This morning I woke up and I just really couldn’t be bothered doing anything. This rarely happens to me because I actually quite enjoy work but occasionally my grumpiness sets in and it’s like trying to get a toddler to put their shoes on or get in the car. Don’t wanna. Unfortunately if you’re reading this, you probably aren’t a toddler (and if you are – well done! Tell your parents to call Oprah. She’s going to want to hear about you) which means you have to get on with it, even though you don’t feel like it. Here are 5 ways to get shit done when you really couldn’t be bothered.
Write a Can Do List
I stole this idea from my business wife Chrissy. By changing your To Do list to a Can Do list it changes the whole theme of your day. To Do is aggressive and sounds a bit negative. Can Do is lighter and feels more fun somehow. Write yourself a Can Do list and see if your attitude re-adjustment helps you get your mojo back.
Divide your day into units of time
When you sit down at your desk at the start of your day, 5pm (or whatever time you finish) can feel like it’s years away. Stop thinking about the end of the day and start thinking about the end of your unit of time. I like to divide my day in half-hour units (like Hugh Grant’s character from About A Boy). That way if you’re working on a task you really hate, you simply allocate it one half hour unit. You then work your butt off for that half hour and then you don’t have to look at again until tomorrow. It also makes you appreciate just how much work you can fit into a full day – an 8 hour work day will give you 16 units. How amazing is that?
Do it badly
You don’t always have to do things well. I know that’s weird coming from a Type A Perfectionist but if your clean washing ends up semi-folded in your cupboard, that’s much better than it living on the washing line for a month. A badly cleaned toilet is better than a not-clean-at-all toilet. Give yourself a free pass to do a shitty job every once in a while, particularly on days when you’re really not feeling it.
Mix up your day
If you always check your emails first thing in the morning, try checking them in the afternoon. If you always save the jobs you hate the most for the afternoon, try doing them in the morning. Monotony is the best friend of lethargy so don’t let the sameness of your day add to your bad attitude. Mix up your day as much as you can.
Put today in the Fuck It Bucket
Sometimes you just have shitty days and you need to admit it and move on. Every few months you can have a Fuck It Bucket day where you don’t do a damn thing. The important part of this is to embrace it though. Don’t try to work through a Fuck It Bucket day – that will only make it worse because you will have a wasted a day doing nothing. If you’re going to waste a day, you might as well enjoy it.
How’s your day today? Productive? Or do you need a bit of a kick in the pants because you can’t be bothered?
Research has shown that people who subscribe to the Smaggle newsletter and like Smags on Facebook are more likely to be rich… and hot. Why take the risk? Subscribe and like now. Your wealth and hotness are at stake.
19 Comments
-
Timely post! Now that we’re in December and counting down to Christmas, it’s really hard to be motivated at work right now. It’s that time of year I get really tired and wish I’d taken the month off (like I plan to do every year).
-
Author
Oh totally – I actually want to crawl into a hole and sleep until Christmas day. It’s also good to assume that no one has any energy around this time of year. We all just need to admit that we’re running on nothing and just get on with doing the bare minimum I think!
-
-
Your post was a perfectly timed game changer for my day Carly, I am reaching for the label maker to rename my in tray to ‘Can Do’ and ‘Fuck it Bucket’ and feel that everything hasn’t a different perspective now. Awesome, Thank you!.
-
Oh excellent! You are welcome! I’ve put quite a few things in my fuck it bucket today!
-
-
Fuck it bucket – love it. I think I’m gonna have to call it tomorrow, just quietly 😉
-
Do it. Sometimes you just have to go for it. I’m not quite able to put things in the Fuck It Bucket today but I’m slamming through my day and hopefully I can fuck it bucket some stuff tonight!
-
-
Mind. Reader! This is exactly how I’m feeling today. It really is getting to the pointy end of the year. I’ve got 2 and a bit more weeks of day job work and bloggy work and I’ve just got to do that final push to finish off the working year well. I CAN do it!
-
Yes! I’m in that boat too – I have to work super hard to get all my stuff done so I can take a proper holiday this year. I’m going to try to give myself until the 10th January off! Wish me luck! That’s a lot of content to get through!
-
-
I’m thrilled that the place bad days go now has a name – The Fuck It Bucket – that’s genius! I got no shit done today but it was full of happy, so it’s totally a day well spent. All the shit to be done will still be there ready and waiting to get done tomorrow!
-
Always! I just think there’s no point in trying to get stuff when you really aren’t feeling it – I’m going to work my butt off today and crochet in the afternoon! 🙂
-
-
The fuck it bucket! I’m tucking that card away in my pocket for future use 🙂 Love the idea of the can do list too, it’s amazing how changing one aspect of our mindset has a huge impact on how we feel about our day overall.
-
I totally wrote myself a Can Do list today! I think it’s already changing my attitude. I was feeling bit blergh this morning but Can Do is making me feel better!
-
-
I needed a kick up the bum to write another 1200 feature but I did it, ugh. Now I can slack off for a few days. Sadly I have newspaper deadlines tomorrow but Wed will definitely be my fuck it day! xx
-
I’m planning Sunday as my Fuck It day! I will have finished my play by then and I can just sit around and do nothing. I can’t wait!
-
-
Definitely have those days when I’m super unproductive – hate that! I try to get over it by either cooking or sewing when I get home – so I don’t feel like the day has been a complete waste.
-
Yes! Cooking and sewing will make any day lovely! I always look forward to my night time ritual of crocheting with a cup of tea. It soothes me right before bed!
-
-
I’ve been so caught up with writing the prefect portfolio that I’ve spent a full month putting it off. Lost all motivation because its put me behind my schedule but doing a shoddy job on one section for the sake of moving on sounds like the best advice. Why didn’t I do that sooner!!
-
Thank you so practical, yes I probably do have a disorder, but your practical management gives you simple but effective actions to take even though taking action is SO SO HARD.
Pingbacks
-
[…] 5 ways to get shit done when you really can’t be bothered – some more productivity advice for those times (which are very frequent this time of year!) for when you really just couldn’t be bothered. […]
[…] 5 ways to get shit done when you really can’t be bothered – some more productivity advice for those times (which are very frequent this time of year!) for when you really just couldn’t be bothered. […]
