Activity Monitoring and Scheduling: Behavioral Activation Skills for Depression and Low Motivation

Sep 19

Activity Monitoring and Activity Scheduling are Behavioral Activation (BA) practices that help you understand the connection between what you do and how you feel. When mood is low, people often do less of what gives them pleasure, mastery, connection, routine, or meaning. This withdrawal makes sense because depression, stress, pain, grief, and burnout can drain energy and motivation. The problem is that doing less can also reduce the chances of feeling better. Activity Monitoring helps you notice the pattern. Activity Scheduling helps you gently interrupt it.

These skills are not about forcing yourself to be productive, pretending you feel motivated, or filling your schedule with too much too soon. They are about noticing what affects your mood and choosing small actions that may support pleasure, accomplishment, connection, routine, or meaning. BA has strong research support for reducing depressive symptoms and research on pleasant and unpleasant events help show how daily activity patterns can influence mood (Cuijpers et al., 2007; Dimidjian et al., 2011; Lewinsohn & Amenson, 1978; Mazzucchelli et al., 2009; Riebe et al., 2012).

Guided Practice
(optional)

For Activity Monitoring, choose one week to track what you do. Write down a few activities from each day and then rate your mood, pleasure, or sense of accomplishment beside each one. You do not need to record every detail. Look for simple patterns: What drained you? What helped even a little? What was missing?

For Activity Scheduling, choose one small activity to add back into your week. It may be pleasant, meaningful, social, physical, spiritual, creative, or practical. Make the activity specific enough to follow through with (e.g., what you will do, when you will do it, where it will happen, and how long it will last). Start smaller than you think you need to. The activity does not have to feel exciting beforehand. Sometimes motivation comes after action, not before.

References

Cuijpers, P., van Straten, A., & Warmerdam, L. (2007). Behavioral activation treatments of depression: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(3), 318-326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.11.001 ⁠

Dimidjian, S., Barrera, M., Jr., Martell, C., Muñoz, R. F., & Lewinsohn, P. M. (2011). The origins and current status of behavioral activation treatments for depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 7, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104535 ⁠

Lewinsohn, P. M., & Amenson, C. S. (1978). Some relations between pleasant and unpleasant mood-related events and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87(6), 644-654. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.87.6.644 ⁠

Mazzucchelli, T., Kane, R. T., & Rees, C. S. (2009). Behavioral activation treatments for depression in adults: A meta-analysis and review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16(4), 383-411. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2009.01178.x ⁠

Riebe, G., Fan, M. Y., Unützer, J., Vannoy, S., & Bradford, D. W. (2012). Activity scheduling as a core component of effective care management for late-life depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(12), 1298-1304. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.3774

Z. Hamilton Avery

Z. Hamilton Avery, LCSW, BC-TMH, CMT, CYT-1,000, TIYT (he/they) is a queer and non-binary therapist, health educator, wellness coach, body and energy worker, yoga and meditation teacher, and abstract artist in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to having obtained over a dozen certifications in various modalities of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), Z holds an associate’s degree in pre-nursing studies, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a master’s degree in social work. When supporting clients and students, Z takes a humanistic, person-centered, strengths-based, trauma-informed approach. Their practice is grounded in compassion, harm reduction, inclusivity, social justice, and evidence-based interventions. Ultimately, Z’s mission is to provide a safe and non-judgmental space for adolescents (13+) and adults who are navigating challenges such as anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, pain, and chronic illness; he does this by offering sessions, classes, groups, workshops, retreats, and trainings.

Understanding that mental health is interconnected with many other facets of life, Z takes a holistic approach to therapy. Knowing that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment, he strives to honor the uniqueness of each client by custom-tailoring his approach to best meet the needs, preferences, and goals of each individual. For this reason, Z believes that it is imperative to be cross-trained in many different treatment approaches. As a therapist, they utilize a variety of evidence-based practices, including motivational interviewing (MI), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and written exposure therapy (WET). As a body and energy worker, Z is certified to practice massage therapy, Thai yoga massage, myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, and reiki. They are also certified in both Chinese and Japanese styles of acupuncture. After completing more than 1,000 hours of accredited yoga teacher training (primarily in India), Z is certified to teach various styles of yoga, including Hatha, Kundalini, yin, and restorative. He also researches and writes about topics including stress, trauma, self-care, mindfulness, self-compassion, holistic health and well-being, CAM, HIV/AIDS, and issues related to the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, agender, plus (2SLGBTQIA+) community.

https://www.therapywithz.com

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