I spent most of yesterday (and part of last week) in a rut. The “I have no desire to do anything and would rather sit here like a blob” kind of rut. I’ve also been having head and body aches, which have added to my excuses for not doing anything. I’m not sure which came first – the aches or the blah feeling – or if one caused the other. It’s probably a part of my adjustment from working outside the home to now working at home.
Anyway, my point is not to bore you with details of how I’ve been a downer lately. Instead, I want to take advantage of this and share with you what I plan to do to get out of this rut. In doing so, it’ll help me lay it all out for myself too.
My first step will be to just get up and do something. Now this is going to be the hardest part, since as I mentioned, I don’t actually feel like doing anything. But, I have to force myself. It doesn’t have to be something big like cleaning the bathroom or anything. Something small like putting in a load to wash, doing a few of the dishes, or answering some emails. The point is that after I do the one thing, I’ll a) feel like I accomplished something and b) start a chain reaction. Doing the dishes will probably lead to cleaning up some of the clutter off the counters and wiping them down. Or answering a few emails might inspire a blog post to be written. One thing leads to another and hopefully a few more too.
I also plan to get out of the house a bit more. Normally, I’ve just been taking baby girl to preschool then coming back home and staying here. But, yesterday, I noticed that when I forced myself to go to the store in the evening, I came home with more energy. Well, maybe not energy, but at least some motivation. Being outside and running that small errand got my blood flowing I suppose and I came home wanting to do more.
And finally, I’ll share how I’m feeling with my family more often. Instead of just moping around, I’ll let my husband know what’s going on to help him understand. Just talking it out and hearing it all might help me work it out. I can also talk to my mom, who can give me a good old-fashioned pep talk of “get over it and do something”. Sometimes, it’s what you need to hear.
I suppose we all go through days where we’re just out of it and in a rut. I just can’t let it take over because I’d be putting myself and family in a really bad situation. I know that once I start getting a few things done, I’ll get back into my normal groove.
What do you do when you find yourself in a rut? Do you just ride it out or do you do anything specific to get yourself out of it?
Photo: Michelle Gibson
