Sometimes life hits you in the face with a bat. When something has thrown us off balance, it’s very possible to get overwhelmed by daily life and spiral into a rut. And when you don’t feel like doing anything, life becomes increasingly challenging. Getting out of a rut is no easy job.
This society is arranged in such a way that taking consistent action is often necessary to keep your life going comfortably and to feel good about yourself.
However, keeping up with the daily chores of life becomes a massive burden when your mental health is not in the best state. Then, even the tiniest tasks can feel like too much.
Those tasks that you used to do without thinking twice become hard. That’s when you know you’re in a big rut.
When this feeling lasts for a few days or weeks it can be quite unsettling, but it usually doesn’t disrupt the flow of your life too much. Sometimes, it can even be a good way to honor your body telling you you could use a break.
But what if we’ve been stuck in a rut for months? Or maybe even years by now? What do we do if we’re stuck in a SERIOUS rut?
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The Cycle
When we’re stuck in a rut, we usually have very little motivation to pull ourselves out of it. We already don’t have the motivation to take out the trash, so how would we have the energy left to pull ourselves out of a rut? In this stage, things can quickly start to feel like a never-ending cycle.
You’re too unmotivated to get anything done. But because you’re not getting anything done you start to feel powerless. And when you start to feel powerless, you will feel like you have no control over your life. Doing anything in a powerless state usually won’t lead to effective results, and it can take massive amounts of energy.
You know you are neglecting yourself, but you don’t know how to stop (or even care about stopping) this behavior. You may start to neglect your dreams, your health, your social life. Maybe even your career or passions.
Because you’re not filling up your cup you have no energy to care about getting out of this mindset. You want to. But you don’t want to.
You want to want to get to a better place, but the lack of willpower makes it feel impossible for you. And thus, you’ll stay right where you are.
Coming out of the cycle
As you can probably tell, I understand how hopeless it can feel to not know how to get yourself out of a rut.
What I’ve come to find though, is that the only way to get back on track, unfortunately, is to start doing more of the things you are currently avoiding.
Now before you think: “Well duh!? That’s the problem”, hear me out.
You have gotten so used to not doing things because you don’t feel like it or don’t have any energy for it, that you forgot how to manage your behavior effectively. You have become used to that powerless state of not thriving. Of listening to that voice that says “Not right now” or “I just don’t feel like it”.
So we need to find a way back into a state that’s just slightly more active than the one you’re in now. We need to start building some momentum!
Because the very antidote to pulling yourself out of it is doing some of the things you’ve been avoiding, so you can feel good about your accomplishments again.
It is to challenge yourself gently.
From there, you can start to get back into managing your life. Why? Because you will feel a sense of control over yourself. Because you will feel like you can do things again. The taste of accomplishment is still sweet, even though you have forgotten what it tastes like.
How to get out of a rut
Just the idea of having to do all this might be tiring for you right now. That’s why I came up with a list of things you can start doing that take minimal effort and barely cost any time but have a high level of reward.
Obviously, it does take some effort on your part. And that is to decide to try at least one of the habits that seem the least daunting to you and try and stick to it. Pick the ones where, upon reading them, you might feel like “hmm, that might be sort of doable?”.
The beauty of incorporating such tiny habits into your daily life is that they are low effort, high reward. They don’t cost a lot of time or effort, are easy to execute, and help support an area of your life you’ve been neglecting.
Building takes time
Just a gentle warning here: if you’ve been stuck in a rut for an extensive period, even committing to a 1-minute habit every day might not be a success. When this is the case it usually doesn’t have anything to do with the task itself, but with the fact that you can’t manage your behavior and command yourself yet.
Please do not become discouraged when you notice that it’s hard to stick to it every day. It’s about falling, getting back up and then starting again. And again. And again.
Now, let’s jump into the rest of the post and get some inspiration for how to get out of a rut!
1. Start journaling for 15 (or more) minutes every morning
To save you time, I will start with the habit that has been mostly responsible for getting me out of a slump slowly, but surely. What has helped me the most to get out of a rut is journaling every morning as soon as I wake up.
