The One Where Today Is Just Blah...

We all have them. Those days that getting out of bed is quite literally the hardest thing to accomplish. If managing that, actual work toes the line of impossible. Today is one of those days for me. Naturally, this is an obstacle to getting any productive writing done. I'm forcing myself to sit and type this post because it is on my to-do list. The truth of my situation has come to light, so let's talk about this for what it is, an obstacle to productive writing.

I'm not the only person who has unproductive days such as this; it's unrealistic to think that every one of us has a perfect day every single day. This strong desire to remain unmotivated and slothful upon the couch is dismal for business, whether you work for yourself (like me) or you have to go into an office.

I used to work in an office, and days such as these were challenging to remain productive. I often found myself taking long and more frequent breaks and doing only the bare minimum of my work. I also hated myself for it. Now that I work from home, the temptation to stay in bed is even more appealing, despite the distant call to work I imagine coming from my computer.

I say all of this to compound the idea that this is a vast obstacle to writing and productivity. Self-publishing and self-marketing take massive amounts of work and constant effort. So, having a blah day is not good. At. All.

When I woke up this morning, I didn't want to be on my computer. The thought of staring at the screen blankly, attempting to make ideas come to life, churned my stomach. I absolutely would have found other things to distract me and not finished a lick of productive work. What I really wanted to do was stay in bed and read. That's it. Yet, that little voice in the back of my head told me not to waste a day. Instead, I decided I would do some research reading. I don't have to stare at a screen, I'm reading as I wanted, and I'm still making an amiable use of my time.

This was my way of overcoming my obstacle; what would you have chosen to do? I think that's the key. Acknowledging the barrier and then knowing how to navigate around it. By the end of the day, I'll feel satisfied that I at least tried, even as tempting as Netflix and popcorn can be.

For other great ideas, I recommend reading: 15 Productive Tasks You Can Still Do Even When You Don’t Feel Like Writing