It’s ok to have an off day
Photo by Shannon Kunkle on Unsplash
Sometimes, even with the best intentions and all of the motivation you can possibly muster, there are days when things are just…off. The day may have even started great! You slept well, the weather is perfect, you’re excited to get to work on your favorite project. But then things just start to unravel, and you don’t have any control. Your bus is late, or traffic is a nightmare. Or your bus is late because traffic is a nightmare. Your computer gives you the blue screen of death. All of your participants cancel for the day. (But you’re still on the hook for paying for the scanning hours.) A paper you were really proud of gets desk rejected. All you want to do is go back to bed. (Traffic is a nightmare on the way home too.)
This particular example might be a little extreme. (And it may or may not be inspired by real-life events.) But days like this happen to all of us. And it’s annoying. I’m not going to try to sugar-coat it. Sometimes it just feels like the universe is mocking you. And all you were trying to do was have a good day; one in which you were totally going to be super productive and get back on track with your to-do list. And now you’re even further behind than when the day started? Rude.
My advice? Don’t fight it. If you’re finding that you’re getting increasingly frustrated because everything you are trying to do that day is turning into a flaming pile of garbage, then take a time out rather than trying to get something—anything—to work. Now, this advice may fill you with panic. After all, you have so much work to do, and now it’s even worse. Wouldn’t it be irresponsible to not try to cram in more work? But, here’s the reality: trying to force something to go right is not actually a good headspace for making things go right. In fact, it’s the exact wrong one. In your frustration, you will likely make mistakes. Making mistakes will either leave you angry with yourself or in a pit of despair: I was trying so hard, I can’t do anything right. This feeds back into feelings of insecurity and imposter syndrome. Or, maybe the work goes reasonably ok, but you end up snapping at colleagues or loved ones when they try to have a conversation with you, because you feel like you don’t have time to talk to them when you’re so far behind. Recognize when you’re feeling these negative emotions, or acting out inappropriately, and step away until you feel better. Go for a walk, get some exercise, or even go back to bed. Reset and try again tomorrow.
In the long run, if you have been putting in the work with consistent focus, stepping away for a few hours, or even a day, is not going to derail your progress. Think of your productivity like stock prices: some days your stock goes up, some days it goes down. But every single working day, the market is open. Some weeks have wild swings. But, the goal is that, over an extended period of time, the line trends up. Trust in yourself that even if today went off the rails, tomorrow is new day and you get a chance to start again. And maybe it will be your best day yet.
Don’t let an off day crush your spirit; instead, take a day off and crush that to-do list later. Want strategies to stop one bad day from derailing your week? Book a free discovery call—I’d love to help you shift your mindset and protect your energy.
Next week: It’s ok to be ambitious and it’s ok to prioritize balance.
