I’ll be honest, the last couple weeks have been a struggle. I have hit the midday slump nearly every work day. It’s something we all deal with and some may experience it more than others. I’m fortunate enough to work from home exclusively which has always given me more opportunity handle the slumps, stressors, and bad days a little better than I would if I worked hours in an office. When I did work in an office I always felt the need to be “on” and giving 100% to everything I was doing just in case someone happened to walk by. This kind of mentality doesn’t really lend itself well to a creative job nor is good for anyone - ever.

Midday slumps just kinda suck. It’s hard to manage and get back on track. Most times I just want to go crawl into bed and take a nap - which would be acceptable if I didn’t have a work, work, work mentality. Other times I just want to catch up on 90 Day Fiancé and close my computer entirely so I don’t hear any notifications. Luckily there a few things I’ve started doing to help when the midday slump starts to kick in. Sure you can probably find me at the fridge grabbing a snack of oranges or cotton candy grapes, but other days I’ve started doing more….helpful activities to get my day back on track.

DRINK WATER

I saw this one recommended on a morning show at the gym and it occurred to me it might be one of the biggest reasons I hit the midday slump. When I’m in the flow, a task that is taking up a lot of brain power, or in calls for a while my hydration starts to suffer. Dehydration causes tons of really annoying health issues like headaches, bad breath, and fatigue. Not drinking enough water reduces blood flow to the brain causing increased tiredness and it can even put you in a bad mood. And a bad mood certainly isn’t going to make the day go by any faster or make it better. As the midday slump hits reach for a glass of water rather than coffee or an energy drink. It really makes the difference. If water isn’t your favorite, you can try adding fruit, one of those bottles with markers on it, or if you’re like me, use an app that reminds you it’s time to drink water.

Get Up and Move

I recently started making this one a priority during my work day even though I sang its praises quite a bit during the pandemic. Everyone knows exercise releases hormones that better the mood but they also help keep you awake. Of course, I’m not saying it has to be as intense as hitting the gym in the middle of the day but even something as simple as doing a yoga flow, stretching, or taking a quick walk can work wonders. Staring at devices especially the computer for long periods of time is bad for the eyes and has the ability to just make me tired. That blue light making my poor little eyes more tired than they already are makes finishing tasks harder. To combat this, I’ve started getting up and taking a walk around my apartment every once in a while. It changes depending on the day because of the workload. If I am absolutely determined to finish a task I will do it immediately afterward, and if I’m just stumped or hitting the wall, I’ll get up and walk around. I’ll go play with my dogs, grab a snack, change my laundry around - do anything but look at my computer for a few minutes.

Try a New Task

Afternoon slumps can be awful when they are caused by whatever work project is being done. Maybe it’s something that is just taking too long to complete or maybe it’s just a task that isn’t working no matter how hard you try. This is when I look at my to-do list and change things up. I look to see if there is a quick task I’ve been putting off, an email that needs to be answered, or maybe a phone call that needs to be made. Switching things up really gives the brain a necessary break. I’ll be honest, there are some days where I just know the day ahead is going to be a struggle so I try to accomplish really important tasks that use a lot of brain activity first thing. It helps to make sure that something important is done right and with the correct amount of energy rather than just powering through to get things done. Then by the time I’ve hit my midday slump, I don’t feel as bad about doing boring tasks like cleaning out my inbox or taking a nice walk to take out the trash.