It's a guarantee that during your life you're going to fall behind in your work, your expectations
and your relationships.
Even when you have been in a constant wave of productivity or success, the ups and downs
of life will eventually catch up with you and lead you to a state of mind where you're
no longer proud of your work and your efforts.
The most important thing you need to understand is that being on a rut or falling behind is
a part of your cycle of effort and success.
Without these moments, it's impossible to see progress, reinvent yourself or have new
ideas.
In a sense, these dark moments are a step back that allow you to be more mindful and
aware, so you can take two steps forward.
Once you understand that being on a rut or falling behind is a natural behaviour, you'll
be able to rationalize better your understanding of that feeling of frustration and know how
to move forward.
It's equally important to know how to get stronger during these moments and know what
to do when you're feeling like you're falling behind.
So here is my advice when you're caught in a rut:
1.
Give yourself a hard resting period.
Allow yourself the right of not being productive or producing quality work for a couple of
days.
Tell yourself you deserve to procrastinate for some time.
Select a couple of entertaining activities you've wanted to do for a long time but didn't
feel like you deserved to, like playing video games for an entire morning, binge watching
a Netflix show or talking with a friend on the phone for hours.
This if fundamental to reset your mindset for the next step.
2.
Be brave enough to think of a new strategy.
If what you're doing right now isn't working for you, maybe it's time to think of a new
way to deal with your current situation.
Reorganizing your life, your work tools and rethinking your current projects are essential.
Brainstorm and allow yourself the time and space to think properly of what is going wrong.
Try to figure out what is the root of the problem, what are the habits, mindset or routines
that are making the problem worse and whether your way of working in a specific way is still
adequate to the person you are today in comparison with the person you were when you first started.
Maybe your current habits can't adapt to your schedule anymore; maybe your old study techniques
don't get you the high grades you had in the past; maybe your old fitness routine doesn't
allow you to reduce weight now.
Maybe your productivity workflow doesn't work as it used to.
Independently of the target, you should know there's a way to overcome this feeling of
falling behind and being more mindful and planning and brainstorming your way out of
this crisis is the way to go.
3.
Surround yourself by an inspiring environment.
Even if it means abandoning your usual spot to work, study or think, dedicate more time
to your work environment.
Visual and auditive stimuli will allow you to think in new and improved ways.
Create a new playlist, decorate your home office with plants, reorganize your planner.
Overall, make an effort to setup the environment related to your current issues in a positive
way that creates the sensation that you're starting a new chapter in your life, even
if that chapter began with hard challenges.
4.
Find a way to externalise your feelings of frustration.
There's a clear reward in pouring your heart out to someone you trust, but if you don't
feel comfortable enough with sharing your feelings of frustration with someone, try
free-form journaling.
Free-form journaling is basically allowing yourself to write down your feelings and your
thoughts without a specific schedule, length or purpose.
Trying to pressure yourself to follow a new habit during this time will only add up to
that feeling of frustration.
Having a journal is your safe spot to write what's on your mind.
Looking back on those thoughts in the future will give you more clarity and will allow
you to understand what were the steps you took to get out of this rut.
Most important of all is not allowing this moment to conquer you and drag you behind
for a long period of time.
Always remember to trust your gut and know that you are stronger than you think.
If you enjoyed this video, you can subscribe for more content on productivity, organization
and motivation and as always I will see you next Friday.
Bye!