It’s quite straightforward: you get an empty notebook, you declare it your new journal book, you put it where you usually spend your morning, and then as soon as you wake up you go there first thing and you start writing.
This style of journaling is also known as “Morning Pages” or “Stream of conciousness-writing”. There is not a wrong or right way to do it, because the idea is that you write whatever comes to mind.
You simply write whatever you feel like writing about.
Be it what’s on your mind, be it what you want to eat for dinner, be it what you need to do today, be it what intentions you have for the day, whatever really! It’s super freeing because you are in full control of what you write and devote time each day to check in with yourself.
How to do it
The way I do it is as follows: I start by writing the date at the top of the page. Next, I write about how I felt waking up. Did I feel anxious? Are my muscles tense? Do I feel motivated? Do I feel cranky? Did I have intense dreams? Do I dread having to start the day or am I excited for today?
Then I continue writing until I need to start getting ready, or until I no longer feel inspired.
There are a lot of benefits to picking up this habit. Since you start each day writing about how you feel, you will become better at identifying your feelings. Over time, you will notice how each emotion or sensation feels in your body.
This is incredibly important if you want to start feeling better and become more in tune with yourself because your feelings and emotions will guide you along the way.
If you would like a more guided version to help you get started with journaling, check out this blog post for inspiration.
2. Drink a glass (or two) of water every day
Now, I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s important to drink water. You’ve heard this plenty.
Nearly every blog post involving self-improvement talks about drinking water to enhance well-being. They recommend about 6-8 glasses a day, but his aim is a bit excessive and is not what we are going for if it’s already hard for you to even drink enough in the first place.
However, not drinking any water is not the way to go. The long-term effects of chronic dehydration will show up over time.
Water helps support your health by flushing out toxins, regulating your blood pressure and body temperature, keeping your joints functioning properly, and managing your weight (among other benefits!)
Chronic dehydration could also lead to permanent skin damage, which we would rather skip if we could!!
What I started doing when I wanted to get into the habit of drinking water again, was to track my intake daily and increase my goal as time went on. You can hang a water tracker on your fridge to remind yourself of your water intake and motivate yourself as much as you can.
Drinking water will help you feel less sluggish and more refreshed. Over time, it will also prevent damage to your brain and body.
3. Take vitamins or a collagen supplement every day
There’s a very good chance your nutrition has taken a hit too. Although it might help you shed some extra weight at first, eventually this will lead to you looking and feeling dull. To stop this from progressing and maybe even reverse it, consider taking collagen or supplements.
Collagen is a great tool I use to assist my physical health. It’s a very concentrated source of protein, making this a nutrient-dense option when you are not eating enough protein.
Your body will turn these proteins into amino acids, which are essential to create neurotransmitters, support the communication of your nervous system, and are beneficial for healthy hair and skin. It also helps assist in joint health for easy movement. All important to feel better!
But, most of all: it gives me a good feeling about myself first thing in the morning. It’s low effort and easy to consume: you just scoop it in your coffee. And yet it’s still high reward: I start the day with the feeling that I’m taking care of myself. This is key.
The one I always buy is this one from Great Lakes, but you can do your own research to find a brand you like.
Supplements
If you’re vegetarian – or just not that into the idea of collagen – you could also take vitamin supplements first thing in the morning.
Supplements have a bad rep, and there are many pills and powders out there that will have great marketing but no research to support their claims. However, some supplements are proven to have health benefits when used as prescribed.
Some of the most important ones for your mental health that are proven to be effective are:
- D3 – Helps to boost your mood, helps support healthy bones, and could help regulate your weight.
- Omega 369 – this supplement is particularly good for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and clearing plaque from the arteries. It also improves brain function. Keep your heart and brain healthy!
- Magnesium: Magnesium can lengthen the duration of your sleep, help lower your blood sugar levels, and improve your mood.
4. Stretch or Do Tapping During TV Time
This is a good habit to start with if you are a Netflix junkie! The idea is that you get moving, while at the same time keeping up with your favorite TV shows, or binge-watching your YouTube homepage. You probably would have done that anyway, so why not do something useful in the meantime to get yourself on track just a little bit more?
