I am human. Sometimes I just don’t want to do anything on my task list. While I take regular breaks, sometimes I find myself at my desk wishing I was anywhere else. Here are two of the tricks I’ve found most valuable for when I wish I had the day off.
Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by all the things I need to do. It happens every now and again. Maybe the day before wasn’t as focused as I hoped and a deadline is breathing a bit harder down my neck. I take myself off somewhere that isn’t my normal workspace and I write down all the things I need to do, all the things I think I need to do, all the things I want to do. Yes, this is duplicating most of my list, but by writing it all out I stop thinking and worrying about it. It’s on a piece of paper and I don’t have to waste any more thought on it. I often combine this brain dump with a walk to the coffee shop, it’s a treat to have someone else make me even a simple cup of coffee and the walk helps clear my head. The list and all the things haven’t changed, but my perspective has.
I also turn to routine tasks that don’t require much thought so I can just do something already and begin to build momentum. Maybe I spend a few minutes tidying my desk, clean the bathroom, or check wordpress updates for a maintenance client. I don’t need to solve any problems, I just need to work on the doing. One of my things I do daily is part of a year-long creative project, yearofmaking. Sometimes if I find myself checking social media and news sites a bit too often in a day and my focus is gone, it’s helpful to just shove aside the keyboard and mouse and pull out the watercolours for a few minutes. I’ll talk more about habits, routines, and my long standing love of colouring books soon.
What do you do when you just don’t want to work?