Getting out of a funk Jan02 '07
You're moving through tasks with ease. You're thinking clearly, coming up with solutions to problems, and things are falling into place nicely. You're able to multi-task - juggling many problems at once, and still able to give sufficient attention to each. Most importantly, you're enjoying yourself immensely. You look at the clock and hours have passed. You are fully absorbed in your work.
This is what work is all about. It should always be this easy.
Unfortunately, it's not this easy. The slightest setback can have major "ripple effects" on your production and motivation.
- Someone makes a snide comment to you about something you're in charge of. Immediately you begin to think that the company doesn't value your expertise, and co-workers are ignorant. You start to think, "What's the point of working hard if nobody cares?"
- A task you once thought was interesting has just lost it's luster. Now it seems mundane and completely boring, making it hard to start other tasks, because motivation has dropped.
- You can't get something to work right, and you begin fighting with technology, causing frustration and loss of inspiration.
The setback doesn't even have to be about work (although it usually is) - it can also be a personal matter, or just plain over-eating at lunch.
The important thing is to not lose focus. It's crucial to alter your perceptions as early as possible, before you enter the spiral of self-defeat and negative thinking.
Here are some things that help me snap out of a funk:
- Doing something else. By simply changing tasks, this usually alleviates 95% of the stress associated with the initial task. I can always come back to it later.
- Writing a blog entry about something on my mind.
- Reading my RSS feeds sometimes provides inspiration.
- Talking to someone on IM about something completely random.
- Talking in person to co-workers around me - again, not about work-related things.
- Go outside for a walk around the block, and some much needed sunlight.
- Saying what's on your mind to whoever's around you! Get it all out of your system!
Everyone has their own way of getting out of a funk, and I'd be curious to hear what others do.
Categories: Productivity 
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is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago.
Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.
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