Here’s what to do when you’re in a funk

Recently one morning, I sat at the dining room table and looked at the schedule for the day and the list of things to do and felt so overwhelmed by it, I put my head in my hands. I knew right then that I’d hit a wall. I was in a funk.

About an hour later, in traffic, I looked over and noticed the man in the car next to me. He appeared to be, what’s the word? Zombie-ish. In a daze. He probably feels a lot like I do, I thought.

That’s when I remembered that when I don’t feel like myself—when I feel myself getting pulled into the vortex of life—I know what to do. I know how to free myself. I promise I didn’t Google how to get out of a funk. This is my own personal process, tested and proven many times.

It’s not a list of things to do; instead it’s a practice of how to be.

Be neutral about it.

I once had a therapist tell me that I had feelings about my feelings. And that’s the thing that will make you spiral. So the next time you feel sad, angry, depressed, or simply not like yourself: don’t judge yourself. Don’t fuel the feelings with more feelings about why you should or shouldn’t feel the way you do.

Just state it as a fact: I’m in a funk and it will be okay.

Don’t force productivity.

Lean into the fatigue. Don’t eat the frog, as they say. Ask: what do I really need to do next? Follow the path of least resistance. Go for the low hanging fruit and small, microscopic wins.

Side note: When you’re in a funk, it’s a good time to notice the heavy drains on your energy. It’s also a good time to notice those things that you gravitate towards, the things that make you feel a bit lighter, slightly more awake and alive. This is good information to file away for later, when you’re not in a funk and in a better space to make decisions about how you want to spend your time moving forward.

A connected point: Don’t mindlessly scroll your phone. Just don’t. It doesn’t make us feel better. We know this. So put the phone away until you’re able to engage and connect.

Move your body.

This is actually the most important step. You could skip all the other steps and get right to this, but when we’re in a funk it takes some time to warm up to the idea of moving around. But moving your body is magic. Do what you’re able to do. Do what feels good. Take a walk, water the plants, lift weights, stretch.

Do something that you want to do but have been putting off. Do something that feels important but not urgent. For me, I finally potted those plants.

Take your time.

Don’t rush. You’ll get there when you get there. If you’re someone who feels like you have a million things to do and you don’t have time to be in a funk, I feel you. But I’ve learned from personal, unscientific, and highly subjective experience that doing the counter-intuitive thing works. Going slow is the very thing that wakes you up and gets you back into the business of living your life—and getting things done.