Schadenfreude.

longbourne

Another advice, go out and run a mile, then after you sweat a lot, take a shower and your all fresh and alert.

georgexu316

riding a bike in the mornings helps me a lot. i go around residential neighborhoods to see little kids playing, retired people watering their plants, i try talking to people i've never seen before...

fonfa

I definitely agree with getting out and away from things for a little while to get refreshed. ^__^

Contact with my loved ones is always great for those times that I am feeling down and it is affecting whatever it is I am working on. ^__^

Hugs = happiness. ^__^

Asian Angel

Contact someone you admire...

As long as its not Merlin Mann; he'll delete your email ;-)

reclusivemonkey

I choose one single task and focus on it. On those days in which I can't seem to get anything going, at least I'll get that one thing accomplished. It's certainly better than looking back on your day and saying "geez that was a wasted day"

dsundin

Do them then go home.

Dave61

Make a cup of tea, sit somewhere quiet away from my desk, with my to-do list. Pick out the items that absolutely have to be done today and (re)focus on them.

Dave61

Coldplay's Viva la Vida album gets the energy flowing.

TunaFish

gold = golf

desigi

Unfortunately it's near impossible getting anything done with loud co-workers!! I just so happened to have forgotten my iPod at home this morning and I can't concentrate when I hear others talking about the company gold tournament.

Got any tips for tuning people out?

desigi

I'm going to be picky, "Let you mind apply whatever your reading to whatever you are working on" should be "Let your mind apply whatever you're reading to whatever you are working on" Also, shouldn't "Send postcards to two friends you know you live out-of-state" be "Send postcards to two friends you know who live out-of-state"?

chb

I love! that steampunk style pic, where's it from?

nczuma

Two things that work for me and one I have to avoid:

Works:

Organize something. Clean out some files, tidy the desk, etc. I find it helps build momentum.

Think about what i'm avoiding, do a quick brainstorm of everything I can think of relating to it on my positively gigantic whiteboard. This somehow makes the job less daunting and gets the motivation going.

Does not work:

What never works: gving myself a lecture on what a slacker I am.

4ster

"Taking time is smell the roses may be just a cliché" (or a typo).

jakeu1701

@nczuma: It's an organ switch. Check the photo credit link at the bottom of the page.

Me, I have a few "keep sane items that help my productivity."

I work on my index card lists. Sometimes I just copy them over in a different order with things that got stalled now at the bottom so I can work on smaller tasks that can get done earlier (and it makes me feel more productive)

I am sure to take a 10am snack break (part of my diet routine) and a 5 minute snooze err rest period to help clear my head.

I go for a noontime drive though with gas prices how they are it usually is just to Target down the road for some popcorn.

battra92

Loud coworkers used to drive me mad when i worked in an office. My solution was to sequester a boardroom with my notebook and think out my next few tasks.

If it was email centric i'd draft a couple of emails on paper and then go back to my desk and get those fired off before trying to tackle the next set of tasks.

mindjudo

For my productivity, the equation is simple... 1 part Zune cranking out some rockin' tunes and 1 part 16oz. Red Bull equals pandemonium strikes the workplace!!

crouton976

If I'm having a particularly sluggish day, I'll take 3 post-its (no more, no less) and write three things I want to accomplish before I leave for the day. They have to be specific; not broad projects that I know will extend over days. Then I stick them to my monitor. As I finish each, I crunch them up and toss them in the trash -- a gratifying feeling.

More often than not, completing those three tasks gets me revved up to do more work... but on those days when I just can't move past go, at least I will have gotten three important things done.

asingingsmile

I actually got a huge chewing out one time for leaving the office. I had a report to work on and the deadline was the next day. Huge meeting with a board member, my whole team, etc. Not too stressful, but it needed to be done.

I was constantly being bugged at work by people about systems issues. The problem was that I was the network admin and there was a whole TEAM of sys admins. People came to me because apparently I had a 'quicker response time'. Anyways, I had to actually do my job, so I left with laptop in hand and forwarded my phone to my company cell.

I was working in the coffee shop about 1/4 mile away when I get a very nasty call from my department head and told to immediately come back to the office. I then proceeded to be lectured about being available, etc.

Funniest thing is that I finished the report and two more projects while I was out in addition to remotely attending to all my helpdesk tickets. It was the most productive day I ever had there.

I used to take lunches at my desk and never got to eat an entire meal. Now, unless the stack is actually on fire, I take my lunches as far away from the building as is physically possible and I take the full hour.

