Ever have one of those unproductive days when you just feel lazy, and don’t want to work on anything on your to-do list?
I sure have. Yesterday was one of them — I didn’t publish a post here on Zen Habits (and a few readers took me to task for that!), I did a little work but not everything I had planned.
We all have our lazy and unproductive days. Sometimes we didn’t get enough sleep, sometimes we just don’t have motivation, and sometimes we get distracted by a fun new game (mine yesterday was befuddlr).
So what do you do? Today, we’ll look at some of my favorite unproductivity-day strategies.
Reader Ben Helps recently asked:
Do you go through cycles of increased and decreased productivity?
It seems that whatever I try to manage the myriad things I have to keep track of and get done (running my own businesses), I have weeks where I’m on top of it all and feeling great. Unfortunately I also have weeks where I feel like I’m letting lots of things slide and not achieving much.
Great question, Ben! Quick answer: I totally, totally have cycles of increased and decreased production! I hope I don’t convey the wrong idea, that I’m productive all the time.
I think, for me, it’s a matter of finding ways to still get the important stuff done when I’m not feeling productive, and also allowing myself to take breaks now and then. Our minds need a break — we can’t go full charge all the time.
Here are my most favoritest ways of making the most of an unproductivity-filled day:
1. Find something fun to do. If you’re feeling unmotivated, it may just be that the things on your to-do list bore you. You need to find something exciting to do! This can be a bit of a challenge for some, but here’s how to do it: take a step back, close your eyes, and just let your mind go. What would be fun to do today? How can you get outside of your normal routine? What are you passionate about? What would be fresh and new to you? Let the ideas flow, then start writing them down (you can open your eyes at this point). Then choose something fun and exciting from your list, even if it’s not something urgent — it’s better than doing nothing!
Getting excited about something is the best way to get out of those unmotivated doldrums. Find your passion, and pursue it!
2. Kill distractions. What is it that’s distracting you today? Whether that’s some new website you discovered (Zen Habits?), a forum, Digg, some form of solitaire or Bejeweled, or whatever … if you find a way to block yourself from that distraction, you can get a lot more done. It’s hard, I know. A good method: have a friend or coworker stop you from using the distraction. Another good method: disconnect the Internet. I know I get a lot more done when I do that. :)
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3. Put something dreadful at the top of my list. If there’s something that I’ve been putting off for awhile, something that put fear into my heart, I put that at the top of my list for today, and put a bunch of other things I need to do below that.
Guess what? I might not do the thing at the top of my list. But in order to procrastinate on that dreaded item, I crank through a bunch of other things on my list. That’s productive unproducitivity for you!
4. Just relax. OK, so you don’t get anything done today. Does the world end? Sometimes, especially if you’ve been doing a lot of work, your brain just needs a rest. Take that rest day! Let yourself rejuvenate. If you can take the day off, do it! If not, just goof around today, and get back to work tomorrow. You might just find yourself recharged.
5. Take a walk. Sometimes you just need to get the blood circulating. Sitting at your desk all day can take a lot out of you. Get up, walk around, go outside if you can. Ten minutes of fresh air can get you relaxed and ready to crank out the work!
6. Take a shower. If you work at home (like I sometimes do), it’s very tempting to just get up and start working in your pajamas (or worse). But if you don’t feel clean, you might not feel productive. So go take a shower! You’ll feel much better, and ready to work. It’s amazing how much of a difference a shower and a shave can make!
7. Take a nap. The ultimate unproductivity tool. If I can sneak in a nap, it always helps me out. I feel refreshed and much more ready to face the work in front of me. Some great tips from Ririan Project.
