Get out of your slump - 3 Simple Strategies

The holidays are over, finally. In the Mayland house, the garlands are put away, the pine needles are swept off the floor, Christmas decorations are back in the basement where they belong for 11 months of the year. The tree itself has been taken to the goat farm for recycling we can feel good about, and the house and our lives are seemingly back to normal. Why is that I am struggling to much to get myself back to normal?

Like most people, I have big ambitions for this new year. Not only am I training clients, but I’m putting myself on a new training regimen as my group class load continues to systematically decrease. I have high expectations of work output, social media schedules to keep up with, choreography to learn for my group classes, programs to write for new clients, and of course my client sessions. None of these are bad or cumbersome or a “problem,” but I just can’t seem to get on top of them. I’m finding I’m more tired and distracted than I want to be. I’m in the post-holiday slump.

And I know I’m not alone. I’ve had several clients talk to me about their own slumps, and I’ve been reading about this struggle from many other coaches online, and hear about it from my friends. It’s real. It’s also time to move forward and not be held back any longer. Here’s how we do it — you can find three simple strategies listed below.

STRATEGY 1: RE-ESTABLISH YOUR ROUTINE.

If you have kids, probably a more accurate way to phrase this strategy is “re-establish your family’s routine.” A big reason we’re in a slump is that our routines are thrown off. Despite how spontaneous we think we are, or how much we enjoy keeping life “spicy” by not having a plan, routines are grounding and centering, and not having them deprives us of much-needed structure. Humans thrive on routine and structure, and the holidays are the opposite of routine and structure. Either you’re travelling or people are visiting you. You’re eating different things than you would normally eat, your kids aren’t in school, work hours change, there are more social events. It’s a lot. So start re-building your routine. Schedule your workouts or whatever else is important to you and treat it as non-negotiable. Get your kids back into a normal routine as well. If you need to, make a list of what the routine needs to be and check it off as you go. Either way, bring structure back to your days. An easy way to start is by waking up at the same time every morning and going to bed at the same time every night. And speaking of going to bed at the same time every night…

STRATEGY 2: GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Plan a solid 7-8 hours per night. If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, you’re going to be too tired to be able to stay on track during the day. When you’re tired you’re going to want to forgo exercise, eat crap, and you won’t be able to focus enough to do what you need to do. Plan your bedtime and your wake time into your calendar and make it rock solid. It’s likely that a big reason you’re in the slump is because you’ve been sleep deprived for the past month. Maybe you’re thinking “not really, I got about 6 hours a night..getting back a little late from a holiday party or staying up late to wrap gifts.” Trust me friends, that missed hour makes a huge difference, and those little bits of missed time really add up.

STRATEGY 3: LOOK FORWARD

Mindset is everything. You can either choose to approach your day with dread:

Oh my goodness, there is so much to do, this is going to be awful.

or you can approach your day with gratitude and think about what you’re looking forward to:

I can’t wait to move my body, fuel my body, and be productive today!

How you approach your day will dictate how that day goes. Choose to make it a good one, and you’ll have a much easier time snapping out of your slump.

Practice these 3 simple strategies daily, and you’ll be feeling better and moving in the direction you want to move in no time. You got this!