When You Feel You are Getting Nowhere...

It comes to us all, me included - that time when you feel you can’t work on your list for a moment longer without going crazy. This is the time when you feel paralyzed and your mind refuses to work.

What can you do?

Here are some suggestions: 

• Work through it. It will pass.
• Take a break and do whatever you feel like for half-an-hour (timed), preferably things not work-related. 
• Have some “filler” activities on your list for just this type of eventuality. 

 Thing not to do: 

• Abandon the list altogether
• Change your time management system
• Succumb to your feelings of paralysis and do nothing worthwhile for the rest of the day. 

The key difference between the do’s and the don’ts is that the do’s are part of the system while the don’ts involve abandoning the system. Abandoning the system can set your work back for weeks, while relaxing within the system means you can get straight back into the stream of things once you’ve gathered your mental strength again.

Comments

[Alan Baljeu]

I'm rather fond of those last 3 bullets, but I shall try the first 3 instead.

[Francesco]

I find myself in the last tree points more often than I would like to admit! Double shame especially when I was productive until yesterday and today I am completely neglecting the list.

[Leonardo]

A system only works if you continue to follow it. If a list isn't working for someone they need to reestablish their priorities.