Below, you’ll find the show notes for Episode 059 of The Made by Motherhood Podcast. The Made by Motherhood Podcast is a warm, encouraging space for moms building businesses while raising families — with gentle guidance for business, home, and motherhood. Subscribe on Spotify Podcasts, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere podcasts are available.

If you’ve found yourself feeling unmotivated lately, it’s easy to assume something is wrong. That you’ve lost your drive, your discipline, or the version of yourself who used to “get things done.”

But more often than not, feeling unmotivated isn’t a motivation problem at all. It’s an overload problem.

Motherhood carries a kind of weight that isn’t always obvious from the outside. It’s mental, emotional, and constant. And when that load gets heavy enough, motivation doesn’t disappear because you don’t care — it disappears because there’s too much being held at once.

What “Unmotivated” Really Looks Like for Many Moms

For a lot of moms, unmotivated doesn’t look like apathy. It looks like knowing what you want to do, but feeling stuck when it comes time to start. It looks like beginning projects and struggling to finish them. It looks like procrastination that comes from exhaustion, not avoidance.

It can even look like scrolling or zoning out — not because you don’t care, but because your mind is asking for relief.

And instead of asking what’s weighing on you, it’s easy to turn inward and ask what’s wrong with you.

Why Overload Is So Easy to Miss

Overload isn’t just a long to-do list.

It’s the invisible work — the remembering, the anticipating, the decision-making that never really turns off. It’s being the one who knows what’s coming up, what’s needed, and how everyone is doing emotionally. It’s carrying responsibility quietly, even during moments that are supposed to feel restful.

When that kind of mental load builds up, motivation doesn’t vanish. It gets buried.

Why Pushing Harder Often Makes Things Worse

When motivation feels low, the instinct is usually to push harder. To try to be more disciplined. To hold yourself to a higher standard. To figure out the “right” system that will fix it.

But pushing yourself out of overload rarely works. In fact, it often adds another layer of pressure. Now you’re not only carrying too much — you’re also disappointed in yourself for not handling it better.

That combination can be exhausting.

The Reframe That Changes Everything

Motivation doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from support.

Motivation tends to return when life feels manageable again. When there are fewer decisions to make. When expectations are lighter. When there’s room to breathe.

That’s why motivation often comes back unexpectedly — after rest, after a season shifts, or after something heavy is removed. Not because you suddenly became a different person, but because your load changed.

A Kinder Question to Ask Yourself

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I just do this?” try asking something gentler and more useful:

What feels heavy right now?

Not what you should be able to handle. Not what you handled in a different season. Just what feels heavy today.

Often, the most supportive next step isn’t doing more. It’s simplifying something, removing something, or asking for help.

What Support Can Look Like in Everyday Life

Support doesn’t have to be dramatic or all-or-nothing.

It might look like letting a routine be simpler than you planned. Saying no to something that isn’t wrong, but isn’t right for this season. Choosing the easiest version of a task instead of the most impressive one. Or allowing yourself to rest without earning it.

These choices aren’t signs of giving up. They’re signs of responding wisely to the life you’re actually living.

If Motivation Feels Far Away Right Now

If motivation feels distant, I want you to hear this clearly:

You are not lazy.
You are not broken.
You are not behind.

You are responding normally to a very full life. And nothing about that needs fixing.

A Final Thought

As you move through the rest of your week, remember this: you don’t need to push harder to become motivated again.

You may simply need more support — from your systems, your home, your expectations, and from yourself.

You are made by motherhood, and you were made to build a life that supports you — not one that constantly asks more of you than you have to give.