Feeling unmotivated? You might be fiu.

The sun is shining and the summer waves are calling, but you’re stuck inside staring at a computer. All of that thrilling excitement and enthusiasm you had when you began this work seems to have vanished.

You’re so over it.

You shut your laptop and scribble a note for your door:

“Temporarily closed because I’m feeling bored and burned out. Be back someday.”

But if you were in Tahiti you could have saved some ink:

“Closed for fiu.”

What’s fiu?

Fiu (pronounced "few") is a word used in French Polynesia (the Pacific island chain encompassing Tahiti, Bora Bora, and about 119 others) to describe the feeling of being bored, fed up, burned out or tired. At the same time, there’s this underlying wish to just relax and get away from it all.

Wait, Jenna. You’re seriously telling me that people in Tahiti just want to get away from it all?! Where in the world do they get away to?

It’s real, people. 

I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

• Shops closed in the middle of the day in high tourist season

• road construction sites sitting empty with lonely looking machinery

• breakfast cafes that finally open at noon

Turns out, dwindling motivation is universal and affects us all at some point. The only real difference is that some cultures acknowledge (even celebrate!) it, and others … not so much.

But I’m already behind! I don’t have time for fiu!

There are two ways to move beyond your fiu. The first is definitely more fun, but sometimes the second is more necessary.

1. Go outside – Disconnect, get out in nature, get your body moving … do whatever it is that feeds your soul (filling your days crossing tasks off of your at-home to-do list doesn’t count). It’s crying out for a refresher, and the inspiration you long for will be so much more accessible if you just. take. a. break.

2. Go inside - Tap into the bigger picture of why you’re doing it and how it fuels you, and remember that – just like other practices whose best effects are felt over time (yoga, running, meditation, cooking) – this is your practice now. Double down and “breathe” through some more work … some mindset work! Ask yourself if there’s something else that’s really going on.

How do you know which to choose?

Here’s a tip for what to do if you’re feeling unmotivated:

Look back on what preceded your mental fatigue, and do the opposite.

 If you’ve been working overtime, either with single focus or too many balls in the air, you probably need that refresher. Don’t guilt-out over it. Revel in it like a polynésien.

If you can’t quite manage to get started OR this is a part of a pattern OR you just returned from a fiu-break and still don’t feel energized, it’s time to start asking yourself the big questions.

(What do I really want? How am I willing to grow to achieve it? Is this my intuition telling me to take another path, or a lens revealing my own resistance to happiness and success?)

I sincerely hope this post helps you get back to your happy place a little more quickly and shed some self-doubt. When it creeps in, remember that the ebbs and flows of motivation are part of the human experience. 

And now if you’ll excuse me, the sun is shining, and my puppy and I are going for a hike.

Here’s to late summer fiu,

Jenna

5 steps for staying on track when life gets overwhelming

Does it feel like your project or business – the one you began with so much enthusiasm – is starting to take a back seat to the rest of your life? Do you hear those statistics about new businesses failing and wonder if you might be headed in that direction?

The question of why some businesses fail is a good one. You could blame undercapitalization, faulty market research or a downturn in the economy. But I think the primary culprit is overwhelm.

Last week I made my case for why, when life gets crazy, you should scale back your projects rather than putting them on hold.

This week, I want to share what’s been working for me as I attempt to do exactly that!

Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to keep your projects moving forward even when you’re short on time and bandwidth, regardless of whether your ‘project’ is a business or major life change, and regardless of whether you’re just beginning or farther into the process:

1. Be realistic:

Remember (from last week), the aim here is to keep things going but avoid burnout.

Be realistic about how much time you can commit, and then reduce that by a half to a third. (That also happens to be my favorite travel tip for packing lightly!)

You can always add more into your schedule if you find additional time.

Under-scheduling is much better than overcommitting, because productivity skyrockets when you maintain a positive-feedback loop. (Read more about this and the Harvard Business Review’s supporting study by downloading our free Idea to I Did It ebook, here.)

Personally, I spent about six hours on my business for two of the last three weeks, and only about two hours now that I’m on my road trip to my new home.

The open road… somewhere in Kansas (maybe).

2. Prioritize:

One of the most important things you can do in business AND life is to figure out your priorities. Clarity makes everything better.

For more on this, check out No, No, No (Assuming Risk) – my very first post on this site! (That should tell you how seriously I take this topic.)

It’s about the power of saying no to those things that aren’t worth prioritizing, and why U.S. military leaders coined the term “assuming risk” to describe a tactic that keeps them focused and productive even when the stakes are so high.

Right now, producing content is really important in my business, so I committed to maintaining my weekly publication schedule. I’m also preparing to launch a podcast in a few months, so even though it isn’t urgent at the moment, it’s extremely important and worth prioritizing.

So what’s my big “No” (where I assume risk)? Income, for one. I made sure that I didn’t have any long-term coaching clients during this time, restricting myself to shorter introductory packages so that I’d have more control over the timing.

Social media is also taking a back seat, along with any kind of promotion or professional development (All those articles filled with great content from mentors and thought leaders? I guess I’ll get to them later if I’m meant to see them.)

3. Strategize

Once you’ve figured out your priorities, how can you make the related tasks as streamlined and time-efficient as possible? What can be outsourced? What’s ahead on the calendar that will help or hinder you?

You want to map out everything so that you don’t get caught by surprise and drop the ball. 

Weeks before the movers were at my house, it was already easy to imagine how difficult it would be to produce a new blog post, so I lined up a guest post (the fabulous 1 Simple Strategy for Creating Success). Don’t be afraid to tap into your network to get you through the lean times!

4. Get Accountable

It’s natural to need a little extra accountability during this time.

Be honest about how much you need, and put something in place. Some people do fine with simple calendar notifications or public declarations. Others need an accountability group or to hire a private coach. 

My go-to is a mastermind group, and I’ve made space for it during these busy weeks. Of course I value the advice and friendship of my fellow business owners, but I also know myself and recognize that our weekly check-ins help me keep reaching for new levels in my business.

Just this week they encouraged me to push past resistance and reach out to a dream podcast guest for an interview (despite the fact that I haven’t launched so have no audience). Guess what? We’ll be recording later this month!

5. Less attachment, more c’est la vie

Give yourself permission to take things a little less seriously, and cut yourself some slack if something unexpected gets in the way of your plans.

This is especially important for recovering perfectionists (like me)!

…Maybe the world won’t fall apart if your post comes out a few hours late (I’m testing that right now).

…Maybe your future clients will be willing to wait a few weeks to book with you. 

…Maybe people will still find value in your work even if you’re not the social media queen.

There’s a sweet spot that lies somewhere between your high standards and completely blowing everything off, and that’s exactly where both business and life thrive. (Hint: That spot isn’t static. It shifts over time.)

Look back over this list whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, and I guarantee you’ll see that you’ve veered off track on at least one of the points. If you can incorporate all five, you’ll be fine.

Here’s to maintaining your sanity AND your goals,

Jenna