Slump Halfway Through The Day

[Panic57]

First, I would like to preface this by saying that I'm not a morning person. I hate getting up. But after a couple cups of caffeine, usually in the form of coffee, I'm fine. I'm at least productive. But the last couple of days, as my deadline starts creeping closer, I've been feeling defeated about two to four o'clock and can't seem to be productive. I just want to go back to bed and let the day fade away because it's pointless anyways. I can't seem to escape that thought. I hate it but I can't seem to shake those defeating thought and that overwhelming feeling that I can't accomplish what I want in the limited time I have. Have you felt this? What do you do?

 

[Alex]

At times it;s hard to keep the momentum up and to be encouraged and inspired. I'm not sure there is a solution, as each day will be different. What I try to do is stop, and do something that will inspire me or at least give me a second wind. It could be to watch a few blooper reels, tidy up the garage, or change me bedding; something that will have a good end result. I know trying to continue when you aren't motivated doesn't work, because you feel more frustrated by the project, and lose faith. That's why it's best to stop for a while even if there is a deadline, as quality of work matters, plus the fact you need to enjoy it.

 

[hades_leae]

I know a lot of people are not morning persons. I don't see why, it's just another part of time, I don't consider it mornings. It's only mornings because society says it is, and then we attach specific events to mornings.


That's like me saying that when work is finished at a job, I don't to get int he car and drive, but then I'll eat some skittles and be ready to go. I slump around rarely, but when I do it's because I'm super sick or something. I find that quite funny actually. You should probably find more meaningful things to do with your day, it's not really a big deal, you just don't have much to do I'll assume. Find some hobbies.

 

[pwarbi]

Not being a morning person is totally different though from having ups and downs at other periods of the day. I myself used to hate having to get up early but after a cup of coffee I was ready to face the day. Since I suffered from depression though, I found that more and more my mood was fluctuating between not wanting to do anything and having no motivation one minute, to flying high and being over enthusiastic about everything the next but that's quite common.


To say it's an imbalance of the brain might be making it sound more dramatic than what it is, but that IS effectively what it is when dealing with depression, and while the majority of people will find a level that will carry on for the day and have the one mood, people suffering from depression will go from sad and down to happy and upbeat and then back to sad and down again all in the space of a couple of hours. A depressed mind can't find that balance between happy and sad and fluctuates between both extremes.

 

[Alexa]

But after a couple cups of caffeine' date=' usually in the form of coffee, I'm fine. I'm at least productive. [/quote']
Do you drink more coffee in the afternoon, when you feel the slump? That is what I do, and usually it helps. I believe coffee does more for our brains and mental attitude than simply waking up. Also, I eat coconut oil mixed with peanut butter with my afternoon coffee. It does seem to help.

 

[sidney]

I tend to experience that from time to time, however, I usually just give in instead of trying to fight my drowsiness. I really value my sleep, so I will never resist it. If I really want to stay up, I just take energy drinks to make me energetic and to prevent me from falling asleep.

 

[Panic57]

Do you drink more coffee in the afternoon, when you feel the slump? That is what I do, and usually it helps. I believe coffee does more for our brains and mental attitude than simply waking up. Also, I eat coconut oil mixed with peanut butter with my afternoon coffee. It does seem to help.

Depends, I sometimes drink coffee but other time I drink Mountain Dew. But lately that hasn't been helping me. I've even given up drinking caffeine by six o'clock to ensure that I sleep completely at night.

 

[kelden]

I know a way, you know, once the alarm goes off, quickly get off the bed and stand upright before turning the alarm off. The tendency to go back to bed is much lower if your body has started moving by simply standing. Now, close your eyes for a while and Take a minute to visualize your long term and life goals. Visualize and feel yourself in your future state. This put your mind in a motivated state and kick start the engine.

 

[John Snort]

I've had to deal with something like that in the past. You know you have to do something but feel like you lack the energy to get things done. The way to deal with the apathy is by actually doing what you don't want to do. The moment you start and realize that you actually are making progress, it gets easier.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

I feel this way sometimes. But I mostly feel this way when my mood is very low... When my mood is on a normal to high scale I tend to get a lot more done, even things I hate and sometimes even sleep better. I am not sure what type of deadline you have, it sounds work related? Most of my jobs didn't have many deadlines so I never felt that stress before, unless I created a deadline for myself. Situations like this one of two things happen to me. I either fade into a long standing depression and get nothing done. Or I suck it up and eventually just get it done.

 

[DDNatureLover]

I used to have a lot more energy in the mornings, and was somewhat of a morning person, but now that my chronic pain has exacerbated to the point of sometimes verging on being unbearable, mornings are some of my worst times. I am totally cranky, even griping at the kitties when they get under my feet as I'm trying to move around and feed them. I get a little better once my body loosens up and I get a cup of tea and coffee (or both) into me, but I also have the afternoon slump. What i tend to do is change my situation. I get up and take a break when I start feeling fatigued. I will sometimes go out on the balcony, or other times, just walk around a bit or take a hot bath. All of those help me somewhat, and although I drink tea pretty much all day long, I make myself a different flavor when I'm down/tired. Just a few little changes like that tend to make a huge difference in how I feel. On my really rough days, though, i do sometimes need to take a nap, and in those cases, the evening is usually non-productive, which is o.k., because I've learned to give myself some leeway when my body acts up.