January Blues: What to do when Motivation Hasn't Come Knocking

I’m in a rut.

Having put a lot of energy into building my business last year, I’ve kicked off 2025 with almost no motivation to keep moving forward.

This week in particular has been a rough ride. Nothing is really sparking joy and the usual stuff that makes me feel lighter isn't hitting in the same way.

The Han of two years ago would've been in her 3rd existential crisis of the week, thinking everything was broken and that nothing could be fixed.

Luckily I've put the reps in and have figured out ways to keep my head above water - even if all I can do right now is to survive, the reminder that that's better than drowning is really helpful.

So, I've kept note of all of the things that have helped me to keep moving forward this week, even in more challenging times.

Motivation is temporary, always

I’ve written before about the importance of consistency and commitment rather than motivation (it’s the the very thing that has me sitting in a cafe writing this instead of burrowing under a blanket for the foreseeable).

Motivation comes and goes. It’s amazing when it strikes and really challenging when it doesn’t. I’ve also found that it’s incredibly difficult to create motivation when I really don’t feel like doing the thing - and at the moment the thing can be any task, personal or professional.

Over the past week I’ve been reminding myself of this, almost hourly. Feeling de-motivated doesn’t have to have a bigger or more life-defining meaning - it's really normal to have motivation levels that ebb and flow, the key is remaining committed in the face of that.

January doesn’t have to mean new beginnings

There’s a lot of pressure that comes with this month.

Some people really thrive in being able to wipe the slate clean and start again. Others (like me) find that expectation insufferable.

It’s all stuff I’ve internalised, because the reality is you can change direction in your life whenever you like, it just feels safer to do it at the beginning of a new year as there's a broader meaning for the change to be attached to (and we kinda love that).

I feel like I have to have some grand plan that amounts to something bigger and better than the stuff I’m already working on. The absence of that grand plan is likely contributing to that overall feeling of de-motivation I'm experiencing - the truth is I know the direction I'm heading in and I'm generally excited about it, I just feel like I'm fighting to make it happen instead of being in a flow state.

Now is the time for self-compassion

I coach a lot of clients and encourage them to create ways to remain self-compassionate in times of resistance and struggle - yet I still haven’t quite cracked how to make this happen for myself.

When I’m struggling to engage with work I find my inner-critic becomes pretty loud. I don’t have the energy to do much so I get into a spiral of letting it determine how I view myself.

For example, I’m writing this and I don’t like any of it. My inner-critic is telling me that it’s pointless posting it, it’s not in line with the direction I’m wanting to move in and that no-one really cares. Yet I'm still writing it, I'll still post it and I'll be grateful that I did.

And on a day with greater motivation and desire I’d have the resources to gently tell that voice to do one, but today it’s on top of me and there’s no distance between me and the voice - which feels pretty crap.

Instead of resisting that reality, I’ve learnt that acceptance is way more effective. It means the discomfort dissipates far quicker than constantly fighting it.

I’m not falling behind, it’s only Jan 10th

I have this sense that because I haven’t kicked off the year feeling invigorated that everything is going to go wrong.

Whilst it’s clear that’s an anxious thought that needs re-framing, it’s one that’s persistently niggled at me for the past week.

Expectations make things worse, almost always

I had such a different image of how my January would start. I was banking on the festive break to restore my energy. I had plans of waltzing into January and hitting the ground running.

I’m almost certain that if I’d had zero expectations of how this year would begin I’d feel 10x better than I do right now. It’s a lesson in accepting that there are very few things in our circle of control, and something that falls readily outside of mine is the ability to predict the future (shock!)

Nothing is actually broken

I’m putting most of my effort now into re-framing and tapping into a more positive outlook. A huge part of that for me is accepting that I feel this way right now, and also reminding myself that all feelings are temporary - including motivation droughts.

Active gratitude

In the interest of making a step in a more positive direction, here are some of the things I have managed to feel grateful for this week:

• Strong British Tea
• Blue skies and crisp winter mornings
• Starting the month with 5 new clients
• Our new kittens (cordially named Jack + James)

If you're in a similar vibe this January I really hope this article has gone some way in helping you feel less alone.

Love and other nice stuff,

Han

You'll spend an average of 90,000 hours at work, figure out how best to spend them.

I‘m Hannah Roan

Professional Coach and Career Mentor

I post on The Career Croissant every Friday at 9am. Stay tuned!