How to get over a slump?

Winston Churchill Quote

Greetings,

I hope the previous article on Haiku Productivity has helped you. We’ll focus on a different problem in this article. Going through a slump has become a common issue, lately. In this article I’ll be sharing the steps that I’ve learned through my experiences, to overcome a slump and be productive and happy again.

It has become so common to be inefficient, ineffective and unproductive because we feel low and sad, today. This prolonged period of deterioration is called a slump according to the English slang. It feels extremely dis-empowering to go through a slump.

Buddhism teaches meditation is all about keeping your mind in control. It shouldn’t be the other way around. Going through a slump, or not being able to want to be either productive or happy or even neutral for that matter, means you’ve given in to your brain. I believe if your goals are what give you a purpose in life, the first thing that you should do is not give up. It’s inappropriate to use the term ‘taming’ for one’s brain, but one must definitely learn to analyze and maneuver one’s mind in order to be happy and productive again.

For me, my work, my art, my scripts, and stories are my life. If I go through a slump in my professional life, I almost have no personal life to balance that negativity. Whilst in a slump, your brain focuses on everything negative. Your work, your personal life everything gets affected. You start overthinking, you may or may not get anxiety attacks, but you definitely drown in the ocean of self-doubt and you’re stripped off your confidence. Whenever I’m in a slump I have to focus all the positivity on to my work in order to stay productive all the time. Not being able to work has always brought sadness and self-doubt to me. I feel extremely disheartened, washed out and stripped off my self-esteem during a slump. I have never been able to think straight. The only thing I do whenever I go through a slump is put all my efforts into getting out of it ASAP.

Over the years I’ve analyzed my behavior and studied what a slump is, and how to get out of it. Here are a few steps I’d like to share.

• Understand and Analyze- Have an open mind at all times, irrespective of whether you’re productive or not. Keep your eyes open and try to analyze how you feel at all times. This is the key. Whenever you feel sad or low, just take a step back, and try looking at the graph from a distance so you find a pattern in the things you do or think that makes you feel sad. Remember, you might want to stay away from things that make you sad. It is always the first step towards unproductivity.
• Accept- You cannot escape this step. You have to accept that you’re going through a bad phase. But you shouldn’t be okay with it. The more you become comfortable with the feeling of being okay with something negative, it sucks you in. These vortexes are the jokers to your batmen. Try being neutral and diplomatic about accepting the negative trait in you.
• Let people know- Or maybe don’t, it’s really up to you. It depends on what kind of a person you are. Nobody can stop you from telling people how you feel if you are an extrovert. And even if the government forces you to tell people about it, you won’t do it if you’re an introvert. The key over here is to be an ambivert. Let people know that it’s difficult for you to be productive and that you’re working on it. But make sure, you don’t try gaining sympathy and pity out of it. Sympathy makes a slump comfortable.
• Never take a break- It’s a productivity myth that you must take a break while you’re going through a slump. This is probably the most important point, ‘Never give up’. Push yourself to your extremities. We have never experienced what working hard is. We have examples like Stanley Kubrick, Nikola Tesla, and Elon Musk. They could achieve what they have, because they never gave up. They too were/are human beings. It is only natural that they must’ve been through innumerable slumps through their lives. Had they taken a break or given in to their ‘slumps’ they would’ve not achieved and made substantial amounts of contributions in the world.
• Avoid meeting people who’re going through a slump- This might sound extremely selfish, but it helps. You can’t help fix someone when you’re broken. Work on yourself first, help others after that. Helping others too is immensely empowering and therapeutic.
• Read- Read as much as you can when in a slump. Never waste time. Reading gives you different perspectives and a sense of not being ‘you’ for a while, so you don’t feel the pressure of a slump. Moreover, it makes you feel a little productive which in turn makes you feel happy.
• Exercise- No excuses, please. Exercise releases endorphins which are responsible for the positive behaviors in the body. It reduces stress, wards off anxiety, improves sleep and boosts your confidence. So get out of your bed and start exercising now!
• Thank your ‘present-self’- Of course, live today, instead of regretting your past and worrying about your future. ‘Now’ is exactly what makes sense all the time. Even if you’re going through a slump, be thankful that you are getting an opportunity to have this learning experience. Believe in your heart, that you’re better than yesterday, and you are going to be better tomorrow. Be grateful to yourself.

Some conspirators and theorists claim, ‘Productivity as a whole is a myth’. It could be true, but happiness surely isn’t. There was no person in history who claimed that productivity made him or her unhappy. Productivity makes you believe you are entitled to happiness.

Going through a slump is sad. It’s always upon us whether to give up, or stand up, and tackle the slump and the feeling of sadness you are going through. Only then can you enjoy the fruits of happiness and success.
We, at il0g, strive to be positive all the time and help each other get over a slump. This process of fighting sadness and unproductivity is taken as a challenge by the entire il0g community and therefore even that seems fun. We wish you all the best for your endeavors, and we hope whenever you go through slumps, you tackle it with all the strength you can gather.
In case you wish to know more about slumps and how to tackle it more efficiently, feel free to drop in a mail. We’ll definitely try to help you.

Ciao for now, see you 2 weeks later!

Peace and Regards,
The Gray One.