Moms Share Their Favorite Motivation “Tricks” For Getting Sh*t Done
When bullying yourself into doing your to-do list doesn’t work, use one of these little mental shifts instead.
There is nothing more daunting than a list of things you have to do. Whether it’s convincing yourself to get off the couch and get your kitchen cleaned or trying to make it to a workout class you already paid for, we’ve all found ourselves completely overwhelmed with the day’s to-dos. As a mom of three kids, I also find it completely exhausting to get started, knowing I’m going to be interrupted half a million times and struggle with the tasks in the first place. Might as well sit and continue couch rotting, right?
But that’s not going to feel good tomorrow when the clothes still aren’t folded, now is it?
Listen, everyone’s been there, so I asked 18 moms to share their best “tricks” for getting their own ass into gear. Maybe it’s a special podcast reserved for vacuuming or the promise of a fancy coffee that night. Maybe it’s playing a game with yourself (you can absolutely break your last laundry folding time, I believe in you) or simply making plans for future you that present you now has to handle.
Whatever it is, these 18 moms swear they work — and they just might inspire you to finally knock out your own to-do list.
Save yourself a “treat” for specific tasks.
“I have a show on Netflix that I can only watch while I’m folding and putting away the laundry. It started when I would have three loads to put away, but now I do it every time there’s a load, and it’s really stopped me from letting it pile up. I’ve found that I’ll even start another load earlier than needed so I can fold it later and finish an episode.” — Sarah G., mom of four
“I used to try to get my to-do list done before I had a treat, but it made me feel irritated and resentful. So now I’ve kind of trained myself that when I make a special iced coffee, that’s time to get started on my list.” — Dana R., mom of two
“I only listen to my true crime podcasts when I’m cleaning the kitchen. My kitchen is always so clean now.” — Randi P., mom of two
“I make these energy bite things once a week, and when I know I need to get going with cleaning or a workout, I always eat one. It’s like a reset to my brain that it’s time to get to work.” — Hannah P., mom of two
“Nerds Gummy Clusters. I keep a jar on the kitchen counter, and I grab a handful every time I pull out my to-do list. A nice little sugar rush.” — Theresa L., mom of four
Put on “work” clothes.
“A bra. It’s my only trick. If I don’t have a bra on, nothing’s getting done. The minute I strap my t*ts into one is the minute my brain goes, ‘OK, let’s go clean the kitchen.’” — Tiffany L., mom of two
“When I need to clean the house, I put on my gym shoes. It takes me out of ‘I’m at home chilling’ mode into ‘I’m up and doing stuff’ mode.” — Katie M., mom of one
“I have to get out of my pajamas. There’s just no way around it. If jammies are on, I’m couch-rotting. Jammies are off, I feel like I can actually get stuff done.” — Lauren W., mom of three
Make everything into a game.
“I set timers. For everything. I learned this when I had postpartum depression — nothing takes as long as I think it does. So I’d set the baby down, set a timer for 10 minutes, and shower. Or I’d set the timer for 20 minutes and walk around the house with her in her swing, picking up diapers and trash and tidying. I knew when the timer went off, I could sit down, and having that crutch really helped. It’s stuck with me now, 10 years later.” — Caroline D., mom of three
“I promise myself that when I get done with one thing, like doing the dishes, I can sit back down. But then I’ll notice the kitchen table’s a mess, so I’ll promise myself that after that I can sit down. And it just keeps going and going while I play ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ with myself.” — Taylor O., mom of two
“I roller skate while picking things up around our house. It’s the only thing I like about our home being open concept, so if I need to tidy and put things away — no hardcore cleaning — I just put my skates on.” — Natalie W., mom of two
“I tried a bunch of those productivity apps that give you things to take care of as you complete tasks, but they became old fast. Now I set up a Sims game, and for every task I do, I get to take 10 minutes to fix up my Sims house or make my Sims do stuff. Then I go do another task and so forth. It sounds silly, but it works for me.” — Jane R., mom of one
“I always start the washing machine first. Load it up, hit start, and then my game begins: How much can I get done before the machine stops? It’s incredibly motivating.” — Emily P., mom of two
Think about “future you.”
“I honestly just had to do some mind work on myself. You’re not going to have space to sit down and relax at dinner if you don’t clean the living room now. So just get it done.” — Hilary G., mom of two
“I sit down and make a list. Everything always feels so daunting and overwhelming when it’s just rattling around in my brain, so I pull out a notepad and start writing down what I want to get done. Even little stuff like ‘put a new bag in the trash can.’ Something about seeing it all on paper and planning it out a little makes it feel less chaotic and stressful. Future me is always glad and not as exhausted.” — Samantha S., mom of three
“When I know I want to do a big deep clean, I plan to have people over. I’ll make future plans for like the following weekend, and suddenly I have all the motivation in the world to get my house in check.” — Bridget T., mom of one
“I plan something fun to do that afternoon instead of just letting the day get away from me. Sometimes that fun thing is just going to get a fancy coffee, but having a reward and a deadline — like saying ‘at 3 p.m. I’m going out for some fun’ — makes getting stuff done, including workouts, much easier.” — Brittany M., mom of two
“I just literally ask myself, ‘Are you going to feel good tomorrow that all you did today was rot?’ Some days the answer is ‘yes,’ and I know that’s a day that truly deserves rest. But most of the time, I know I’m going to be pissed when I wake up to make coffee and the dishes are still in the sink from dinner.” — Nadia V., mom of one
