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13 ways to keep making progress in your business, even when you're in a low energy slump

I DON’T KNOW IF THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR, if it’s the time of year or the season, but it feels like a lot of people that I’m speaking to right now, are in a bit of a funk. They’re feeling burnt out and like they’ve given all they can reasonably give. This is more than just feeling “resistance” and procrastinating. This is a full on “I’m done”, hang up the “closed” sign because I’m off. 

Including me over the last week I have to say!

But what if you can’t do that? Most of us run a one (wo)man band and if we don’t work then basically nothing happens. The whole thing grinds to a halt. And then we don’t make money. And then we feel bad about ourselves. And then it’s a vicious circle of feeling like a failure and wondering if we’d better go back to a regular job.

Sometimes we need to give ourselves a little kick up the bum and stay productive even though all we want to do is hide under the duvet or slob out on the sofa watching Netflix and eating way too many unhealthy snacks. But how to do that without losing what’s left of our mind? 

Well! I’m glad you asked! If it feels like this is on on the daily, then I have a few tricks up my sleeve that may well help you out…

Pomodoro Technique

This is a system where you work in short burst of 25 minutes, which makes sure you’re consistently productive. You also get to take regular breaks that bolster your motivation and keep you creative. Basically you do four lots of 25 minutes sprints with a 5 minute break in between and then have a 15 to 30 minute break after the fourth sprint.

The idea is that thinking about working just for 25 minutes is much more palatable than thinking about working for eight hours solid. And all you need is a timer!

Set yourself a deadline and get accountable

Sometimes, you know you really WANT to do something, and you KNOW that it will be great for you and your business, but you get stuck in planning mode and somehow it just never happens. Before you know it, another six months have passed and you still haven’t Done The Thing.

Here’s what you need to do. Set yourself a deadline and tell everyone what you’ll be doing and by when. As soon as you’re publicly accountable, it becomes much more motivating to actually deliver!

Diffuse or apply essential oils

For thousands of years, people have understood the power of scent to bring about desired mental and emotional states, and the power of plant extracts to benefit the physical, mental and spiritual bodies.

A great option for you might be Focus, a beautiful roll on blend from Living Earth Aromatherapy. I have several of her exquisite blends and can highly recommend them (if you’re based in Australia). “Focus” is reviving, stimulating and highly supportive of all cognitive function, including concentration and memory. This is a great one for a pick-me-up, shake-me-up and wake-me-up!

Make yourself a happy up beat playlist

Putting on music that gets you moving is a great way to start on your working day. It sets of your feel good hormones (serotonin) and gets you pumped up for the day. It also gets your blood flow going and provided a great energy vibe in your environment. If you’re the kind of person that can listen and work to music (without it distracting you) that makes you feel good, this will help set you up with positive energies in your working area for staying motivated and excited. If listening to music is distracting whilst working then use it for breaks and a time to stretch and move around.

Get curious about why you're low energy

Are you feeling flat, tired, low energy? Ask yourself why. What is it that is giving you low energy. Maybe a particular task doesn’t align to your values. Is there a limiting belief or some fear that you need to overcome?

Journaling about how you feel and getting it all out on paper can really help here. See it for what it is, get it out of your system and then get on with your working day.

Another important factor to consider is your actual body. Are you feeding it with enough healthy foods and drinking enough water? I know when I eat too much sugar, starchy carbs and processed foods and don’t drink enough water (serial offender here..) I feel tired and sluggish.

If things don’t improve then maybe consider having your iron levels checked by a doctor . Most of us don’t realise that our low energy could be related to our iron levels.

Are you getting enough sleep? Constantly over-thinking when it is bedtime can stop us getting proper restful sleep. When this happens to me I find that writing out what it is I’m thinking about (journaling or creating a list) or listening to a calming or meditative music helps me relax my brain and get that much needed sleep!

Make yourself a list

I love working with my “to do” list and to a schedule. Writing down what I’ve got on for the day and being able to check it off for once it’s done is SUCH a good feeling.

Many of us have so much going on in our mind – what we need to do that day, week, month – it can be overwhelming! Making a list, whether on paper or through a system like Trello, can help you to feel more organised. It can help you know exactly what task you need to do next, and how much time you should spend on it. It will give you clarity and help you stop feeling so overwhelmed.

 

It helps with seeing exactly what it is we have on, our deadlines, whether it’s realistic to get done within the timeframe we’ve set, and what tasks might just be fluff that take up your time without moving your business forward. 

