5 Actionable Steps to Get Out of An Unproductive Rut

I’m tired of feeling lazy

You know that feeling when you’ve binged on chocolate, and now you feel nauseous? Sweets are tasty when you eat them once in a while, but when you overdo it, your body gets overwhelmed.

Right now, that’s how I feel mentally. It’s a relief to watch YouTube and give your brain a break for 30 minutes, but spending multiple hours sitting in a closed room staring at your phone results in mental exhaustion.

I don’t believe that you have to be on the go 24/7. In fact, taking breaks strategically increases productivity. And after all, summers are for recharging. However, I’ve gotten to a point where I feel like I’m repeating the same unfulfilling day.

I do have highlights, like when I’m FaceTiming a friend or feel like I’ve made an impact in my online tutoring sessions, and I want to make those the norm rather than the exception.

I felt like this towards the end of last year too, but I ignored it. This time around, I’m starting to make simple but effective changes to regain my motivation and energy.

Proper self care

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott

You can’t be productive when your mental and physical health are in the toilet. Nourish your body through healthy eating, nurture your soul through meditation, and care for your brain by constantly seeking to learn.

Make sure your breaks are boosting your mental energy instead of sucking your vitality and passion out. A 5 minute meditation or 10 minute walk in between studying is more rejuvenating than an hour spent scrolling through social media.

Discover the activities that bring you joy, and do them. FaceTiming my friends is me staring at a screen, just like YouTube, but interacting with people I care about makes me happier than watching the lives of random strangers on the Internet.

Be proud of “small” accomplishments

Though I haven’t posted on my personal Medium blog in a few weeks, I’ve written multiple articles for my remote internship at MindSage. I recently created a publication called Mindfulness Matters that I’ve wanted to kick off since April. I’ve been pushing myself to be more mindful of my health and have started drinking a gallon of water each day.

Appreciating my growth, instead of comparing myself to others, gives me a boost to keep working on my personal projects. Just like making your bed every morning kicks off a cycle of productivity from the early morning, cherishing tiny achievements will create a positive feedback loop.

Write down one daily accomplishment before you go to bed, look at that ever-continuing list in the morning, and start your day off right.

Time tracking

I’ve been using Toggl to be conscious of where my hours are going. When time only exists within your mind, it’s difficult to recognize how many hours you spend on meaningless activities.

For a week, don’t change anything in your schedule. Work when you usually work, play when you typically play. But keep track of everything you do.

From the next week, you can start minimizing the activities that don’t bring you satisfaction while spending more time on what you actually enjoy.

Start a passion project

To combat burn out, find a creative outlet. When you work on something meaningful to you, your enthusiasm for life will return.

Working on your passion project won’t always be easy, but it’ll cultivate the creativity lost by doing mundane work. Remember your childhood hobbies? Reconnect with one of them and explore it to greater detail. Engaging with what you love will bring purpose to your life.

Medium is the passion project that brings me fulfillment.

Have a clear objective for each day

If you only store the tasks you have to do in your head, you’ll be overwhelmed with mental fatigue. Instead, use the Get Things Done method to plan each day for optimal productivity.

Brain dump your to-do list from your brain to a place where you can see it.

No need to get fancy: I use the Notes app. Once you have your list, prioritize and decide actionable steps to take to accomplish each item. Add reminders on places you’ll actually look, whether it be by using the Reminders app or placing sticky notes on your mirror. Update your list at least once a week.

Each morning, take a look at your to-do list and decide which task(s) you’re going to focus on.

The Takeaway

We all strive to attain the elusive “productivity,” but how many of us actually know what it is? Productivity isn’t doing more than your neighbor or packing your days with a million unnecessary meetings.

Rather, productivity is efficiently finishing the tasks we set for ourselves. With these 5 steps, you can achieve your version of productivity.