i realized since most of subeta is probably older than me (or a large enough portion. i'm 19, turning 20 in a little over a month), i figured it wouldn't help to ask here for a change. usually i ask for advice on deviantart, but for the most part usually it's younger people giving advice, or no one really knows how to help at all. it depends on the situation though, especially since i don't really share much about my personal life online anymore :^P

im struggling to find motivation to do literally anything- homework, replying to emails/other inquiries, cleaning the fish tank.. pretty much anything and everything. i know it's definitely my depression acting up (especially with winter coming and the days ending sooner), but i'm trying to dig myself out of this hole before i fuck up the remainder of this semester. i also took on two big client projects (illustrating a comic book and a graphic design job, woo!) so i really don't want to let my laziness/lack of motivation consume this aspect of my life too.

i dunno. i just dont know what to do. i KNOW i need to do stuff, but my brain and body doesnt want to let me. i dont know how to get myself started anymore.

Start waking up earlier than you usually do. If only by 5 minutes or 15. Take time to wake up and prepare yourself for the day. I normally see a difference when I do.

Find something that makes you happy and make time to do it (hey, maybe that extra time in the morning?). The key is to do something different than you have been doing. You can't do the same thing and expect different results. I struggle with depression, also finding it hard sometimes to clean the fish tank and my guinea pig cages. That's when I know I need to slowly make a different change each day.

I hope you feel better soon! Congrats on the projects.

When you have a task that you need to find the motivation to do, ask yourself; What is absolute smallest simplest step I can take right now to get started on this task? For example, trying to do homework, a small task would be to open up the document on your computer. Or doing the big pile of dishes, a small thing would be to get the warm water running. After that you just repeat that question until the task is done.

Also for cleaning, I like to use the 20/10 method from Unfuck Your Habitat. Basically you just set a timer to 20 minutes and then focus on cleaning a specific area during those 20 minutes. Then 10 minutes (or more) break and then start again on another area. It works pretty well (at least it does for me), and a tidy living space really does a lot of good in terms of depression. It can definitely be used for other things like drawing and studying as well.

Hope either of these methods work for you :)

Sometimes it's really about discipline. Just get up and decide to have the discipline to do the things you need to get done each day. Set aside a time to start, like at 9am I need to start doing my work. It might help to think of the first step. For example, at 9am I'm going to get out the broom. Don't give yourself the option not to do it. Don't let yourself come up with reasons not to do what needs to get done. Say to yourself, well, it won't be fun, but I'll play my favorite music, and when I'm done I can take a break and watch my favorite show.

To kickstart wanting to do things, sometimes it helps to make a list. List out everything you need to do, maybe even something you've already done, and then cross off what's done. Start by making yourself do one thing on the list that sounds doable. Then cross it off, and find another thing to do.

Good luck <3