I have a confession to make. Most of my time is spent of the time is either writing, researching, or doing something to better my life. But there are some days when I don’t get anything done. Some days that old me just want to sit around the house and do nothing & it shows its ugly face and it rains over my smooth productive day. Don’t feel terrible if that is you from time to time, everyone (even us ADDers) have their off days, even me. What is most important is that you don’t let it happen too often and here are some ways to get out of your productivity rut.
Awareness – First is to become aware of when you are in a rut. The indications are things such as feeling of getting behind, feeling of overwhelm, having low energy, and tasks are piling up. It is pretty easy to pick out, but you have to be aware. That s your trigger that you need to do something more than just doing more. You need to get back on track with your system.
Make A Catch Up List – To do lists are a great way to commit yourself to getting things done. Grab yourself a piece of paper and write down everything that you need to do to feel like you are caught up. It is ok to put other things off at this point. What is important here removing the feelings of overwhelm.
Motivation – Find some ways to motivate yourself so you can get caught up. What are those things that you really want to do? What is your rut telling you (see Tip 1 Awareness) and holding you back from getting the task accomplished? Indentify this and use it to keep moving towards getting your list finished.
Take Small Steps – You know now what you have to do to get caught up, but don’t forget that you can’t do everything at once. Looking at your to do list can of bring on feelings of overwhelm. Set aside some time each day, whatever you need to do to get caught up. Do a few tasks here and there and cross them off your list as you go.
Finish It – This is so important. You are almost there. When you are feeling overwhelmed it is easy to give up on everything that you have to do. Keep track on that goal from tip 3 and use it to motivate yourself to keep yourself from going back into the rut. Now that you are out of the rut, continue to use that motivation and energy to keep things moving forward in your life. Continue to use it move towards your goals and continue to improve your life and level of success.