Just like the sales, HR, etc. staff.

charnov

Another trick I use is the "blitz". I set a timer to 10 or 15 minutes, and then try to get as much straightening up in my apartment as possible. I find it is psychologically easier to set a 15 minute time limit, rather than to be task based. This also works for straightening your desk, computer, etc.

Of course, a triple latte seems to work best of all! (Which says more about my caffeine-based metabolism than anything else.)

android94301

I do the coffee shop thing occasionally as well, but I haven't really been dinged for it. Sometimes if I really dread sitting at the office, I'll stop by Starbucks, get a coffee, connect via wifi (free if you get a Starbucks card and use it twice a month), and work for an hour or so before heading into the office.

I figure (a) I'm working, (b) I have my cell phone if someone wants to call me, and (c) I've got my work e-mail up since I'm VPN'ed in.

CMPalmer

I'm supposed to be paying bills right now and look what I'm doing instead. Revving up my engine, yeah, that's the ticket!

infmom

To riff off of what charnov said, for me lunch time is sacred. It can be the one thing that keeps me sane the whole day. It's an hour that I can use to get away from work, de-stress, and let my mind wander (I usually read a book at lunch.)
When I return, I'm ready to hit the ground running.

FredicvsMaximvs

#3: or anything inspiring/exciting/cutting edge from your own industry. I often combine #2 and #3 by working on recent professional magazines or my read-and-file items for half an hour to get through the afternoon slump.

lyndyn

coincidentally I feel like that today. and the irony is that when I don't feel like working, I turn to lifehacker... maybe I need to stop reading LH to be more productive! what a catch 22.

qrius

Aside from the irony of reading this article instead of doing work, I suppose it's all true enough.

Except for that part about smelling your friend's cubicle :).

gamegrump

If it's been a really crappy day and I can't get anything done, I'll go surf at lunch. Granted that's an option for very few people :(

sethom

Oh and 3 shots of espresso on top of foam helps too.

sethom

Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. =)

I make calls I've been avoiding that I know are going to be confrontational or frustrating... credit cards, banks, airlines, customers... Somehow it gets the gears in motion.

gliscameria

Nice to see a new face, anybody can say something though. Still, I like the advice, I'd second it :).

nighthawk3729

Great advice! I had that day today, but spiffed up an important web site, which is good. So that covered the "focus on one thing" angle. In fact, the "one thing at a time" rule is something I need to practice more often.

A propos music: I finished writing a textbook while cranking Limp Bizkit's Significant Other, not that I am proud of this or anything.

DangerousLiberal

My strategy is to crank up the music and do those small 'housekeeping' tasks: filing paper, deleting junk computer documents, sorting out invoices and accounts.

Billby

These are all great tips - both the article and the comments. I've actually been struggling with those kinds of days lately, and I can certainly attest to trying to move around with your work if possible. If you have a laptop at the office, head into a conference room and project your work on the big screen, or sit in the breakroom or something.

Example - our new office has lots of shiny glass and a beautiful lobby/bistro area that I love to work in. My seat at my desk however, is right next to the door to the office section, my back to a conference room, and with those "open style" furniture units where everyone can hear everyone else in the entire set of offices and there are no full-height walls. It's incredibly distracting, and especially so where I'm seated. My solution there was to try my hardest to tune out people in the conference room and people coming and going through the main door, and to grab an inexpensive pair of over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones that I essentially keep on my head and turned on at all times, usually with music playing. It helps a lot even if your desk is noisy and distracting.

When you just can't take it anymore, get up and take your work around somewhere else, you'll be surprised how much it'll help. :)

phoenix

@EditorinChief: hahahahahahaha aw man, you're a trip

phoenix

Only thing that works for me is energy drinks and caffine. The rest is bs for people who were not doing much anyway.

EditorinChief

Counter-intuitive advice:

Just enjoy being non-productive for a day. Let it happen. You don't have to be productive and check off all of your to-dos every day. Just let it go and have a slow day. No need to do anything to jump start anything.

24fc

I like the visit another area tip.

If I'm sluggish, I kill two birds with one stone by walking all the way across campus on a coke-machine hunt. I get my caffeine and get to stretch my legs for half an hour.

Try it this afternoon after lunch!

tevetorbes

I find setting ANY goal usually helps me. Even if it is just finding 1 website to reference in a blog post, or finishing editing any one post. If I accomplish one thing, I usually get the stamina to keep going. It's the getting started part that is so tough!

very_rachel

- Appreciation of your surroundings
- Accomplishment of a job done well
- Connection with others.

To make it short: Use Twitter. ;-)

textundblog

+10 Asian angel i agree too with getting out for a little while to get refreshed some peoples need that

Sarahuk