“I don’t want to do anything”: Why you might feel this way and how to start moving forward

The alarm clock beeps, and you press snooze with a groan. When you finally do get up, you’re greeted by your ever-growing to-do list and a complete lack of motivation. We all have days that start like this, and it’s human to sometimes say, “I don’t want to do anything.” But if this feeling shows up day after day, there might be something deeper going on.

When every day feels like an uphill battle or it’s hard to motivate yourself to get dressed—much less go to work, cook dinner, and respond to your mom’s text—an underlying mental or physical issue may be to blame. No matter the reason for this feeling or how often it visits your life, there are actionable strategies to work through it.

Why You Might Feel Like You Don’t Want to Do Anything

“When someone says, ‘I don’t want to do anything,’ they’re often not just being lazy or unmotivated,” says Eliana Bonaguro, LMHC, a licensed therapist in Florida and New York. “That feeling can stem from depression, emotional exhaustion, burnout, or being overwhelmed by responsibilities.”

Below are six of the most common reasons these feelings happen, and they have nothing to do with laziness.

Depression

Depression is probably the most common culprit behind this feeling. Many of this mental health condition’s hallmark symptoms—loss of interest in hobbies, persistent sadness, lack of energy—directly connect to feeling like you don’t want to do anything.

“When someone is experiencing depression, it generally feels impossible to do much because it is such a demotivating state,” explains Lalo Rivera, LPC, a licensed therapist in Texas. “People struggling with depression often feel stuck, lost, and discouraged, so finding the energy to do anything is a huge feat.”

Burnout

Burnout is a state of prolonged exhaustion, usually related to work or another stressful situation, like being a caregiver for an aging family member. No matter what’s causing your burnout, the condition hits you with a triple threat: physical fatigue, cognitive drain, and emotional exhaustion. When you’re dealing with all three, it becomes incredibly hard to motivate yourself to keep going—both at work and in other areas of your life.

Physical Health Factors

Physical illness, chronic pain, and hormone fluctuations make it harder to tackle everyday tasks, independent of any mental health conditions they might trigger. Chronic pain, in particular, is strongly linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety. While about 1 in 20 people worldwide experience depression, the numbers jump dramatically for those dealing with physical health issues:

• Three in five people with endometriosis
• Half of all people with multiple sclerosis
• One-third of those with IBS

“When someone’s body is fighting an invisible battle, the mind often gets caught in it too,” Bonaguro says, adding that therapy creates space to make sense of what your body is going through and to rebuild routines with compassion instead of pressure.

Grief or Major Life Changes

When you’re navigating a breakup, processing shocking news like a layoff, or experiencing any kind of loss, day-to-day life often feels impossibly heavy. “When something hard has happened, it is difficult to do anything else but focus on the pain,” Rivera says. That’s normal.

Unprocessed Anger

Anger can motivate us to act—sometimes in positive ways (like peacefully protesting injustice) and sometimes in ways we’ll regret later (like saying something hurtful during a fight). But anger can also be a source of complete inaction, especially when we’re furious about something that wasn’t our fault.

Take someone who was injured in a car accident, for example. They’ll likely feel angry as they recover, and recovery can be a long road filled with physical therapy appointments, surgery, and mounting healthcare bills. “They may feel angry that they’re now dealing with all these potentially long-term physical issues, financial strain, and the mental health challenges that come with a car wreck,” Rivera says. “And anger about the unfairness of the situation may cause them to not want to do anything.”

Overwhelm

Sometimes the sheer volume of what’s on our plates—work deadlines, family obligations, that pile of laundry that’s been growing for weeks—can create a kind of mental paralysis. When everything feels urgent and important, it becomes nearly impossible to figure out where to start, so we end up starting nowhere at all.

What Can You Do When You Don’t Want to Do Anything?

When you don’t feel like doing anything, generic advice to “just start” or “get moving” isn’t remotely helpful. Instead, here’s specific guidance that can help you make real progress, whether that looks like brushing your teeth or making time to be creative.

