One foot in front of the other

The first step is always the hardest. How many times have I said that to myself? When you know you need to do something, but you just can't get motivated to do it, the first step is also the most important one. There are some things in my life that require absolutely no motivation:

• Having a cup of coffee
• Checking Facebook
• Editing photos
• Shopping online
• Reading
• Getting a manicure
• Getting a pedicure
• Watching great movies
• Watching Downton Abbey
• Going to Starbucks
• Making lists
• Downloading new fonts
• Eating the awesome food my hubby cooks

There are also a few things that require an inordinate amount of motivation:

• Exercising
• Doing laundry
• Scooping the kitty poop
• Catching up on a pile of bills

Why I have so much trouble making myself do the little everyday things that really do make me happy once they're done is a mystery of first-world proportions. Sometimes I talk myself into doing a mundane chore by saying to myself, "It's a favor for Future Me." Other times, I psych myself out with the promise of a reward if I do something I don't feel like doing.

Today, and pretty much every other day, the two things on my "Not Motivated to Do It" list are walking and laundry. I also need to scoop the kitty poop and catch up on a pile of bills. Oh, wait. That's everything on the list above. Yeah. I pretty much go through this every day.

So far, I actually have done one of these things. I took a walk. It was great! But it wasn't great until I took the first step. And I didn't feel motivated to take the first step until I had

1. taken a shower. (Seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?)
2. put on a little makeup.
3. made the bed.

I asked my husband if he thought it was weird that I wanted to wash my hair before I exercised, and he said, "No. I always like to take a shower before I work out." I guess we're both weird.

I took pictures of the stuff that made my walk fun, besides the very wonderful feeling of getting outside and feeling my blood circulating.

Barren trees can be rather beautiful!

There are still plenty of vibrant
fall colors out there in mid-November. 

I use Endomondo on my phone to record
my walking stats. Obviously, I'm not training
for a marathon, but this is pretty helpful.

Earbuds and tunes are also motivational.

Now, about the laundry. I've gotta do it. Here are the crazy little things I'm doing to help me get going:

• Start with a load of my favorite clothes.
• Use good-smelling stuff. I'm into Tide Pods lately. I also bought these little magic crystal-looking things the other day that are supposed to take the wonderful scent factor even higher into the awesomesphere.
• Set a timer so you don't forget to trudge back to the washroom and switch loads. I use a timer on my phone and set it to go ding-dong as soon as I need to remove something early from the dryer or at the end of a cycle.
• Do something from the "No Motivation Required" list while waiting for the timer to buzz.

Oh, and by the way...

They had a buy-one-get-one-free promotion at Starbucks between 2pm and 5pm today. Clearly, I had to take advantage of that. Guess what I saw in the parking lot?

Christmas trees ready to be adopted on November 18!