Routines are part of everyday life for all of us. Habits that sneak up on you, that you don’t even always realise you’re doing the same thing day after day, after day…
Quite often, you don’t realise you are stuck in a rut until you’re deep into one. You lose motivation, creativity and everything just feels a little meaningless… you can’t bring yourself to care and lack the energy to make a change. Sound familiar?
Bringing yourself out of a mental rut needs action – but we’re going to break it down for you and hopefully these tips might help you recognise and start to move towards getting you unstuck.
Acknowledge the problem
Getting stuck in a slump is normal, the best thing you can do is address it now. Have compassion for yourself – blaming yourself won’t make it any better. Focus your energy on making a change.
Identify the problem
If you’re stuck, identifying why can help you start getting back up. Take some time for self-reflection, perhaps writing a list of anything that may be causing this rut can help you really identify how you’re feeling. Maybe it’s related to something temporary, like work or a life situation. Identify what’s in your control and you can change. Take note of what’s perhaps out of your hands and needs to be acknowledged and put in place coping methods to support you. Look at what brings you joy too and do more of these things.
Break things into steps
Falling into a slump can lead you to feel unmotivated and perhaps you’ve left some tasks fall to the wayside a little. If you’ve fallen behind, it can feel overwhelming to get back to them. Break things down into steps and check them off to make it easier to digest and manage.
Done is better than perfect
Don’t strive for perfection, all you can do is your best. Make small, manageable changes otherwise you may get overwhelmed or feel unmotivated if you don’t succeed as quickly as you hoped. Be kind to yourself and do what you can do.
Don’t forget about self-care
Make sure to check in and look after your wellbeing. Good self-care can help refresh both the mind and body and could help boost your energy and your motivation – so don’t neglect these, okay? You don’t need to go overboard, but some things you could do are:
Take time off when you feel burnt out to relax and recharge
You can also…
Start doing regular exercise: it could help manage your emotions and increase your focus and energy.
Try out meditation: it isn’t for everyone but can help calm the mind and body
Connect: spend time with loved ones who can support you and raise you up
Get some sleep: you may not know how much the amount of quality sleep you get can affect how you feel both in mind and body!
Get some fresh air
Getting outside can rejuvenate and help bring back some focus. It can help you feel grounded and may help alleviate some of your anxiety. Nature can be healing.
And finally… keep moving forward
If you stick with it, and keep doing the work, you will work yourself out of this rut and get back on track! You should also recognise when something isn’t working out – and know when to move on and try something else.
Sometimes a rut is just a rut – something temporary. But it can also indicate something more serious so do speak to a professional if you need help.
Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash
Comments