going to help you, you know, find that drive to pursue it.

(04:08):
Number four is to have an accountability partner. Sometimes, unfortunately, it’s easy not to hold ourselves accountable, but I know for me, and I know for a lot of you, it’s hard to let others down. So if you just take two minutes to think about someone who’s running a similar race as you, somebody who is going to push you, ask them if they would be your accountability partner, and you can even come into our free Facebook community, facebook.com/groups/ditchtheclassroom and post in there that you’re looking for an accountability partner. That’s a great place to connect with someone there if you don’t know somebody like in your life already. And then with that accountability partner, set up a time with them each day or once a week to check in and see like how the to-do list tasks are coming along and make sure you’re both making forward momentum.

(05:04):
This doesn’t have to be a zoom call or anything like that. It can be if you want it to be, but it could just be like a quick message to each other. “Hey, did you get that done?” And that will hold you accountable. You guys, these four productivity tips are gonna help you stay productive when that lack of motivation comes. Lack of motivation comes from any direction and any season. So knowing what to do and how to combat it when it happens will help you push through. All right? Also, if you are ready to do what it takes to step out of teaching and become a virtual assistant, I invite you to join the Teacher Turned Freelancer Academy TTFA gives you the accountability and support that you need to stay motivated, and it also gives you bite-size trainings, templates, tools, questions and answers, everything you know to grow your virtual assistant business so you can start working from home with your babies faster.

(06:02):
So come and join us there in the Teacher Turned Freelancer Academy. That’s at teacherturnedfreelancer.com, and I cannot wait to give you virtual hugs when you join us. Let me recap for you, real quick, the four productivity tips I have to help you stay focused when you’re struggling with motivation. Number one is to mix things up. Number two is to tackle your highest payoff items first. Number three is to revisit your why, and number four is to have an accountability partner. All right, y’all, I pray that these tips bless you and you can find a new sense of motivation as you keep your vision of quitting teaching front and center. And I just hope that you have a great week and we will see you back here on Thursday.