What to Do When You Feel Like You Haven’t Had a Productive Day

Written By: author avatar Rashelle Isip
author avatar Rashelle Isip
Rashelle Isip is a productivity coach and founder of The Order Expert®. She is a contributing columnist for Inc.com and author of four books. With over 16 years of experience in the productivity industry, Rashelle helps people work comfortably, sustainably, and joyously for the long term.

Last Updated: May 25, 2023

Woman talking on a cell phone in an office

Are you wondering what you should when you feel like you haven’t had a productive day?

Do you want some tips to help you break through the fog and move forward?

Have you ever have one of those days where you feel like you haven’t accomplished much?

All of your original plans were interrupted and you worked on completely different tasks, projects, and assignments than planned.

You may feel feel in a funk and at a loss.

Good news! This feeling won’t last forever.

It’s just a temporary blip in the productivity department.

In this post, you’ll learn how to successfully navigate those times when you feel like you haven’t had a productive day.

So your day wasn’t as productive as you would have liked. So what?

Things will be back on track in no time.

Stop and take a deep breath.

Sometimes you just have to take a moment for yourself.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes and relax.

Take as many minutes as you need to rest and regroup.

Do one simple, small task.

Choose a small routine task that can be done in five minutes or less and then do it!

Don’t worry about all the other things you wanted to get to today, just choose one thing and go do it.

Make that quick phone call you’ve been meaning to make to your neighbor and take out the trash.

Delete 10 email messages, pack up your gym bag for the next day, or take your dog out for a short walk.

Look at the big picture.

Take a look at your original plans for the day. Were your plans a bit too much for a single day?

Did you over-plan or over-schedule your day? Were there circumstances that came up during the day that were plain outside of your control?

Were you not feeling well during the day? Perhaps you were you distracted?

Be honest with yourself so you can find out where things might have gone astray.

Plan for tomorrow.

You can’t change the past, but you can plan for the future.

What task, errand or project would you love to accomplish tomorrow?

What small steps can you take now to make your future a reality?

Can you break a larger task into smaller ones, delegate work or chores to someone else, or schedule a chunk of uninterrupted time for yourself to get work done?

Cut yourself some slack.

We all have good days and bad days.

Cut yourself some slack and have a relaxing, guilt- and worry-free evening.

Another day will soon be here!

How about you? How do you handle days that are less than stellar in the productivity department? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

author avatar
Rashelle Isip Productivity Coach and Founder of The Order Expert®
Rashelle Isip is a productivity coach and founder of The Order Expert®. She is a contributing columnist for Inc.com and author of four books. With over 16 years of experience in the productivity industry, Rashelle helps people work comfortably, sustainably, and joyously for the long term.

Comments

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This