Get excited about helping people

Pretty much any business whether it is product or service related is about helping someone achieve a goal, meet a need or desire, solve a problem or to make someone’s life easier. 

I know that for me, helping people makes me feel very excited and gives me a great sense of well-being when I know that in some way big or small, I’ve made a positive difference. 

Even a brief connection with a client, your audience, your network or a friend and asking how they are, or giving some helpful tips gives you that feel good energy to get you motivated and inspired for the day. 

There have been many studies which indicate the act of helping others actually boosts your own happiness, health and well-being. So what are you waiting for?!

Find something that makes you laugh

Watch cat videos, a comedy movies, read a book – something that you love or that’s easily digestible.

Having a good laugh changes the energy in your space internally and externally. It helps boost immunity, increases resilience, helps reduce depression and helps to relieve pain. Laughing relaxes the whole body and helps to relieve tension and stress. 

I read that following a good hearty laugh, muscles in the body are relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterward and that laughing can even burn calories!

As the saying goes “Laughter is the best medicine”.

Get a coach

A study carried out by psychologists through brain imaging has revealed that verbalising our feelings can have a significant therapeutic effect on the brain. Especially if our feelings are of sadness, stress or anger – talking to someone helps to lessen the intensity of those feelings.

Getting a coach, joining like minded groups/communities or talking to someone who is supportive and encouraging with what you’re doing will help you with moving forward. It can re-motivate you, give you something to aim for, extra strategies to help you get there, keep you accountable and celebrate with you when you achieve it.

Co-work or have a change of scenery

I don’t know about you, but there are some days the thought of sitting on my own at my workspace is just blahh!! Sometimes being able to work at home isn’t all it cracks up to be. It can be lonely and isolating.

It can be too easy to start procrastinating, finding other things to do (like washing the dishes) and not get on with my work day!

When I realise what I’m doing and the reason for this, it can be as simple as deciding to get my laptop out or phone and work in a different room, outside in the garden or going out to a café with wifi and doing a couple of hours anywhere that isn’t at my normal workspace. Then I find I’m all refreshed and in a better frame of mind to go back there later that day or the next day. 

I even find teeing up with someone else and meeting out either at a café, library or their or my home is another great way to change your working day and keep it progressing. 

Practice self-compassion

Self-compassion is a practice of goodwill to yourself.  Be kinder and stop being so hard on yourself.  We often are our own worse critic.  We all make mistakes and making mistakes is how we learn and grow.  Give yourself permission to not be perfect and it’s alright to muck up. Most people would be kinder to their best friend than to ourselves.

Have a cup of tea in the sunshine and take a “self-assessment”. Allow yourself some time to feel what might need to be felt. Act from your heart not your head. And know when you need a break.

Practice gratitude

Today, we have so much material wealth and everything at our fingertips.  We live in a society where it is all about the next best thing.  We forget to stop and appreciate everything that we have right now.  Our health, our home, food on the table, running water – the list goes on... Studies show that practicing gratitude can actually rewire your brain to be more positive!

Sometimes we think the grass is greener on the other side and once we get there we realise it’s not.  When we practice gratitude we are more at peace within ourselves, we appreciate and are more thankful to what we have right now today and less inclined to keep getting distracted by the next shiny object.   

I challenge you to bullet point a minimum of five things each day that you’re grateful for. It barely takes any time, yet could make ALL the difference. Anything in front of you, around you, that happened today or yesterday.  I even practise gratitude on stuff that has gone wrong or people who have wronged me, as I see it as “I’ve learnt something from it”.

Most of all be grateful for and focus on what IS working.

Change course or take a break

Sometime when we aren’t progressing, we need to look at what we’re doing that isn’t allowing us to move forward.  Are we aligned to our beliefs our values?  Doing something that doesn’t align with ourselves will hinder our motivation to doing what needs to be done.  This is when we need to reflect and even consider changing what we are doing. Do it differently (in a way that aligns with yourself) but also gets you to your desired end result!

Other times, we actually NEED to take a break.  We can’t pour from an empty cup.  

Take a relaxing bath with candles, lunch with friends, long walk with your dog. Go for a run. Check how much sleep you’ve had. Walk on the beach or in the forest, ground yourself, clear negative energies or meditate.

What refuels your soul? Have a rest (a PROPER rest) and then come back to it.

Often our funk is in our head and we need to shake it off by putting our attention solely on something else

Think you need some extra help? We all do, from time to time.

Book yourself in for a free 30 minute, no hard sell call, to get you inspired and moving again.
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