Feeling Stuck? Uninspired? Here are 5 sure ways to get you out of your funk.
When I sat down to write this blog post I had no idea what to write about. I spent the whole week brainstorming. I even had a few structures flushed out but none of them felt right. I was stuck. So what did I do? I stepped away.
We often lock ourselves into a box when it comes to deadlines. Then when our planning doesn't go as planned we are left feeling pressured. We sit ourselves down and say “no more dilly-dallying. I have to get this done today.”
Did you really dilly-dally, though? Were you really procrastinating? Maybe you were, but maybe you weren't. Maybe you weren't inspired or in the right mindset. And that's okay, because guess what? The work you need to do will still be there waiting for you 10 minutes from now.
This may sound insane to you, but those 10 minutes you spend brainstorming and getting nowhere will be better spent if you step away from your task at hand. Here's what I did to fight writer's block for this blog post, and here’s what you can do if you’re feeling stuck.
1. Take care of Errands
When I woke up, I was determined to sit down and write this blog post. I skipped my morning routine, opened my notebook and…nothing. Nothing came to me. My mind was blank in terms of the blog but it was racing with all of the things I had on my personal list.
I threw on my shoes, went to Trader Joe's to stock up on food — hey, a girl's gotta eat — grabbed some Starbucks, went to the pharmacy and came home. Check-boxes checked off of my personal list. Beautiful. However, blog epiphanies were still scarce in my mind so I did the next thing I could think of. I listened to my body.
2. Move and Groove
One of the most treasured things I do daily is my yoga/meditation routine. It gets me centered and ready for the day. Because of the pressure to get the blog done, I skipped it.
That was a silly goose move. My morning yoga and meditation routine is the one thing that clears my mind from all the clutter, gets my blood flowing, and makes me feel like myself. Without it, I'm antsy, off-putting, and easily irritated so why did I skip it? I had to write this blog today and I'm a person that believes in doing the most difficult thing on your list first so it's over sooner rather than later.
But here’s what I’ve discovered through years of workaholism, you need to center yourself first. Get yourself in the right mindset for you. So next time you feel stuck, stretch, take a walk, dance, get your body moving. You'll feel better after you do.
3. Take a Shower
I love showers and not only because I feel fresh and clean (did So Fresh, So Clean by OutKast pop into your head? Mine too.), but that's where my greatest ideas happen. I can hear your outbursts of agreement shouting at me right now.
Yes, we all tend to do our best thinking in the shower. Or ideas come to us in the comfort of running water. If they don't, pay attention next time. As we know, water is a healer and a cleanser. I like to think of it as a cleanser for the mind as well.
The lightbulb went off. The shower thought came to me. Hey, why don't I write about how I don't know what to write about? Why don't I write about feeling stuck? …Here we are friend. The idea was there, but it was no where near flushed out yet. I still had more thinking to do.
4. A Clear Space Equals A Clear Mind
This is so true for me. If I'm in a cluttered space, I feel cluttered. I can’t think. I can’t sort out the puzzle pieces of my thinking brain. If I'm in a neat space, I feel free and clear-headed. I’m able to think. I feel organized.
So I cleaned my room. I picked up that pile of clothes on my chair (we all have one) and put it in the laundry basket. I hung up clothes I hardly wore in the past week. I made my bed, straightened up my drawers. While I was cleaning my space, the blog flushed itself out. The work flushed itself out, like magic. I had an outline, all while I was cleaning that dreaded clothes chair.
5. Make Your Environment Yours
I grabbed my notebook, laptop desk, placed my cup of tea in reaching distance, and sat in my chair by the window. Greetings from the clothes chair! That's where I am right now in sweatpants looking out at the sun beaming on the autumn leaves. There's a slight chill from the breeze outside, but my sweater is keeping me warm.
If you're not comfy, your brain isn't comfy. Make your environment work for you. Get as comfortable as you can. When your brain is comfortable, all the pressure of racing the clock slips away.
Did the step away from my task take longer than 10 minutes? Yes. Was the task still there after I cleared my head? Yes. You may only need 5 minutes or you may need 2 hours, but the point is if you're feeling stuck or uninspired, walk away from it.
The mental strain of getting it done disappears — leaving you in a space to be more productive when you get back to it. I finished this blog post in a half hour. My tea is probably at a lukewarm room temperature by now.
The trick to stepping away is to do other productive tasks to get your momentum going. Everything I did while I stepped away were things that also needed to be done. You've heard me say it before let it go to let it flow. Once you do that, it’ll feel like magic.
I've created a free worksheet to get you out of your stuck-ness with all of these tips & more. Click here to download and start feeling inspired.