4 Ways To Get Unstuck

Have you ever felt like you’re going through your day and your brain seems to be sitting at 1% battery? You have a list of items to accomplish, but nothing is clicking and you sit and stare at your screen waiting for something to click.

I definitely have. It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain other than just feeling stuck.

You go to write...nothing.
You go to implement something....nothing.
You go to create a presentation...nothing.

Gah! It’s so frustrating, isn’t it?!

Because I’ve been there and still get stuck - I wanted to share 4 ways that help me get unstuck:

1. Journal

I know it sounds so boring and a waste of time, but it’s so powerful. This isn’t something you’re going to share with anyone if you don’t want to. Shoot, feel free to burn the page if that makes you feel better! The goal is to just write about anything and everything without it needing to make sense.

Since sitting down with a blank piece of paper can feel intimidating, here are some prompts to help get you started:

- Recap your day/week/month
- How is your life right now? What is best about it and what could be improved?
- What’s something that has happened that has you upset/frustrated and truly how does that make you feel about the situation/person (remember we’re not saving these so pour it all out). Let it out!
- Write to your younger self
- Write to your future self

2. Braindump

I’ve written on “6 Steps To A Succesful Braindump” before, but here’s the why. Imagine your browser tabs on your computer. Now imagine having 45 tabs open all at once and you’re clicking back and forth. The more you have open you may notice the load time is slower (I'm not that techy so this may not be why it loads slow, but in my head, it seems to make sense!). Now imagine having all those tabs open in your brain and the energy that it takes to keep it all up there. No wonder it starts to shut down.

So, grab a piece of paper and just start writing all the to-do’s (personal and business) that are taking up space in your head and clear it all out. Then when you’re ready go back to the blog mentioned above and work through that braindump!

3. Take a break to eat something

Yes, you, who has worked through both breakfast and lunch while only having coffee and maybe some cashews when you walked by the pantry. Food nurtures our body and our brain and gives us energy. If you don’t eat enough food you’re not going to have the energy you need to perform the tasks you need to accomplish for the work you were hired to do. And yes, it matters what food you eat, but that would be a whole other blog by someone more qualified than me.

Once I closed our space and started working from home I made a promise to myself that I would take a lunch break away from my computer and office. Do things occasionally come up and I eat at my desk? Yes. But, 90% of the time I close my computer and eat on our back deck or at the kitchen table. I feel so much better and come back to my task list refreshed and ready to go.

Put your lunch break on your calendar and when the alarm goes off head to the kitchen :)

4. Get outside/move your body

We’re not made to work all day long with zero breaks. I don’t care how productive you think it’s going to be - your body and brain will suffer and it’ll come back to bite you in the you know what.

Remove your eyes from the screen and go soak in that Vitamin D! The benefit of both sunshine and movement is that it gives your eyes a rest from staring at a screen, boosts your energy, and creates whitespace for your creative side to kick in (and so much more, but you can google that).

Movement doesn’t have to be going to a CrossFit class. It can be a walk, a light jog, or simply stretching. Do what you can with what you have - don’t overcomplicate it. For me, it’s typically a mile walk. It helps that our dog needs a daily walk, so after I eat lunch she’ll stare at me and make sure I’m headed to get her leash!

Now, I’ve shared my 4 ways to get unstuck and I want to hear from you! What do you do to get unstuck?