PODCAST: How to Get Motivated to Clean After the Holidays (When You’re Completely Burnt Out)
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[00:00:00] If you were doing great at keeping a clean house before Christmas
and now you can't seem to get your cleaning motivation back, you're not lazy, most likely you're just burnt out or overwhelmed or both.
One of my members of my cleaning routine membership hopped onto the community and said that they were finally feeling super on track, super motivated. They were on top of their house thanks to my podcast cleaning routines. But
then Christmas happened in between the holiday, family visits, illnesses, and life just happening it all unraveled for her, and she was struggling to find the motivation again to get started. So if you also feel like you're drowning and
can't get momentum back, no matter how much you try, then this video is for you.
I'm gonna give you a step-by-step plan first on what to do to get your momentum back.
Then I'm going to give you some rapid fire tips and tricks to help you be motivated and to start getting back into a routine. And if you need a routine, then check out my video here and it'll outline my daily, weekly cleaning routine so that you can do it too.
Step one, you need to stop shaming yourself for being lazy or unmotivated or for [00:01:00] falling behind. The truth is after the holidays, a lot of people feel this drop in energy and motivation, and it's really not a personal failure at all.
Routines get disrupted. You've just come off of handling this massive mental load of wrapping up your year. Presents for kids, events, scheduling things, creating magical moments.
It's just a lot!
That "I can't get back on top of things" feeling is often just burnout that you're calling and shaming yourself for being "lazy." So step one, stop doing that.
Step two is to stop waiting for Monday, or the perfect time to get back on track and start your routine again. So many of us want to wait for a clean start Monday, the beginning of the month, next week, "once things calm down a little."
But things rarely fully calm down. Those fresh starts are not going to make a difference. You really just need to start getting the ball rolling. So what actually works is to start where you are. So for example, if it's Thursday, do [00:02:00] Thursday's cleaning routine if you're following mine.
Or just set 15 minutes and start on one task. Only doing one small thing still counts and still builds momentum.
Step three is to ease back into the routine instead of forcing it,
trying to jump right back into your old productivity levels. Doing everything you were doing before is just a quick way to shut yourself down. So instead, start with small, manageable tasks and maybe do a portion of your routine instead of your whole routine or a portion of the cleaning that needs to get done instead of all of the cleaning that needs to get done.
So if you're following my cleaning routine, then I would recommend skipping the weekly tasks for the first week that are things like bathrooms the fridges and all that. And just focus on the high impact tasks that if you don't do them are what really builds up and drives you nuts. So that's a load of laundry every day.
Picking up clutter and doing the dishes.
Then as you get your momentum back, you can start adding on those weekly tasks again and airing the beds.
Step four is to let sound do the heavy lifting for you. This came up a lot in our community thread. When your brain is exhausted, then the decision [00:03:00] making is the hardest part. The policing yourself to stay on task, and that's why my podcast, cleaning routines and audio routines are so helpful.
You don't have to figure out what to clean, how long to clean it, how to clean it, because I guide you through everything. In timed increments, all you have to do is hit play and you get to listen to an audio book like Anna Green Gables and Little Women, or a 1950s radio show like Dragnet or Father Knows Best.
I literally created my routines for the days when the motivation is gone, but you still want to make some progress without having to think. And I've got some free episodes for you to try both here in this playlist on YouTube as well as in the show notes.
Now for some rapid fire tips and tricks to help you feel a little bit more motivated. Though I do have to say and preface this with a little disclaimer, that motivation is kind of a myth. We think motivation is something that we're going to have before we start, and the truth is motivation is something that comes after we start.
You are not going to just feel like cleaning [00:04:00] one day and then all of a sudden feel like cleaning every day. It really is just something that comes after you start, after you do it when you don't feel like it. Okay, but these little hacks and tips can help.
The first quick motivation tip is to invite people over for some date in the future, no further away than a week because chances are you're going to still procrastinate the cleaning a little bit,
And if it's too far out, then that's really going to delay when things are back on track. So invite friends over for something you're actually excited about. A girl's night, a craft night, a movie night dinner. That future date becomes like kind of a deadline to get the cleaning done and get back on track, but it's still something that you can kind of look forward to.
The next tip is the opposite of that. Great for introverts, this is something that I do regularly, and if you have ADHD think is actually important for your mental and physical health. It's to schedule a rot day where you get to couch rot or bed rot as a family you're doing nothing.
You put a meal in the crockpot or something like that. You guys can [00:05:00] watch tv, eat snacks, read books, just don't have to be productive at all that entire day. I'll schedule this for Sundays. Usually the anticipation of rest can really help the motivation come back naturally. But also no mom ever that I know can actually rest in a home
that's a mess. So knowing that you get to have that day to rest and relax ahead of you, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be cozy. It can really help you do a little bit every day to get back into that cleaning routine so that you can "couch rot" in a house that actually feels good.
The next tip is to call someone, talk on the phone body double while you clean. You can even schedule in advance. Catch up with family members that you haven't talked to in a while, friends that you haven't talked to in a while. Set it as just a 20, 30 minute call to catch up and while you're catching up, then do some cleaning.
You can still have this little checklist to help you. So you, you don't have to think about what needs to clean and you can just get through it. [00:06:00] After a week or so of doing this, you're gonna be on track and probably won't even need to talk on the phone while you do it.
Another tip is to gamify it. One of the members in the community said that she likes to play a round of solitaire, and if she loses, then she'll do a task. If she wins, she gets to play again. So getting started is oftentimes half the battle and games lower that pressure. You can do this with reading a chapter of book if you have self-control.
I don't, so I don't know that one would work for me or clean during commercials.
Now the next tip surprised a lot of people in the community and it's getting dressed, throwing on concealer, or mascara, or a little bit of lipstick in a cute outfit and some shoes. That's important for me. Got that tip from Fly Lady way back in the day. It's really not even about looking good. It is just about getting ready to do something.
Putting your body and your mind in a "do mode" instead of a "rest mode."
Now remember, momentum doesn't really feel like suddenly having your crap together.
It feels like picking up one thing and letting that thing snowball, pressing play on one podcast [00:07:00] cleaning routine, or doing today's tasks only. That's how it starts every time. So if you're struggling to get back into a routine, it doesn't mean you failed. It means life happened. So start small, borrow some structure.
Let me guide you if you want, so that your brain can just shut off while you clean. I'll tell you exactly what to do next each step of the way, so you don't have to think. I've got some free episodes in the show notes for you, but don't forget to like and subscribe so that we can meet back here again sometime.
Thank you so much for being here.
We'll see you next time.