1. Start with the small things.

The little things truly are what make life manageable, and they’re also the perfect place to start when unmotivated. Consider one or two small tasks you could tackle, like making your bed, clearing off your kitchen counter, or texting back one friend who’s been checking on you. Then reward yourself after.

You can also choose a small task that helps you savor the moment instead of focusing on productivity. Rivera often advises her clients to complete small tasks that center on mindfulness rather than your endless to-do list. One example she gives is simply sitting in the sun.

“Soak up the rays and notice if there’s any part of you, even a small part, that can enjoy the act of not doing and instead just being,” she says. “Turn your attention toward being as an act of doing.”

2. Try the two-minute rule.

If motivating yourself to do even small things feels overwhelming, try the two-minute rule. “Try doing something for just two minutes. If you want to stop, stop. But sometimes momentum can build once you start an action,” explains Whitney Coleman, LICSW, a therapist in the Washington, D.C. area.

This might mean folding laundry for two minutes, responding to one email, or stepping outside to check the mail. The key is giving yourself full permission to quit after two minutes—no guilt, no pushing through.

3. Talk about it with someone you trust.

When we’re struggling, opening up to others lightens the load and offers new perspectives we can’t see when we’re stuck in our own heads. Schedule time to talk—even if it’s just a five-minute phone call—with someone you trust and who genuinely cares about you, whether that’s a therapist, family member, or close friend.

4. Embrace low-pressure creative tasks.

Being creative has a positive effect on emotional and physical well-being, especially during times of stress or low motivation. But actually being creative when you’re struggling? That feels like climbing Mount Everest. Instead of tackling the next great American novel, Coleman recommends practicing low-lift creativity.

This could mean organizing your bookshelf by color while listening to a podcast, doodling in a notebook, trying to find shapes in clouds, or even just changing your phone wallpaper to something that makes you smile. The goal is simply to engage the creative part of your brain without pressure.

5. Think about how good you’ll feel afterward.

“I often use the gym analogy with clients: Most of us don’t look forward to working out, but we do it anyway because we know how we’ll feel afterward,” Bonaguro says. “The same goes for getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, or stepping outside. The feeling often follows the action.”

If you’re having trouble envisioning how you’ll feel after completing a task, try journaling about it for a few minutes, or set a timer for one minute, close your eyes, and visualize that post-accomplishment feeling.

6. Dance (or just move to the beat).

Music truly is medicine, especially upbeat songs like “Shake It Off” or “Dancing Queen.” Rivera often suggests her clients play their favorite energizing song and move to the music. This doesn’t have to be full-out dancing. As Rivera puts it: “If dancing feels like too much, just move your fingers to the beat.”

Even this tiny movement can shift your energy and remind your body that it’s capable of more than it feels in the moment.

Signs It Might Be Time to Get Help

The strategies above can be genuinely helpful, but they’re essentially band-aids. When the feeling of not wanting to do anything becomes your new normal, therapy can lead to the kind of sustainable, long-term changes that actually stick.

According to Coleman, some signs it’s time to reach out for professional support include:

• You’ve felt this way for more than two weeks
• It’s hard to get out of bed most days
• Basic tasks like eating or cleaning feel impossible
• You’ve lost interest in things you used to enjoy
• You’re using alcohol, food, screen time, or other habits to numb yourself
• You’re constantly exhausted, even after sleeping
• You no longer feel like “you”

If even one of these signs resonates with you, therapy can help. “Therapy gives people a safe place to talk, to be seen, and to gently build back structure and connection,” Bonaguro says. “You don’t have to wait until you hit a wall to ask for support. We start where you are, even if that’s just showing up to a session in your pajamas and saying, ‘I don’t know where to start.'”

The Bottom Line

We all feel like we don’t want to do anything from time to time—it’s part of being human. But if this feeling has moved in and made itself comfortable in your daily life, there’s probably an underlying reason that deserves attention, both from a trusted therapist and from you.

Working with a therapist can help uncover why you’re feeling this way and develop both short-term coping strategies and long-term solutions. With the right support, it’s possible to transform “I don’t want to do anything” into “I’m ready to show up for my life again”—one small step at a time.