Blast Your Way Out Of A Slump With 4 Simple Tactics

What's worse than having a slump? Having a slump that just refuses to end. Mornings are hard, you don't want to do anything productive, you have no motivation whatsoever — in short, your whole world has gone gray and gloomy. A long-lasting slump can take an emotional toll on your life and affect even the simplest of tasks like going grocery shopping or making dinner. But there's a way to overcome even the toughest slump: just do one thing, and do it repeatedly. Here are four simple tactics that can have you blasting out of a slump.

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Here are four simple tactics that can have you blasting out of a slump.

1. Change Your Environment

No matter what's going on, be it your life, school, or work, there's no excuse for not doing something every day — and by something I mean anything. Take up any task that is related to your life in one way or another (e.g., chores, academic work), and do it regularly instead of once in a while when bored. Change your environment to make sure you're in a place where you can get things done. Thus, every time you feel like doing nothing, do something — and start with the easiest task. Progress and success will motivate you to do more the next day, but don't think this tactic is only meant for group work. If you have a friend who slumps as much as you do, start a competition – whoever gets their work done first wins! If there's no one around to compete with, try setting some sort of point system or goal for yourself. For example, if you want to read 20 pages of a book each day or write 250 words on an essay — make it so that achieving that goal adds points towards your overall score. You could even choose a numerical score and compare your progress every day to goals you've set with other people.

2. Break The Routine

Most people have a routine that they do every day — go to school, eat lunch, go home then do your homework, exercise, etc. The problem with routine is that it makes you lazy: you get tired of doing something so often that you just stop doing it — and the slump setting in. But what if you broke up the routine? If there are things you can do without a big time investment or hassle each day (e.g. exercising, taking a shower, brushing your teeth), do them in a different order than you normally would. If you usually exercise before eating lunch — eat first and then exercise. The point is to break up the monotony of doing the same thing every day.

3. Use Your Imagination

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." — Maya Angelou

Imagination is one of our most precious resources: it lets us experience things that are impossible in our own world and lets us connect other people's stories with our own lives. Life is like a book — we all have an untold story inside us, but most of us don't even try to find out what it is. Part of the reason we go through life not knowing or experiencing things is that our imagination gets stifled by the limitations imposed on it by the world around us. So how do you get over a slump that's caused by the lack of imagination? You break free! Use your imagination to create a new, exciting world for yourself: invent new characters and situations, ask yourself questions about how other people experience things you've been doing for years (alright, this one will take some time).. You can even go as far as to imagine a world where you're the one who's doing all the things you wanted to do but never had a chance to (if you don't know what those are, ask yourself).

4. Remind Yourself Why You're Doing It

There's the saying "If something can be done, it should be done." If there's something you've been meaning to do or invent, but haven't gotten around to yet — why not break that cycle of procrastination? You would be amazed by how much energy focus, perseverance and dedication to a task will put forth if you remind yourself why it's important. Make it a personal mission to show yourself how important it is for you to get things done — whether that's doing a single chore, starting a group project, or working on something new. Remind yourself of all the benefits you'll get by actually doing what you said you would do: not only will you feel good about yourself, but your friends and family will thank you as well.

The Most Important Thing To Remember

This is the most important thing to remember: while these tactics can be used in any kind of slump, they're especially useful in long-lasting slumps (e.g., bad marks, long-term lethargy) that could be caused by some serious mental factors. If you're still having trouble, it's probably important that you see a counsellor or psychologist.

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How to Increase Your Confidence at School

Confidence is what keeps us going when we're feeling down, sad or upset. Confidence also drives us forward in life because without it, we can't reach our goals and ambitions. With that in mind, how can we boost our confidence? To the best of my knowledge, there are only two ways — one is to ask for help from those around us (e.g., friends and family); the other is to do things for ourselves (e.g., take a ride on a roller coaster or go on a mountain bike ride). If you find yourself in a slump, it's probably because you're lacking confidence in one way or another. Here are some suggestions for how to boost your confidence at school.

1. Think About Your Goals

"Find an arrow that fits your bow." — unknown

If there are things you want to do in life (e.g., become a doctor, learn how to surf), remind yourself of those goals and why it's important for you to achieve them.

Conclusion

Life is like a game — you can either choose to play it or not. If you choose to play, go out there and win! But don't forget that playing the game is the most important part — if you have fun while winning, all the better.

Happy gaming 🙂

As a side note — I've only mentioned strategies here; but techniques are just as important (if not more in some cases). If you're interested in learning more about techniques to counter distraction, check out my book "Concentration: Achieving Peak Performance.