Although I am a personal development blogger by profession, I am in no way a mental health professional. See my disclaimer for more info.
Being in a rut is so draining and even anxiety-inducing sometimes. I’ll help you learn how to get out of a rut and reunite with your passions!
Are you feeling creatively drained and uninspired?
Perhaps you’re in something called a rut (AKA a slump or mental funk) It’s something that many creatives and business owners go through every now and then. I’ve experienced a few in my blogging and educational journeys and, let me just say, they are NOT very fun.
But, having experienced several myself, I’ve been able to gather a list of steps to take to get out of one. And frankly, it’s actually not as difficult as it sounds or feels. So, if you’re currently in a rut or know somebody who’s experiencing one, continue reading. I’ll tell you all about what a rut is and how to escape one to finally find your way back (see how I snuck that Beyonce song in there?!) to your passions.
THIS POST IS ALL ABOUT HOW TO GET OUT OF A RUT.
What is a rut?
So, chances are you don’t really know exactly what a rut is. And that’s where I can step in to help!
A rut (not the one associated with tires and roads) — AKA a slump or mental funk — is essentially that space you’re in when you’re exhausted and burnt out from different work, school, and personal activities.
We all experience them from time to time.
Even though they seem impossible to get out of, that’s not the case. You just have to know exactly what to do to get back to your normal self! What’s most important is that you address this feeling. If you don’t, you’ll continue to be unproductive and even risk harming your mental health. I’m sure you don’t want that happening, do you?
I know you don’t! So follow me as I take you through the step-by-step guide to escape a rut.
RELATED POST: How to Be Productive (The Right Way!)
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How to Get Out of a Rut:
Step 1: Accept it
The first — and arguably most important — step to escaping a rut is to accept it. Accept the fact that you haven’t been feeling like your normal, productive self. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can start working on getting out of it.
Step 2: Figure out what caused it
Next, you want to think long and hard about what caused the rut in the first place.
If you’re a creative, is it because your post didn’t perform the way you expected it to? Are you burnt out from the tedious schedule you create for yourself every week? Are you trying to feed into that perfectionist mindset of yours? Are you constantly comparing yourself to your peers?
If you’re a student, is it because you got a bad grade on an assignment? Are you taking too many classes in one semester? Are you having a hard time making (or keeping) friends? Are you participating in too many extracurriculars?
If you have a job, is it because you’re outperforming your coworkers? Are you having trouble properly balancing work and life? Are you bored of your job and looking for a new one?
I could go on and on about the different aspects of life, but I think you get the point (haha).
Step 3: Address what caused it
After you figure out what caused the rut, you can start thinking about how you can prevent this from happening again in the future.
For example, I’m currently getting out a rut with my blog. It started about three weeks ago, when the yearly subscription for a plugin that I use came to an end. At the time, I couldn’t afford to renew it and I can’t blog without it, so I had practically no choice but to take a break.
Not only that, but I had a rather strenuous work schedule to take on, so that only made matters worse.
And if you thought things couldn’t get EVEN worse, they did; I got caught up trying to register for my spring courses and finish the ones I’m already taking, which was probably the most stressful of all.
I finally — after renewing the subscription for the plugin, working a more reasonable work schedule, getting my course registration over with, and completing some late assignments — got the motivation to start working on my blog again. Just thinking about it right now, I could let out a long, heavy sigh of relief!
So, if you’re in a rut, make sure you identify and address the cause so you don’t have to go through a similar one in the (near) future.
Step 4: Look for motivation
This might be one of the most impactful steps of the process.
Personally, when I’m not feeling very motivated in a certain part of my life — whether it’s school, work, finances, or this blog — I like to look and see how other people are doing in these parts of their lives.
Seeing their success really motivates me to get on my Zoom (haha) and lock in. Sometimes, that’s all you need to get back to your normal self!
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Step 5: Slowly work your way back to your normal self
Now it’s really time to return to your productive self.
I want you to focus on small, yet impactful changes. If you come swinging out the gate with these HUGE changes, I’m afraid you’ll just end up right back where you were before you started reading this post.
Say you’re behind on a few assignments. Start by making a list of all the assignments you’ve missed recently. You can either list them based on how difficult they are or by when they were due. For the sake of getting out of a rut the right way (because, yes, there is technically a wrong way!), I think it makes more sense to sort them by difficulty.
Step 6: Think about your end goal(s)
Last but certainly not least, you always want to think about your end goal.
For me, in terms of this blog, some of those goals include making a living from it and hosting a community where everyone feels welcome. Just thinking about these goals really motivates me to get productive.
So whenever you feel a tad out of the blue, remind yourself of why you’re on this journey in the first place!
THINK: What do you usually do to get out of a rut? Tell me in the comments!
Let’s recap!
We made it to the end of the post!
Today, we talked about how to get out of a rut.
Being in a rut isn’t very fun and it can oftentimes feel impossible to get out of. But that’s not the case! I hope this step-by-step guide helped you get out a rut!
Please remember to take time to take care of yourself!
I know, in this economy, it can be hard to find free things to do that are fun. That’s why I put together a list of 7 free self care activities to enjoy today!
In the midst of chaos, don’t forget to smile,
DeMarcus – your self care buddy
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