{"id":942,"date":"2009-06-03T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2009-06-03T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/03\/how-to-kick-yourself-out-of-a-slump\/"},"modified":"2018-04-03T08:18:43","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:18:43","slug":"how-to-kick-yourself-out-of-a-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/03\/how-to-kick-yourself-out-of-a-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Kick Yourself Out of a Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slumps suck. You don\u2019t feel motivated to work. You don\u2019t enjoy your time off. Worse, sometimes your slump turns into a habit, and feeling drained for a few days becomes a few months.<\/p>\n

This week, I found myself in a slump. A few small setbacks and a disruption of my routine dragged me down. Temporary slumps like these are pretty common, and I don\u2019t think there are many people who can say don\u2019t experience them from time to time.<\/p>\n

But, just because slumps are unavoidable doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t kick yourself out of them. I\u2019ve found there are a lot of strategies you can use to quickly bring yourself out of a slump. Even if you have experienced a recent setback, you can refuel your enthusiasm faster, so you can get back to enjoying life.<\/p>\n

When Do You Need a Kick in the Ass?<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not advocating that people should be happy and motivated all the time. If someone insults you, it\u2019s alright to be angry at them. If you get brushed off by someone you really wanted to meet, it\u2019s only human to feel some rejection.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve received a lot of email from this website, so I\u2019ve become more desensitized to it than when I first started blogging. But even today, if someone sends me an email attacking me personally, I\u2019m not immune from being drained by that. If a few draining events get stacked together, that is often enough to trigger a temporary slump.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t feel anything from a disappointment, that\u2019s only proof you\u2019re a rock.<\/p>\n

But, I think there is a point when you need to examine what\u2019s more useful. Staying in a slump after a fall, or kicking yourself in the ass and getting back to life?<\/p>\n

Ignoring the Pebbles<\/h2>\n

Most slumps aren\u2019t over the boulders blocking our path. They\u2019re about the small pebbles stuck in the bottom of your shoes. If one of my projects fails miserably, that\u2019s a disappointment, but in the big picture it isn\u2019t a huge problem.<\/p>\n

One strategy I use to consistently kick myself out of slumps is to zoom out and look at my longer-term goals. From this perspective, a temporary setback is just that, temporary. You can see the bigger picture and see why you bothered to get started in the first place.<\/p>\n

I did this earlier today. My routine and productivity had been drained the last few days, so I decided to step back and stop what I was working on. I took out a piece of paper and spent a few hours looking at what my bigger goals are. For me, that meant reminding myself of my goals to live a digital life and move closer towards financial freedom.<\/p>\n

The beauty of this method is it works even when you\u2019re in a pessimistic mood. Even after a major setback and I feel reaching my goals will be impossible, this focuses me on the actions I need to take to reach it. I may not feel cheery after I\u2019m finished, but at least I\u2019ll be focused on creating solutions and working harder, not wallowing in apathy, staring at my computer.<\/p>\n

After spending a few hours, I eventually decided not to make any changes to my strategy. Although some goals were progressing more slowly than I would like, I didn\u2019t find any ways to greatly improve my performance. This is completely fine, since the point of the review was to reconnect myself to the big picture.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have any goals or a big picture that you\u2019ve given much thought to before, then no wonder you\u2019re in a slump. Spend some time brainstorming what you want your life to look like in five years. Even if you change your mind later, that doesn\u2019t matter. What\u2019s important is that you will have a resource to give you energy every day.<\/p>\n

Realign Your Routine<\/h2>\n

If my slump is more than just a few days, I\u2019ll make efforts to realign my routine. This is one of the reasons I feel the ability to change habits<\/a> is so important. When your habits are out of sync, you sabotage your performance.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t feel there is much that makes working earlier in the morning intrinsically better than sleeping in. But, with myself, it\u2019s heavily associated with many other productive states of mind and habits. If I\u2019m in a funk, realigning my routine to fit with my ideal day is a good way to escape that slump.<\/p>\n

Starting a new Thirty Day Trial can be an excellent way to kick yourself out of a low orbit.<\/p>\n

What if You Need More Than a Kick?<\/h2>\n

Sometimes a kick isn\u2019t enough. Whenever this has happened to me, I\u2019ve found it\u2019s because of one of two reasons:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I\u2019ve experienced a giant setback, disappointment or burnout that will take more time to recover from.<\/li>\n
  2. I\u2019m working on the wrong goals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you\u2019ve recently experienced a huge setback that has drained you far more than normal, you might need more time to recover. I think the same approach used for temporary setbacks can work here too, but it takes more time and effort before you regain your enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

    But in other cases, it isn\u2019t the setback at all that\u2019s the problem, it\u2019s your goals themselves. Your current goals and plan aren\u2019t fueling you with motivation to move forward. I know this is the case if I spend a few hours reviewing my biggest goals and feel less motivated than when I started.<\/p>\n

    You might not have control over your current situation. You might need to work at your current job to support a family. Or you might have responsibilities, debt or commitments that prevent you from immediately changing paths.<\/p>\n

    However, even if that\u2019s the case, your goals are still yours to choose. Even if, because of your current situation, you need to set your goals for 10 or 15 years in advance, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t set them now. Remember, your goals aren\u2019t even real. They only exist in your head, so you have the freedom to align yourself with whatever you want. You may not have control over the short-term or the timeline involved, but most goals are achievable in some capacity if you give it enough time.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve had students write to me that they aren\u2019t inspired by the courses they are taking. That\u2019s pretty common. You may not be working in the right field, or you may not have found anything you\u2019re passionate about yet. Even if you are in the right field, you might dislike the academic work required to get started. All of that is understandable, but that doesn\u2019t prevent you from setting longer-term goals and investing a bit of time working towards them.<\/p>\n

    Inputs Create the Outputs<\/h2>\n

    If the saying, \u201cyou are what you eat,\u201d has any truth, then I think a similar expression could also apply: \u201cyou think what you read.\u201d If your thoughts are in a slump, and you can\u2019t find the right goals to drag yourself out of it, you probably need higher quality inputs.<\/p>\n

    If you can\u2019t imagine what goals to set, then start researching people who have set interesting goals. You don\u2019t need to be a pioneer, being a follower is often better because you can see the path ahead of you.<\/p>\n

    Giving a Good, Hard Kick<\/h2>\n

    A slump is characterized by aimless wandering, without clarity or enthusiasm. So the best way to replace it is to find a clear direction you can be enthusiastic about. If you already have one, perhaps you need a reminder. If you don\u2019t have one, then you should probably figure out what it should be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Slumps suck. You don\u2019t feel motivated to work. You don\u2019t enjoy your time off. Worse, sometimes your slump turns into a habit, and feeling drained for a few days becomes a few months. This week, I found myself in a slump. A few small setbacks and a disruption of my routine dragged me down. Temporary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[683,4],"tags":[36,26,38,380],"class_list":{"0":"post-942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-nc-career","7":"category-goal-setting","8":"tag-energy","9":"tag-goals","10":"tag-productivity","11":"tag-slump","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Kick Yourself Out of a Slump - Scott H Young<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/03\/how-to-kick-yourself-out-of-a-slump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Kick Yourself Out of a Slump - Scott H Young\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Slumps suck. 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