Slumps

Three weeks ago I was on top of my game; I was unstoppable.  I was working until 1:30 in the morning and I was back up at 6:30 to work out.  I felt like a machine and nothing could slow me down.  And then, 2 Fridays ago, the slump came.  Like an old baseball player, I just couldn’t make contact with the ball.  My projects at work seem to be moving at a snail’s pace, my effort on the home business is rare and painful.  Even relaxing isn’t fun.  Scott H. Young hit home with me last week with his post when he simply wrote, “Slumps suck. You don’t feel motivated to work. You don’t enjoy your time off.”  For me it couldn’t have been closer to the truth.  I end up bouncing all around the house from one task to the next looking for something to catch my attention and I don’t finish anything.  Even the things I enjoy doing aren’t appealing.

What to do?

Historically I’ve had 2 different types of responses.  In my younger days I’d do absolutely nothing.  I’d just coast through life blaming those around me for my darkened mood.  Every day was a challenge.  Nothing was on the radio, no new news in my magazines, TV was full of infomercials,  and hardly anything was interesting. Eventually I’d snap out of it but it would take a big catalyst (new girlfriend perhaps?).  Since the big life events aren’t too frequent, and I had some pretty major ones a few months ago, I’m thinking I shouldn’t wait around for that.  Besides that’s too passive for my personality.

While I was working in the residence halls, my boss’s boss’s boss delivered a speech to all of us preparing us for opening day.  She said it will be a hard, long, and stressful day but we have to “fake it until we make it.”  Basically she was telling all of us to paint on a smile and not to let it disappear.  While finishing college and the first few years of the working world, I practiced that for everything.  I’d hit a slump here and there, but no one knew it.  I just stayed on autopilot pretending to be the person I demanded of myself.  The results were a little better than the old method.  When the slump was over, it was almost as if I had never stopped.  I was still closer to my goals and I didn’t have much catching up to do.  Unfortunately, it still took a big catalyst to break out of it.  So while I was more productive than watching a bunch of garbage on TV, it was still painful and boring.

There has to be a Better Way

My last slump was about a year ago.  It was also the shortest and best slump, ever!  I went into the slump and came out with enough energy that carried me until now.  What happened and what did I do?  When I was buying my first house, I set it up so that I would go to closing, have 2 weeks to get the house in a livable condition (it was in terrible shape), and then move in.  Unfortunately there were some delays with the seller and the closing happened on Thursday at 10am.  I had to be out of my apartment by 6pm Saturday.  I worked nearly around the clock trying to get the house ready and then I moved (with the help of some fantastic friends) that Saturday.  Around 3:30am on the first day of home repairs, I decided it was time to go back to my apartment and get some sleep.  I spent the previous 6 hours learning about plumbing (via trial and error) so I could turn the water back on and actually use a bathroom.  When I got there, exhausted, I checked my email.  I had an email from a friend asking me to do something on a website.  It just so happens that we discussed this particular thing 2 times already and I was very much against the idea; I felt it was a lot of effort and didn’t provide much of a reward if any.  I shot off a quick email that was not very kind that essentially said, “I’ve got bigger things to worry about”.  The reply I received the next day was very apologetic; yet, I felt terrible for overreacting.  I still apologize every time he brings it up.

It turns out that my “snapping” was the best thing that could have happened.  Because I was so stressed, I just removed all of my obligations.  I put in an honest 8 hours at work and then I came home to only tinker on my house.  I stopped taking freelance projects, discontinued my pursuit of being a life coach, and even stopped going to the gym.  Removing the burdens had a profound effect.  I worked hard but didn’t have any deadlines.  It was liberating!

If you looked at me 2 weeks ago, I was a disaster waiting to happen.  I was spinning 6 very heavy plates and didn’t have any extra energy for one of the usual bumps in the road.  All of the things that have been bugging me on the back of my mind like rolling over my 401(k), signing up for Cobra, and making sure my second house is ready on time are all out the window.  They’re not that important.  And they’re certainly not worth my happiness.  Tonight I am resetting my priorities.  I will go to work and do my best.  I will come home and work on my relationship with my fiancee.  If I have free time I will work on one of my websites.  That is it.  Even the house remodeling is going to chill for a bit.

Everyone Else

I’m different from most people. I tend to accept any project (part because I’m too confident, part because I’m a little dumb) so it’s natural that I need to reduce the amount of clutter in my head and planner.  Maybe you’re the opposite and actually need to go start a project then completely finish it? Essentially, break out of the slump by building your confidence or pride?  Next time you’re feeling blue, take a look at yourself and figure out if maybe you’re really in a slump.  Then put some hard thought into why you’re there.  If you can devise a plan to jump out of your next slump, you will have taken one more step towards infinite happiness.