A few weeks ago, I was having one of those days.
My kids woke up feeling argumentative, so they were talking back at every available opportunity. I realized I forgot to pick up my prescription the day before and I ran out of my meds. My schedule was packed to the gills with meetings and I was feeling behind in my client work (which didn’t stop a couple of tech fires from erupting and taking away even more of my time.)
PLUS someone forgot to refill the water filter AGAIN. It really burns my britches.
So it wasn’t anything big, it was just one of those days where there are a dozen little things that went wrong and they all added up to me being in a pissy mood. By mid-morning, I was done with the day and thinking, “All I want to do is nothing.”
Which obviously affected my productivity.
I decided to poll my group about what they like to do when they have days like this and it got a lot of responses. So, for your consideration, here are 5 quick ideas to help you get over your bad mood so you can reclaim what’s left of your day. Try them the next time your day sucks and let me know what helped the most!
1. SPEND 5 MINUTES WITH YOUR PET
I have a rescue Greyhound and if you’re not familiar with the breed, you might think they’re hyperactive and run all the time, but the truth is they’re SUPER lazy and they sleep, like, 20 hours a day. Plus they have the saddest eyes known to humankind. So if I’m feeling sorry for myself, I can just look into Bodie’s face and those sad, brown, blind eyes say, “I get it, hooman. But you know what’ll make you feel better? Scratching behind my ears. And giving me some bacon. I hear giving dogs bacon will increase happiness by 214%. You can’t argue with science.”
If you know me IRL, I hope you read that in “Bodie’s voice.” #yeswehaveavoiceforourdog #noshame #totallynormal
Maybe your pet says something different, but taking a few minutes to love on them will make a difference in your mood. If you don’t have a pet, do a search for “baby laughing” on Youtube and spend 5 minutes with some of those videos. Heck, even if you do have a pet, it’s a great idea. I mean, how can you not laugh along with this?
2. PUT ON A HIGH-ENERGY PLAYLIST
This isn’t a new idea, obvs, but it makes the rounds because it works. What’s the music that does it for you? For me, it kind of depends on my mood, but generally anything with a great horn line perks me up a bit. Motown classics are a great option, especially if you like to sing along (and you grew up listening to Oldies radio like I did.) Here are a couple of Spotify playlists I made with some of my favorites:
“Get Pumped” playlist (this is a short playlist with fast, harder pop/rock. Plus some Queen. Perfect for those times you wanna dance it out).
Speaking of fast music, try doing a search for a high beats-per-minute playlist. You can find huge collections of songs with BPMs of 155 or more to make your own perfect “Get Pumped” playlists. Got a favorite high-energy song? I love hearing new music recommendations, so lay it on me!
3. GO OUTSIDE AND/OR EXERCISE
Yup, I know: like the music suggestion, this is nothing new. But also like the music suggestion, it sticks around because it WORKS. Look, I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes exercise is the LEAST appealing thing when I feel crappy. And sometimes I suck it up, buttercup, and grab my yoga mat anyway. Buuuuuut sometimes I don’t! And in those times when formal exercise just ain’t happening, I can at least take 5 minutes to step away from my computer, go outside my door, and take some deep breaths.
Having a dog makes a convenient excuse for going for a walk, so that can make it easier to get some outdoor movement going. But even if all you can do is go out on your stoop, do it. Stay off your phone while you do. Look up at the sky. Breathe deeply. Stretch a little. Listen to the sounds around you for 3 minutes and list off all of the specific sounds you can pick out.
4. MAKE A LIST OF YOUR ONLY PRIORITIES FOR THE DAY
For me, sometimes just the feeling of being overwhelmed with to-dos is enough to send my brain into a bit of a tailspin. When I feel like I’ve lost control of my time, it really does a number on my mood. If you feel that, too, sometimes just narrowing the scope of what your day’s priorities are can go a long way to giving you back that feeling of control. And when you feel more in control, it’s easier to take steps forward.
Finish this sentence: “Even if I accomplish NOTHING else today, I’ll feel so much better if I _______________.” Aim for 2-3 items maximum on this list. And keep them realistic.
5. GET THOSE ITEMS DONE, THEN REWARD YOURSELF
Decide what you’re going to reward yourself with when you finish your 2-3 main priorities for the day. Maybe you’ll decide to take the rest of the day off for self-care. Or maybe you’ll just allow yourself to scroll Insta for 30 minutes without guilt.
Then set a timer. Turn off your notifications. Shut down your social media for a few hours. And just concentrate on that day’s priorities. Chances are that you’ll feel so much better after you get those priorities done, you’ll feel like a brand new (super-productive) business woman. And if that’s the case, harness that energy and keep the productivity going!
Do you have a favorite tip to handle your bad moods? Let me hear about it in the comments below!
