Ever had one of those days where you just wish you could completely start over? As you can see by my last post (which I owe all of you individual responses to, they’re coming!) I definitely have those days on occasion. The biggest key to those days, though, is to not letting that crappy “why is everything going wrong” feeling overtake your entire day- then you just get to bed that night feeling even worse. I’ve come up with 5 tried-and-true tips that help me when I’m having a totally off day… while nothing beats a time machine to go back and redo it all, these 5 tips will help you make the rest of your day better and make you feel better too!
1. Change of Scenery
When you’re working 9-5 in an office, and especially when you’re working from home, you need to get out of your workspace for a while. If that means taking a walk, going out to grab a coffee, or running to the bank- whatever it is that gets you (dressed and showered) out of your workspace.
2. Make a List
Everyone will tell you to make a to-do list. Here’s my secret: make a list on pretty paper (it helps you want to look at it), keep it next to your computer, and most importantly, put stuff you’ve already done on the list. Sounds counterproductive, right? But for me, I find that if I put tasks I’ve already accomplished, even if it’s just 1) get out of bed 2) get dressed 3) send emails– then I can check them off and physically see what I have done. That helps to alleviate any unproductive feelings and guilt over a not-super-focused day AND gets you focused on what you still need to do.
3. Have a Cold One
No, not a beer. Though maybe a beer… that sounds amazing right about now. But really, I’m thinking more like ice water, iced coffee, or my kryptonite, diet coke. This can be combined with #1 nicely- take a 30 minute break to go to Starbucks and sit with a drink and just breathe for a bit. Something about having a super cold drink that always wakes me up and the caffeine never hurts with that either!
4. Read a Book
This is one of my favorite restarting methods. Take 30-an hour and read a book that doesn’t require you to think. I’m talking super trashy romance, murder mystery, Twilight, you pick it. But nothing complicated or complex or academic or work-related. This allows your brain to shut off for a bit, like restarting your computer. Plus, getting lost in someone else’s world is a good way to forget about the junk going on in your own, even if it’s just for a while.
5. Add Some Color
This was my saving grace during the rainy day blues when I was up in Berkeley- adding a pop of color. Whether that’s a bright desktop background, bold nail polish, red lipstick, or even switching from a black pen to a green marker to write your to-do list (#2)- something about that extra color just changes things up in a relatively minor way but can make a big difference in how you’re looking at things.
So what are your go-to methods for beating the slump? My other default is calling my mom to bounce ideas off of her, but I figured she wouldn’t want all of my (albeit awesome) blog readers calling her too 😉