You can do a workout, practice some yoga or stretching, or you can do a tapping routine!
For this to work well and stick to it, you could consider making an agreement with yourself that you will use one particular show or video genre that you can only watch while you perform a movement routine.
You will find it easier to stick to it that way, and over time you will notice you’ll start to feel better.
All forms of movement are great to stimulate your brain and release the right neurochemicals for you to feel better about yourself and your day.
What is Tapping?
And the same is true for tapping. I recently discovered tapping after having seen it blowing up on social media over the past years. People swear by it, and for good reason!
It took me a while to get into it because it looked like a placebo to me first. But after following this routine just once, I noticed a difference in how my body felt and how bad my anxiety was.
Especially the part where you tap your lower belly while breathing deeply really helps. And it’s a great tool to have in your toolkit when you feel overwhelmed.
The research around tapping isn’t conclusive yet. But so far from what I know, tapping stimulates the nervous system by applying pressure to certain acupoints in your body.
Try it out before you judge it!
5. Set a Timer for 10 Minutes
This trick is one I swear by. It’s super straightforward, and it’s a great tool when you have a hard time getting things done. The concept is very simple: you set a timer of 10 minutes (not more) and you start doing what you need to do.
Let’s take doing your chores and tidying your house for this example (an area where I use this trick the most and have found it to be super helpful in times of stress!).
Sometimes your living area has become total chaos. There’s stuff everywhere.
The task (tidying your living area) has become such a big one, that you often don’t know where to start and feel overwhelmed by the idea of even starting. Result: you simply don’t start.
The timer deals with this problem of overwhelm because the idea is just that you do something. Anything. It doesn’t matter what it is. As long as you do it fast.
Simply start your timer and get the job done. It’s only 10 minutes, so you can continue with whatever you want after the 10 minutes are done.
That sounds doable, doesn’t it? You will notice that in 10 minutes you can get a lot done.
If the 10 minutes are up, you can decide whether or not you feel like you’re up for another 10 minutes, or if you want to quit. Just listen to your body and see what you feel like!
6. Go to a Local Cafe to Read
This one is also one of my favorites to get out of a slump: Going to a coffee cafe that feels cozy, order my favorite iced cappuccino and go reading. Just by myself.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m not feeling my best I tend to self-isolate. Socializing doesn’t come as naturally to me compared to when I feel good. So I tend to avoid going out of the house.
Besides, just finding the energy to make myself ready to leave the house can already be a massive chore that seems impossible to overcome when I’m deep inside a rut.
After a while though, you will realize that avoiding going out isn’t going to get you anywhere near getting out of it.
I made the decision to go to the coffee cafe at least 4 times a week. If I just went I had already “won” so I could go for as short or as long as I wanted. To ensure I can stick to this habit, I always have a book with me in my bag when I go out, so I always have it with me should I decide to go out.
Why Reading?
The benefits of implementing this habit are threefold. You will have to get ready to leave the house, so you will feel less slumpy and are exposed to sunlight. You will be surrounded by people, which (whether you like to admit it or not) will make you feel less alone. And lastly, you will reap the benefits of reading!
I can write a whole blog post about why reading is good for you, but to name a few: it improves your memory and concentration, prevents cognitive decline, reduces stress, and it improves your knowledge and empathy levels (And these are just a few of the many many benefits of reading!).
Because I never used to read, I wanted to start picking up this new habit with a book that wasn’t too daunting. That’s why I started with a classic novel that is well-rated but doesn’t have too many pages. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was perfect for this. It wasn’t too hard to read, but the story was very captivating. I actually wanted to leave the house to go to the cafe and read.
Take Away
I hope reading this blog post has given you some hope and motivation to kick-start your ability to manage your behavior again.
Is there one habit that you would like to try for yourself to slowly get back on track? Set up a plan and get cracking! You are only one attempt away from moving back up again.
And remember: it’s about baby steps. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t manage to stick to your habits. You are stuck in a serious rut, so don’t expect yourself to turn around in an instant.
It takes time!
This is about gently moving yourself back to a state of energy and accomplishment. Best of luck on your endeavors!
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