A few TIPS to help you push past those days you are just not feeling it.
Everyone has those days where you wake up and you are just not feeling it. You open your eyes, realize what the day holds, but you rather roll over and not move instead.
Maybe, you didn’t go to sleep when you needed to or you went to bed early but couldn’t sleep well. There are a plethora of reasons as to why this may be taking place on any given day.
But, what if you can’t just stay in bed?
What if you don’t have that luxury to just roll over and call it a day before the day has even started?
During these types of days, is where we find out what we are made of. With this in mind, we need to find sure fire ways to get through these moments. From my experience, it takes pure will power. However, there are a few things you can review now, that may help you push past these moments when they arrive.
The Table is Set
Understand that these are the moments where you grow. You can be successful at what you do 29 days out of the month, but that one day that gives you a hard time — that’s your opportunity. You have a perfect setting to work with. You have a challenge in front of you, and here you can choose which path you want to take.
We don’t grow during great times like we do during the difficult ones.
Always keep this in mind.
Watch the Internal Dialogue
This one is crucial. When we are not feeling our best, and we are not as productive as other days, our internal dialogue can change. Don’t beat yourself up for bad days. Embrace them.
If you don’t watch the dialogue, it will spiral and you can end up throwing away your whole day. Sometimes we don’t give enough thought to what we are thinking about and saying to ourselves. It’s important to slow down and catch this because thoughts create emotion and if emotion starts to take over us, then we fall victim to this trap.
If you really want to overcome these days, watch where your thoughts go and control them.
Bring them back to where they need to be.
Create a 3 Item To-Do List
Creating a written to-do list and sticking it somewhere you are going to see it, can really work wonders. On days like these, I like to write down just 3 things that I need to accomplish in order to feel a win on these days. These three tasks are my heavy hitters. They are not just get out of bed, brush my teeth and put on clothes.
They are things like get 1,000 words down, exercise for 1 hour, and help my family throughout the day.
Prioritizing a list of tasks that you know are going to drive you nuts unless you get them done is a great way to go. It’s a great way to simplify your day and put you on path.
Hit The Routine
Everyone should have a solid morning routine in place. If you don’t have one, then create one. Check out how to create a solid morning routine.
A morning routine is something that purely creates momentum for you.
It is a vehicle to get you from out of your bed, to a fresh mind, off to work. We each have our responsibilities that we should be carrying out daily. A morning routine just helps this process to flow for you.
In addition to that, if you build one properly, there will be little habits in that routine that will propel you towards becoming a better version of yourself.
Keep Moving. Even If You Are Already Behind Schedule
Just because you are already behind schedule — don’t quit on yourself.
Those days where we are not feeling it, can be so easy to throw in the towel. We think about calling out from work, or just procrastinate until tomorrow. Even though we know we shouldn’t.
Don’t allow a slow start or difficult morning, dictate the rest of the day.
Focus on carrying out your best from the point of where you are at currently.
Don’t focus on what has taken place or is taking place. Focus on what the final product can look like if you just keep going.
Remind Yourself WHY
I have talked about finding your “why” before. I believe this to be extremely valuable information and should be identified with the utmost clarity.
Having a purpose driven mentality helps you to overcome difficult moments. It becomes your anchor.
If you know why you are doing something, then you can carry out passion and determination towards it.
On the other hand, if you are just moving through your day because you feel that there is no other option, you are going to have a hard time grinding through hard times.
When you wake up to those days where you are just not feeling it, take a moment to quiet the mind and remind yourself why you need to keep going.
Regardless of how you feel.
Caffeine
There is a reason why caffeine is the number one consumed drug in the world. Caffeine can really take your mind out of that morning fog and lazy state rather quickly. I like to have a cup of coffee each morning to help get me going. ☕️
A great alternative if you are not a coffee drinker, is 🍵 tea. There are many different tea options that can help provide you with some extra energy when you need it most.
I have found that no matter how much I am just not feeling it on a given day; a fresh cup of plain black coffee can really turn things around for me.
