I have seen friends go through a period of weeks and even months when they have felt stressed and have faced a lack of motivation. They continue to go through the motions and show up and do their thing and go. All such that nobody notices that anything is wrong, because they're turning up to work with a smile on their face and going back home and probably doing the same with their routine at home as well. But in their heads, they are thinking, "How did I get here?!"

I've gone through periods like this myself in the past, and have then actively looked at ways to regain the motivation and a sense of purpose.

When in such a place, it was easier to think of the things I had done during the day that made me happier and to concentrate on doing more of those things.

But the things that made me happier during such periods were to binge watch TV shows or play video games or eat chocolate (in all its glorious forms).

However, those things while they made me happier at the moment of doing them, always came with a guilt later on for having wasted time or for having strayed from a healthy diet.

Instead, when I started looking for the things I did that were worthwhile and added value either to myself or to the people around me or to the product I was working on - like writing, or working out at the gym, or going for a run, or taking on a new project that was being neglected.

Concentrating on doing more of these things that were worthwhile and adding value somewhere was what eventually brought back that sense of purpose and motivation that then spilled over to all the other areas of my life.

When a lack of purpose is degrading motivation in one area, it can quickly spill over to other areas. But the reverse is true as well and that's what we ought to capitalise on. Instilling a sense of purpose in one area can then spill over to seeking out such a thing in other areas as well.

And writing daily has always managed to do that for me.