From time to time I am inspired to pass on portions of a post from a favorite blog. Today’s Moodscope blog was all about those days when you feel a bit “blah” and what you can do to not get trapped in indecisiveness and time wasting.
As it happened this arrived on a day when I was struggling to get moving myself. Thinking about all of the things that weren’t working right in my life (a sure sign of a mood shift), and it inspired me to reorganize my day a bit… maybe not quite as much as I could have… but still enough to make a small difference in how the day went, which is pretty good for something that took a couple of minutes to read.
“When I feel a bit yucky, I know how easy it can be to give in to the glums if I don’t set goals for myself. If I’d sat in my office at home, I’m sure the morning would have drifted past unproductively, so coming out to the library gave me a sense of mission. It also seemed to help that I’d allocated an hour to this particular task, twenty five minutes of which (gulp) have now passed.
I’m even successfully resisting the urge to check my email until I’ve finished, which is helping focus me on the task in hand.”
The key is to create a sense of urgency by setting up your day for success… You won’t naturally be inclined to get a lot done. It will be easy to get caught up in thinking (let’s say obsessing) about some email or other… Here are some good suggestions:
1. Choose a mission for yourself, ideally one that can be completed in a limited period of time.
2. Change your location if you can, even if it means moving to a different room in your home. Who says you can only prepare vegetables in the kitchen? Why shouldn’t you change the duvet cover in the living room?
3. Carrots and sticks can be helpful. Modestly reward yourself for achieving your goal, but definitely decide what your ‘prize’ will be before you start.
Definitely not brand new ideas for any of us. But they work, and sometimes it is useful to be reminded of those things that we know work. Especially if that reminder happens “just in time”… right when you are struggling mentally with what to do to stay productive… and avoid the even worse feeling that comes with not getting anything done on a day that already starts a bit “blah.” We hope this quick reminder was useful for you.
For more about Moodscope, which we think is a great program for many folks, not only for keeping track of but actually for improving your mood, follow the link.