Hear about some of the different ways we can be affected
Read about the author’s own experiences and their tips to get going again
After reading, share your thoughts:
Whether it is at work or in life, we all get stuck sometimes. How do you handle it? What are the things you do to move forward? Do the reasons or tips in the article resonate with you? Please share your experiences and tips.
Great article, a lot of the suggestions you make I’ve made part of my routine to keep my mind free.
My music is playing all the time and I’ve been a musician for over 40 years, so it helps take quick breaks to bury myself in a song for a few seconds, bring the smile back on my face and crack on.
Every lunch time I go for a walk. If I’m stuck there is something about it that frees up my thinking walking around a field outside my house. I stop burying my head in the negative of problems and instantly my mind starts thinking of options…whats my next step? Maybe the act of walking acts as a catalyst in thinking about small steps.
Coming to the club and MOT regularly also helps me massively. When I’m in limbo of what to do next or there is a lull at work. Just taking part and branching out to other peoples problems and understanding their perspectives helps me enormously. Sometimes, the solution I’m looking for is sitting right in front of me in the club or in a trend, article or video.
And of course I have a great peer network. Being able to turn to my colleagues and team and freely express with them “I’m stuck”, “I’m bored” etc. with no judgement is liberating. In that sense I’m very lucky to be in a culture of people that just want to help each other.
Great post!! It happens very frequently that we get stuck at work or in day to day life with some or the other thing. We think about the problem and continuously occupy our mind to seek solutions. At work, I usually spend a few hours resolving the issue if it’s technical. Sometimes I get success but if not I leave it there. Go for coffee or chit chat with team mates and stay away for a few minutes or may be that particular day. Again come back with a fresh mindset and new thought process and it definitely helps to find a solution and get rid of the problem. I strongly feel that when we keep trying with the same mindset and it does not work, leave it for that particular moment because our mind is blocked and is not able to think differently. Coming back with a fresh mindset sometimes works just in a few minutes.
A few times, especially for non technical things, I do seek advice from friends, colleagues sharing about the situation, problems where I feel they can help me with their experience and suggestions. I do prefer to take advice from them and try to implement what they suggested. Suggestions may/may not work but I feel much relaxed and comfortable while I speak to them and recharged to work again on the resolution of the problem.
Many of what you’ve already suggested is a big help for me. I find that if something is plaguing me at work, going for a drive and running errands will get my subconscious brain in problem-solving mode. I know while driving, I’ve talked out loud about a solution with my kids in the car, and they are so confused until I explain what’s going on in my head. Washing the dishes helps as well (though I still hate washing dishes).
I appreciate how you share that getting stuck does not mean that something is wrong. It’s just a normal part of the thought worker’s experience. I think I needed to hear that.
And, any excuse to get a snack or more coffee is welcomed by me. Great article @AdyStokes!
“Folks who work from home full time, like me, can be guilty of not taking enough breaks. We get focused on the work in front of us, and unlike working in an office, we don’t get those natural interruptions like a question from a colleague or someone popping over to your desk. Don’t discount going to make yourself a coffee or snack as a way to get unstuck. That movement can be as valid as any other.”
This piece here, @AdyStokes, is so important for us remote workers to remember. And, as my family likes to joke when they see me upstairs making a coffee, getting fresh air on my porch, or watering my plants inside, “What, are you NOT working today? [tee-hee-hee]”, or “Didn’t you already take a break earlier?”
It can be a frequent challenge for me to REMEMBER to take a break, go talk to my cats, breathe fresh air, take a walk, shoot the breeze with a real person, etc., the same way I’d do these things if I worked in an office… except for maybe talking to my cats. But, I hope you get my point.
Thank you so much for your kind words and your excellent points that getting unstuck can be as simple as saying hello to cats. Being on your own all day and having others oversee you have their own challenges. I said to someone recently, everywhere you go you think. If you are a thought worker, that means wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you can be working.
Hmm, its a tough one to list down or understand what I personally do when I get stuck, I believe sometimes its not structured approach, you just do what you think is right in the moment.
Its true we all get stuck at some point in life either personally and professionally, I will keep focus on professional situation: I have found that at the end adversity only makes you stronger and you come out even more learned and experienced.
How do you handle it?
Perhaps embracing it is the right attitude however sometimes its difficult, giving yourself a time is nice approach to get terms with it and actually accepting that we have stuck. I believe most of us think that asking for help would make us look weak but actually opposite is true.
*What are the things you do to move forward?
I believe in taking a step back and rethink strategy would be ideal. Just doing a quick retro and self analysis in terms of what was the last action we did which caused this, so we can take the corrective measures accordingly.
*Do the reasons or tips in the article resonate with you?
Some of the items in the article is exactly what I do:
Walk
Breath
Even just gazing in the sky out of window helps you rethink and shift the focus where it was intended.
Other things that I do is to clearly writing down the problem I am facing, its a famous saying “half of the problem is resolved if we can write it clearly” and actually it help to start working towards the solution.
As we all know, learning in life is a constant process, not everyday is same, important is that we shall keep trying and going.
Great advise here, and when working you can get the feeling that you are being watched, either in the office or remotely by your online status.
We working in a industry that is constantly asking us to challenge and therefore challenging us. If you are stuck there is no benefit to you or your employer to sit just looking at a screen in despair wondering why can’t you fix the problem.
I like to alter the activity I am doing, so it could be checking in with someone else in the team, ensure that I don’t have a back log of emails or if I don’t already have one go and get a drink.
Remember though we are not super hero’s we are just humans doing our best and if you are stuck, you have tried to work it out yourself (say for 15 mins), you have tried shifting focus and returning to it. If all that fails it is time to ask for help, asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign that you want to learn.
