Recently read an article on ‘How Do You Pull Yourself Out of a Work Rut?’ by Jan Porter, published in Real Simple Magazine. It gave several interesting and practical ways to get out of the rut. I, myself have recently been in a rut, and have used a suggestion or two below.
Five Perspectives and what to do:
When I’m in a rut I try to do something that makes me feel really uncomfortable:
- ‘I took an improv class and did a comedy set at a fundraiser at my kid’s school in front of 1,000 people
- ‘Doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable forces you to use a new skill set.’
Big, looming task that you need to check off, so you can again become more productive and creative:
- ‘You’ve got to take some time to clear the deck a bit; I do writing retreats for three days
- ‘Sometimes I just go to Panera and plant myself at a table for 3-4 hours / being away from the chaos and turning the ringer off helps a lot.’
A work rut can be a feeling of being overwhelmed, with what needs to be done:
- ‘I need to take time to recharge and refill the creative well.
- I listen to podcasts when I’m cooking and cleaning. That’s really helpful for getting my creative juices flowing; I get my best ideas when I’m linking them to real – life stories.’
Fear often holds us back, ‘the thing I have to do is literally create space’:
- ‘I go for a walk or jog up a big hill (lives in San Francisco); I look at the city below and it makes me feel on top of the world.
- ‘I then feel like I have the space and drive to think about what I need to tackle next; and it gets my endorphins going.’
‘Change my schedule for the day’ and do something slightly different that day:
- ‘We have a shipping department where I work, and sometimes I’ll leave my space and help pack shipments; or go for a quick walk outside.
- ‘Leaving the office and using my brain in a different way frees up room for new ideas.’
Hope you can use these and think of other ways to creatively move yourself to a more productive time at work.