Un-Slumping Oneself

I’ve been in a bit of a slump this past week. Between last week’s tragic school shooting (and ensuing political debate), my son coming down with a stomach bug, and this cloudy, blustery weather, it’s not all that surprising, I suppose. Unfortunately, but also not surprisingly, the slump has carried over to my writing. I’m still getting a little done, but not with my usual enthusiasm.

Every week, I blog at The Naturally Healthy Horse and also work on at least one or two other freelance articles. But this week, I just couldn’t get excited about my chosen blog topic. I tried to push through the slump today, but eventually gave up and chose to go with a guest post instead. Sometimes, a writer’s gotta do what a writer’s gotta do.

I don’t like to be whiny on social media or online, in general. People who whine and complain all the time get under my skin, quite frankly. I try to be upbeat. Positive. Encouraging. But when your own tank is running near empty, that can be a bit difficult. So just like my mother told me– when I can’t be nice, I try not to say anything at all (*try* being the operative word here).

Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve ever been in a writing slump. It’s happened before and I know it will happen again. You’d have to be superhuman to be 100% gung-ho all the darn time. I might have a healthy dose of motivation most days, but I’m definitely not superhuman.

So since I’m in the process of un-slumping myself, I thought I’d share a few things that tend to help me, personally:

• reading
• writing poetry
• exercising (yoga is my favorite)
• getting outdoors
• eating chocolate
• cleaning (this works *occasionally*)
• watching a funny movie or tv show
• taking a hot bath

Wine can help too (but only if you’re of age!)

Usually, after implementing a few (or all) of these un-slumping ideas and allowing myself a few days of slow progress, the slump begins to fade. If not, I can always rinse and repeat.

What are your favorite ideas for un-slumping yourself? I’d really love to hear.