8. Crank up the music. Nothing gets you going better than an upbeat tune. Seriously, give it a try. Anything that’s got a good beat will do. Here’s my current playlist of oldies, guaranteed to get you moving (money back if it doesn’t work!):
译文:
8个妙招让你提高效率
你是不是也觉得，总会有一些日子自己会特别懒散，效率低下，即使手边已经堆满了事情，就是没有动力好好做事呢？
我自己就有。昨天就是这么个日子。我没有在Zen Habits发表文章，（有些读者已经觉得那是我的义务了！）我只做了一点点工作，并没有做完计划内所有的事情。
我们都会有一些日子特别懒散，效率低下。有时是因为睡眠不足，有时因为缺乏动力，有时是被更新更好玩儿的东西吸引住了（我昨天就是因为迷上了befuddlr）。
那么我们应该怎么办呢？今天，我就跟大家分享一下我的一些提高效率小方法。
读者本赫布斯最近问我，我是不是也有高效率期和低效率期交替循环的感觉。他说，无论他做什么样的事情，总会有几个星期事事顺手，春风得意，而不幸的是，也总会有几个星期事事不顺，力不从心。
问得好，本！我的回答是：我绝对也有这样高效率和低效率不断循环的经历！我希望我并没有让人误以为我总永远都处于高效率的状态。
我想，对我来说，我需要在低效率的日子，也能够保证完成必要的、重要的工作，并且让自己能够时不时休息放松一下。我们的大脑需要休息，我们不能一直保持巅峰状态。
以下就是我最喜欢的让低效率日子也能够有所作为的方法。
1．找一些有趣的事情做。如果你觉得缺乏动力，有可能是因为你面临的都是些让你感到沉闷的事情。你需要找些让能让你兴奋起来的东西去做！对于有些人来说可能颇有挑战性，但也不妨试一下：让心情平静下来，闭上眼睛，放松大脑，任由思想自由发挥。今天有些什么有趣的事情可以做呢？怎样可以避开每天墨守的陈规呢？什么事情能燃起你的激情呢？有没有从来没尝试过的新事物呢？想到哪里就是哪里，把想法都写下来（这时候你当然可以睁开眼睛啦）。然后从中选出最好玩最有兴趣的，哪怕并不是什么要紧事也没有关系，总比无所事事好！
激起做事的热情是缺乏动力时最好的解决方法。找到你的激情所在，然后朝着激情出发！
2．杜绝一切让你分神的东西。什么东西让你今天心不在焉？不论是你新发现的网站（例如Zen Habits），论坛，掘客，网络小游戏，还是其他任何事物，如果你有办法可以不再被分神，你就能做很多正经事情。是的，这很难做到。一个比较好的方法是，让你的朋友或是同事帮你戒掉这些分神的东西。或者，干脆不要上网。这第二个方法总是能让我把心思重新放在正经事上，提高效率。J
3．把最困难的事情放在第一位。如果一件事情被搁置了一段时间，或者是一件我有些不敢做的事情，我就会把它当作今天首先要完成的任务，把其他的事情排在它后面。
为什么要这么做呢？虽然我可能并不会去做那第一件事，但为了避开那件头疼的事情，我就会努力想办法做好其他的事情。这就是所谓的，在低效率中追求高效率！
4．放个假吧。好吧，你今天什么事情都没做成。难道这就是世界末日了吗？有时候，特别是当你已经完成了很多工作之后，你的大脑确实需要休息一下。就给自己放一天假吧！彻底放松一下。如果能够请一天假，赶快行动吧！如果不行，那就闲散地过一天，明天再继续工作！也许到时候你会发现，自己又精力十足了。
5．散个步吧。有时候你只是需要让血液循环一下。整天坐在办公桌前其实消耗很大。站起来，走动一下，如果可以的话到室外走走。呼吸十分钟新鲜空气可以让你恢复精神，继续工作！
6．冲个凉吧。如果你在家办公（我有时候就是这样），你很有可能一起床穿着睡衣就开始工作了（有时情况甚至更糟）。如果你没有做好清洁工作，你就可能效率低下。所以，去冲个凉吧！你的感觉会好很多，并且做好开始办公的准备。冲凉和剔须带来的精神变化往往出乎人们的意料。
7．打个盹吧。终极提高效率的法宝。要是我能偷偷打个盹儿，我总是能够重新精神焕发，用更好的状态来面对工作。在Ririan Project网站上可以找到不错的相关小贴士。
8．听会儿音乐吧。再没有比音乐节拍更能让人恢复精神的了。说真的，试试看，任何有节奏的声音都行。我最近在听的老歌，保证绝对让你精力充沛。（不灵不要钱哦！）