10 Things I Do During Low-Motivation Moments at My Desk with the PC On

I don’t usually complain about feeling low or lacking motivation. I deal with such situations using ideas and activities.

However, often, I find myself in a strange state of mind. Neither fully engaged nor completely exhausted.

Wakeful and energetic but reluctant to do the productive work. Neither sleepy nor tired, but not even interested in watching a favorite video.

It’s an odd, passive state.

I can’t call this state of mind by any term. But let me describe what I do during such periods.

1. Clear My Email Inbox.

My main personal inbox has a huge number of accumulated incoming emails. Even when I see them daily, deleting the unwanted is a task kept for these low-motivation periods.

Cleaning up the inbox doesn’t require creativity or high energy.

But seeing them again and deleting them is a work I enjoy during such low-energy periods.

2. Tidy Up the Paper Clutter on My Table

My table always has a heap of papers on it.

They are mostly handwritten papers that I used to make notes, outlines, ideas, and plans.

Once I’ve used them, I clip them together and let them rest on my table for days, even weeks.

Eventually, I sort through them — reading a few, reliving the thoughts — and then tear them up to discard. Once all the retainable portions are transferred to my PC files, they are discarded.

3. Transfer Notes to Excel or Google Drive.

When I review these handwritten notes, I find them in three categories.

1. Having valid content.
2. Something got some corrections and deletions.
3. Some are only for some exercises.

I enter the relevant data into Excel sheets or Google Docs. I prefer Excel because it’s easy to add, remove, or shift content around while organizing my plans, writing prompts, or content outlines.

4. Revisit Medium Drafts:

I have three types of Drafts

1. Ready in line to be published
2. Variants saved during finalization.
3. Guidance lists, etc, which will be deleted after the completion of a group of posts.

I write the drafts quickly, focusing more on capturing thoughts than writing them perfectly. Correctness can come later.

When words flow, I need to get them out of my head fast, almost like offloading files to free up brain space.

Later, during low-energy moments, I go back, click through the red underlines in Grammarly, and polish them.

Preparing a correct version using my raw writing is very satisfying with less mental effort.

5. Browse Through My ChatGPT Prompts.

I also revisit the prompts I’ve used in ChatGPT. Some of them spark new ideas or help refine older ones. It’s like a record of ongoing conversations with my creative self — easy to skim, sometimes inspiring.

I use a lot of Chat GPT prompts to see how it develop my writing with its responses. This helps me revisit

6. Read My Preparatory Blog Posts Sometimes.

I return to read the blogs I wrote while preparing for bigger writing projects. They remind me of my original thoughts, rekindle intent, or help me recognize how much ground I’ve covered.

7. Do Light Editing or Categorizing Work.

This includes assigning tags, reshuffling folder structures, renaming files, or organizing bookmarks. It feels productive, even if it doesn’t demand much focus.

8. Reorganize Digital Notes.

I often take notes using digital sticky notes or Google Keep. During low-motivation phases, I review these and reorganize them, deleting what’s outdated and grouping ideas that can be revisited later. Remembering the circumstances in which I made those notes is an interesting exercise I enjoy

9. Visualize My Future Writing Plan

I like imagining what I’ll write once I feel fully inspired again. I sketch loose plans in my notebook or Excel. It’s light, directionless brainstorming — but it gives me a sense of movement.

I always keep revising my plans.

10. Sit in Silence to experience the complete void. Slowly, Ideas enter naturally

Finally, I sometimes sit back and empty my mind of all occupations for a few moments.

But that doesn’t mean those in-between hours are useless.

I’ve learned to make peace with such moments and even turn them into something quietly productive.

Low motivation isn’t a block — it’s just a different rhythm.