Top 10 Ways to Stay Productive When You Just Don’t Feel Like It

Anyone who works hits this trough: you just do not feel like doing anything. It is a common syndrome that strikes people around the world- employees, top brass and business owners alike. It is perfectly normal to feel so. The feeling is usually triggered by psychological and physiological factors that can overcome rather easily.

 Why we do not feel like working? 

There are several reasons we do not feel like working.

• Lack of Motivation: The biggest culprit that reduces productivity and imparts the feeling that enough is enough. Triggers include feeling unappreciated at work, negative vibes of colleagues, inadequate pay, massive loans, and family problems.
• Physical Exhaustion: Generally, hardworking employees come down with physical exhaustion occasionally. You may be exerting extra efforts at work by neglecting food and fitness.
• Mental Fatigue: Often strikes people employed in research, analytical and creative jobs. The brain, like every other organ of the human body, also feels tired when overworked. Consequently, it is unable to process vast volumes of information occasionally.

Understandably, there are other causes like gloomy weather, distractions at work and addictions that may also make you feel like not working for a day or a more extended period.

 Staying Productive Despite Everything 

However, there are several time-tested and proven ways to remain productive even if you run into this physical and psychological doldrums. Let us take a look at ten excellent ways to stay productive even on days when you simply wish to shun work.

1 Clean Up

On days when you do not feel like it but can make it to the workplace, keep yourself busy by doing work-related activities that are least stressful. These can include clearing your desk from clutter, discarding unwanted papers, deleting old emails and spam and decorating your workplace to lend it a pleasant, cheerful appearance.

2 Take It Easy

Taking it easy on days when you do not feel like working works wonders.

On such days, go slow on work. Speak to your seniors and colleagues that you are unable to perform to your fullest on that day and ask for lighter, simpler work where possible. Taking it easy keeps you productive and ensures that work does not pile up on your desk on that particular day.

3 Frequent Breaks

On days when you are feeling blue for any reason, take frequent breaks during work hours. Such breaks help you to interrupt the monotony of work.

Try and identify the reasons that are making you feel low. Despite these breaks at work, you can get quite some work done.

4 Lunch with Loved Ones

An excellent way to get away from the humdrum routine is by having lunch outside your workplace, with family or friends. A small yet cheerful lunch break away from office helps boost spirits and gives that much-needed pep. It helps you forget the burdens of the first half of the workday and prepares for the remaining hours.

5 Violate Dress Code

Try wearing casuals to your workplace instead of formal office attire, unless your office is very strict about dress codes. Smart casual attire has a soothing effect on your frayed nerves. It helps you feel relaxed at work and perform some daily tasks rather than wasting the day staying home.

6 Work from Home

A large number of office-bound works can also be completed from home. Request your employer to permit working from home for a day or two. This way, you overcome stressful commutes between work and home. You can also complete your work at ease online with flexible hours where possible.

Working from home also helps strike a good work-life balance. Often, a disturbed work-life balance causes you to lose productivity. This can be easily sorted out if you opt to work from home for a few weeks.

7 Stay Dirty

Dispense with the daily shave and shower on days when you do not feel like working. However, ensure that you do not carry a strong bed or body odors to the workplace as these can be offensive. Indulging in lazy habits for a day or two can be a rather mentally refreshing experience: it breaks the monotony of the daily routine and allows you to spend extra time in the morning with yourself.

8 Pamper Yourself

Whenever you hit the trough for whatever reasons, pamper yourself. Remember, you deserve to pamper yourself too with the hard earned money. There is no need to feel guilty for occasionally indulging in some extra expense for your wellbeing. Consider it as self-rewards for your hard work.

9 Plan Weekend Binge

Here we do not imply binge with alcohol. Instead, plan a picnic or party with family and friends on the weekend.

Look forward to the weekend binge even as you plough on with mundane work, despite feeling low. Weekend binges have the magical effect of relaxing and refreshing you.

10 Use Facebook

Accessing Facebook during work hours may sound sacrilegious. However, an increasing number of employers, it is found that staying connected to friends and groups for a few minutes between work tends to increase productivity. Facebook serves as an excellent means to remove stress and break away from boring daily routine, though for very brief intervals at work.

 More Ways to Boost Productivity 

• Longer Route

Surely you have wanted to find other routes to commute between home and work.

Now is the time. Taking a different and longer route adds some excitement to your routine. It helps you learn about places in your hometown that you never knew existed. Some idle sightseeing on the way to work helps boost productivity when you don’t feel like it.

• Change Work Schedule

Should your employer permit, ask for a temporary change in your work schedule. Commutes tend to drain people of energy. If allowed, choose work hours when traffic or rush on public transport is low.  You can log in the number of required hours and leave the workplace late. A different schedule does help in boosting productivity.

 In Conclusion 

Staying productive when you do not want to work is not a Herculean task as most people falsely believe. Remember, productivity is the quality of your work and not its quantity. Rather than focusing on blues and feeling guilty about not being able to work, focus your energies on finding out-of-the-box ways and means to improve work quality without getting bogged down with mundane systems and routines.