I recently went to Los Angeles for a two day business event put on by my business coach, Patricia Drain. Upon arrival, I promptly got sick and spent two days in the hotel room, depressed and feeling lousy.
Fast forward a few days and I’m now home. I don’t want to do anything. Everything seems like a huge undertaking, and even coffee isn’t helping.
This is a real problem for entrepreneurs, especially for those of us who work from home in our pajamas a lot of the time. So what can be done when this heavy inertia settles in?
I came up with a few ideas, and I’m hoping that you’ll add a few of your own.
- Do ANYTHING. I’m writing this article as a way to shake free of the doldrums, but it can be as simple as taking a shower, or looking at your to do list and picking the item that looks most appealing (even if it isn’t a priority).
- Listen to someone else. Call someone and ask about their life so you can get out of your own head space.
- Listen to someone else. Yes, this is a repeat, but it’s a different “someone else”. If your inertia is accompanied (as it often is) by a bad attitude, listen to a recording of a motivational speaker, or teacher focused on adjusting your mindset.
- Go outside. Nature is a great healer.
- Do the task that’s been sitting around for a month. It might be picking up shirts from the dry cleaner, paying library fines, or cleaning out your car. Stagnation in your physical space can lead to stagnation in your mental space.
What ideas do you have? Please respond! While I’m waiting for your response I’m going to go organize my newsletter, call my friend, put on a motivational CD, water the outdoor plants and take out the recycling.
Get physical! Alone or with a friend – I find that whether it’s a walk, a run or a vigorous work-out I feel sooooo good – inertia gets a kick in the butt!!!
Great advice… but now I’ve got Olivia Newton-John in my head singing “Let’s get physical, physical – I wanna get physicaaaal!!!”
Count your blessings. You always have more than you think in a given “down” moment!
Hi Mary,
I hope the physical ailment is gone and in that you are better. Your list of things to do is good and I’ve done most of them. But sometimes I just have to withdraw. For me that is crawling into good novel. Note – novel. Fun reading. Not one of the business books waiting for my attention. After spending time in the make-believe world, I find myself refreshed and ready and able to deal with my world.
Hi Heidi – I do find that letting my mind escape to the world of Stephanie Plum or other fun fictional characters is wonderfully refreshing!
Sometimes that “I don’t wanna…” feeling sets in because your mind, your body, and/or your soul might be sending you a message – slow down! Taking time to nurture yourself, having your quiet time and allowing yourself to breathe is just what you need before you can jump back in full force with your work. Even those of us who work outside of our home gets this feeling at times. We all need to take the time to listen to what our bodies are telling us and comply. Have a beautiful day!
Wow — I am totally in the same space. Early this morning I decided to just get sweaty and organized and be a domestic goddess instead of tackle what I need to do on the computer. Ever noticed that the spiders will take over in August unless you don your mighty vacuum cleaner artillery and suck them up? A few days ago I was so deeply immersed in inertia that I started being weird. My husband recognizes these symptoms and said “Let’s go swimming.” Going down the water slide a few times does wonders for the doldrums. I think we can blame a lot of this shared inertia on….the heat. Many European businesses are SMART. They CLOSE UP SHOP for the entire month of August and everyone goes to the Alps. What’s wrong with our picture? Jennifer Molton/www.moltondesign.com
I’ve heard a lot of people have gone through a weird period lately, so you’re certainly in good weird company!
Sometimes you just have to stop and take care of yourself. Allow yourself to do nothing, to just be. If you will allow yourself this time then you’ll find that when you get going again you will have much more energy and motivation and may feel like going in a new direction. Take the time to journal about how you feel and what you think might be stopping you. You can’t go at full tilt all the time, sometimes you just have to stop.
Thanks, Linda. I’ve been recently getting the feeling that I either need to slow down, or forces will conspire to SLOW me down forcibly! Good reminder!
Hi Mary. (take 2) Thanks so much for sharing your story. Hope you are feeling energetic again.
I do my best to think with the heart. I pre pave my fabulous future with my feelings and visuals. The brain can then relax, follow suit and be in the moment. Ahhh. stillness.
Hi, Mary. Hope you are speedily recovering, and do give yourself a chance to be well. Overcoming inertia can be a challenge in the form of “artist’s block” [musicians, writers, etc.] which is what I call “creativity confrontation”. For me journaling really gets the ball rolling. Free form it – let the writing come out essentially on its own. Another trick is doodling – that can be like meditation, getting you in touch with your Inner Creator while bypassing thought. All the motivation to make the first move is there because that’s your own inner fractal of the Omnipotent, and you can get in touch by writing or doodling. Well, at least it works for me. Other ideas: writing some affirmations, writing a list of things to give thanks for. Hope this helps. Be blessed!
“I don’t wanna” is what is often known as “the resting cycle” in the natural cycle of life. Meaning, if you want to plant a garden, there is the seeding stage, the sprouting stage, the blooming stage, and then the resting stage. This is just as necessary in our life as in our garden.
Usually when you hit that resting stage with one area of your life, there is another area that you can start seeding, or nurture into sprouting or blooming, that will capture your interest and help you reverse the “resting” half of inertia, and turn it into the “motion” half of inertia.
Feng Shui also talks about clutter and how it stops us from doing so many other things. So, I totally agree with the advice to do a task you’ve been putting off. Spend 15 minutes clearing clutter each day and your chi will begin to flow more freely. That means you’ll have more energy and excitement to do the activities needed to reach your goals.
Check out the book, “Chi-To-Be! Achieving Your Ultimate B-All!” I highly recommend it for everyone who has lofty goals. Stacey is awesome and makes everything simple with a step by step system. You can find it on Amazon.
Thanks for such a well expressed comment!