Before, I get tempted to allow resistance to take over I always say, — ” Let me just have my coffee first.” 9 times out of 10, the coffee usually wins.
Music
Music can zap me from one state to another in a heart beat. It is an extremely powerful tool to add to your difficult days and mornings. If you are not feeling it on a given day, recognize it for what it is. Play your favorite song or playlist and pay attention as to how quickly things can change.
It may not just shoot you out of bed dancing. Actually, it might 😂 but at the very least it should get you going.
Who knows… maybe you do just get up and dance a little. 💃
Journal
Journaling is a powerhouse. It just requires consistency to find it’s powers. If you do journal already, this becomes a great place to break out of that morning slump.
Journaling allows for you to change your state of mind.
How?
By writing about what you are experiencing. This gives the brain something to work with. These aren’t just thoughts racing around now. Now, you have things on paper. The brain can analyze and fix problems when it can clearly identify them.
Journaling can be a place to recognize the issue at hand, and then figure out the solution. Often times, all we need to do is just vent. Journaling can provide that for you.
Start Small
On days where you are just not feeling it, doing anything can seem like a daunting task. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Start with some small tasks that can get you moving in the right direction. Often times taking one small step forward, can make the next one just a little bit easier.
If you find yourself in a slump, don’t start to think about all of things you need to get done. Start small and take it from there.
Create Momentum
Taking a step in the right direction, no matter how big or small, creates momentum. Momentum is what you want during these days. The reason you feel so heavy is because you haven’t done anything yet. You know what needs to get done. You just don’t want to do it.
By starting small and creating momentum for yourself, you can really overcome these days. Picture a snowball rolling downhill just expanding as it moves and gains speed. Essentially, this is what you want to create for yourself.
If harnessed properly, momentum is extremely powerful.
Slow is Smooth & Smooth is Fast
Don’t worry about being behind on time, or trying to figure out how you are going to finish your day.
You have already identified that you are not feeling it. There is no need to go on trying to speed things up to stress yourself out even further.
Sometimes, moving with purpose and mechanics can be quicker and more efficient than speed.
Staying calm and working towards the solution may bring you a lot more success than you ever imagined.
Don’t Seek Perfection, Seek Execution
On these difficult days, perfection becomes your worst nightmare. Don’t look to have everything as perfect as possible. Heck, don’t even try to put out the same quality that you do on most days.
The days you are just not feeling it, don’t seek perfection — seek execution.
Just get things done. Move the needle forward and put your best effort forward. You already know that things have been off for you. Don’t go making it worse by putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.
If you can focus on just getting things done, you most likely will find yourself on that path. You may even find that you put out great quality work on these days if you learn how to leverage them.
Exercise
I know what you may be thinking — “I can’t even get out of bed, how in the world am I going to go workout?! 😳
Working out can be a daunting task for most. In fact, it’s often a task that people just shove to the side on days like these. However, I would challenge you to go give this one a shot — especially on these types of days.
A nice workout can really get your blood moving and can shift you from a tired lazy state, to a very powerful one. Consistent Exercise, is one of those habits that just makes you a better version of yourself.
Is it difficult to achieve? Well, Yes. That’s ok though. Usually, the most valuable achievements in life are those that are difficult to achieve.
If it were easy everyone would be doing it.
Finish Late, but Finish
As the late Kobe Bryant once said, “Job’s not Finished.”
Your start can be terrible, but you can still still finish strong. We have heard that saying — “It’s not about how you start, it’s all about how you finish.
Don’t worry so much about the start. Instead, focus on all of the little things that you can do to keep improving your day as it unfolds.
You may have lost the morning, or just running behind in general. That doesn’t mean you can’t finish late.
Sleep is important. I just prioritize finishing the job more.
Final Thoughts
We are all going to face days where we are just not feeling it. If you haven’t had one in a while, then kudos to you. You are probably executing routine and daily habits that keep you in line.
Although, no matter how great you are, you will face days of difficulty. Try implementing one of these power tips and see which one holds the most value to you.
You may start off slow, and that is ok. Just make sure you finish strong! 💪
