Have you ever had such a moment when you are working? One hand is on the keyboard while the other is on your forehead. You are trying to work but nothing is coming.

You have been staring at the screen for what feels like hours, with nothing to show for it. You are trying to force yourself to work on it but for some reason, your brain is just not working.

You are burned out… but sometimes we still got to work to earn our keep. What do we do then?

After about 8 years of working, I have come up with my way of coping with this and still managed to come out better and more productive.

The obvious answer is rest but sometimes we just need to get it done. Here are 4 ways in which I have managed to stay productive even when I was struggling mightily. Hopefully, this will be useful for anyone out there who has the same problems also.

#1 Slice the task into smaller portions

You must be wondering what on earth am I talking about. Slicing the tasks into smaller portions? What do I even mean by that?

Here are my experiences. Most of the times that I struggle to be productive is mainly due to my being overwhelmed by the work ahead.

It’s like I haven’t even started but my mind has already told me to give up at the first glance due to the sheer amount of work that needs to be done.

If you are feeling this way, do not despair. Well, you can despair for a while because we are all humans but take a deep breath and consider how to ‘slice’ the problems into smaller chunks.

For example, if my task is to complete this big report that has about 10 pages, I will start by dividing the report into exactly 10 tasks (finish page 1, finish page 2…). Yes, I am that basic.

From there, I list what needs to be done for every task and even go as minute and specific such as

Page 1 Tasks

1. Send an email to person A for data.
2. Create lines and bar charts, and boxes.
3. Open an Excel file and copy data into charts.
4. Look at the trend, and determine whether it’s up or down.
5. Open the past report and see what was written.
6. Write the write-up for it.

If you are struggling to start on it, start by listing these things down. Do you know what this did for me? It allowed me to take things one by one and organize my mind.

They were small enough that I thought to myself that I could do this simple thing. Hence, I did it. My brain had this amazing ability to recognize that it’s easier to do 10 simple things than 1 hard thing.

#2 I walked around literally when I was working

You know what? I find myself standing and working when I am struggling to be productive. Weird thing but it works for me.

I have a standing desk (you should consider investing in one) where I just walk around my workplace looking at my screen like some madman thinking whether to buy that product that he or she saw from the outside window.

There’s just something to exerting physical activity that keeps the mind distracted from the dread or difficulty that I face, as my legs sort of willed my mind into thinking.

Sometimes, I even take long walks … (the convenience stores were about 5 to 10 minutes away) while thinking about the problem or why I don’t feel like working.

It puts things into perspective when I am in motion. The negative feelings go away quickly, and my thoughts become more coherent and positive.

 #3 I meditate in 10 minutes interval … and stretch

Sounds cliché? I know!!! It is cliché but it works. I will just go to a dark room in the office or at home and meditate. Before that, I apply a technique called “Hey monkey brain, don’t think about anything else”. My mind always stops monkeying around.

50 times is the number of times I count when I breathe. I will pray to God also during the meditation but if you are not religious, it’s best to use the counting to keep other thoughts out of your mind.

Focus on your breathing in and out. The breath out should be longer than your breath in. You can sit down on the floor, or the chair, and you can even sleep on the bed (I have taken a nap accidentally numerous times and woke up fresh).

After you are done, take 5 minutes to just stretch your neck, arms, legs, and back. So far, this method has always worked for me when I am stuck in a rut. There was a day when I meditated for 5 to 6 times.

#4 “What is going to happen if I didn’t do the work perfectly?”

This is always the thing that I asked myself when I am struggling to do work. For some reason, I feel ‘bad’ when I am not productive and that feeling just amplifies the sense of not being to work effectively.

Yeah, what is going to happen when I don’t deliver the work on time or not as perfect as I hoped it to be? Potential reprimanding from bosses or a drop in my performance KPI.

I use to fear that but then I thought about it more. Who cares about being scolded? I have been scolded for lesser reasons and at the end of the day, I just go back home and sleep anyway.

Lower performance KPI? Well, maybe slightly, so less money it is then. Life goes on, and we are all replaceable. No matter how hard I work, the company can just let me go in an instant.

When I think about it like that, my mind relaxes and considers what is the next best step to do work. It works and I hope it works for you too.

Conclusion

If you are struggling to be productive, don’t worry. These methods have helped me in getting a better perspective on things and work on things in a more healthy manner. Doubts are always there about whether these methods work, but I can ensure you that taking a small step like #1 in dividing your work into smaller chunks gets you in the right direction.