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The Long Read

What to do when you don't want to do anything

About two years ago I wrote our businesses marketing plan. Everything from customer segmentation, to value propositions, to sales funnels, to see-think-do journeys, to empathy mapping. I did it off the back of doing the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses programme, so it was all fresh then. But now, as I sit trying to update it, it’s a lot, it’s a bit overwhelming, and I am yet to be convinced by how valuable it all is. I feel like it takes the heart out of everything (I am a marketing sceptic!).


So instead of getting on with it, I have procrastinated to no end - I walked Roger three times, I made some granola, I watched some Great Pottery Throwdown, and altogether did everything in my power to avoid the task at hand.

Rather than sit staring at the blank page of my marketing dashboard, I thought I would get tapping away at an article all about what I do when I don’t want to do anything. There is so much advice out there about productivity, and whilst I read every single bit of it, I have never been able to stick to any methods. Early mornings last about 4 days in a row then I need a lie in to recover. Time blocking lasts until about 11am when suddenly I go off-piste, and the day is ruined. I’ve bought books on productivity methods, downloaded productivity apps, listened to productivity podcasts – and none of it has made me invincible to those days when I just want to sit and scroll through videos of dogs. No matter how good ticking something off a list feels, sometimes it’s easier to just move those things on tomorrows to do list instead.

In some respects, I am very fortunate to be self-employed, so that when I really don’t feel in the mood to do something, I don’t have to do it. However, on the other hand, the jobs I do have don’t go away. I am the only person who will do it and have a team relying on me for that (something I wrote about here). Future Eppie will be resenting the decisions I made today.

So, I thought I would share a little run down of the things that help me on days like today because, the reality is, at the end of a day where I have just been scrolling aimlessly on my phone or avoiding jobs, I don’t feel good. Sometimes I only go through the first few steps, and I am back, feeling engaged again, or sometimes I make it the whole down the 7-step plan.


Number 1: Block the apps

When I am feeling lackluster, I find myself reaching for my phone every 5 minutes to look at pictures, scroll the apps, waste time. It means I never get into the flow of a task. So step 1 is to take that option out my hands. I don’t have the self-control to do it alone so use Freedom to block websites and apps I find myself getting absorbed by. On certain days it’s so bad that I even have to block LinkedIn! By taking the ability to scroll away from myself, I have to find other things to do to keep myself entertained and generally, those things end up being something a little more beneficial.

Number 2: Get outside (ideally into the rain)

I know it’s obvious, but getting out of the house or studio, even just for 10 minutes feels like a reset. On a bright day feeling the warmth of the sun is invigorating, but I almost prefer it on a wild and miserable day. Going out into the rain means I can’t wait to get back inside. Suddenly those desk-based tasks look all the more appealing, thinking about that warm cup of tea and the cosy indoors. Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s my northern roots (it rains a lot in Yorkshire), but a trip outside in bad weather is a wonderful motivator to get back to work!

Number 3: Sing your heart out

I love music, I love singing, I have a terrible voice, but I have great passion. I find even on the dullest and hardest days, if I put on a power ballad and force myself to sing, I get a whole new energy level. I’ve been using this technique for over a decade… at university, if we needed to find a hidden energy reserve for the 5th night out on the trot, my friend Izzy and I would find a YouTube lyrics video for Spice Girls – Viva Forever. Without fail, the emotional rollercoaster of that song, the Spice Girls last ever song (I am sure any other 90s kids can relate), would get us in the zone.

Whilst now I am applying the same principle to work, rather than nights out, it still seems to do the trick. Particular favourites to belt out are Abba – Money, Money, Money (you can really feel the emotion in this one when you are struggling to get on with work), Matthew Wilder – Break My Stride (particularly good to sing along to whilst walking… it’s a striding song) or Believe – Cher (I had to listen to each of these songs whilst writing this and got thoroughly distracted). Obviously, there is Dolly Parton, 9 to 5, for when you are feeling particularly aggrieved or if you need a longer number, the 11 minutes of Elton Johns Funeral for a Friend are particularly good given you have to listen to about 6 minutes before you can finally belt out a line. It feels silly, but honestly give it a go!

Number 4: Laughter

Often, I think this despondent mood strikes me when either I am feeling overwhelmed by work or after a few things haven’t gone as well as I would like. It happens after an extended period of having to be serious, and so I just need to find a way to switch that up and make myself laugh. The easiest way I find is through a silly podcast – ones like Off Menu, No Such Thing as a Fish, My Dad Wrote a Porno or British Scandal. They probably have a very British sense of humour (so I am not sure if they will be everyone’s cup of tea), but with each episode just being half an hour long, I can go sit somewhere away from my desk, get my, and take time out for 30 minutes to just have a laugh at something.

Number 5: Read some Rick Rubin wisdom

I got this recommendation from artist Emma Carlow who said if she was ever feeling a little demotivated, she would pick up Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act. It’s the sort of book you can dip in and out of – each chapter is just a couple of pages and covers every aspect of the creative process. They are a good way of reminding myself why I have chosen to do what I do, and how it’s all part of a journey. I just picked up the book for an example and here is what was on the page I turned to…

“All art is a work in progress. It’s helpful to see the piece we’re working on as an experiment. One in which we can’t predict the outcome. Whatever the result, we will receive useful information that will benefit the next experiment. If you start from the position that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, and creativity is just free play with no rules, it’s easier to submerge yourself joyfully in the process of making things. We’re not playing to win; we’re playing to play. And ultimately, playing is fun. Perfectionism gets in the way of fun. A more skillful goal might be to find comfort in the process. To make and put out successive works with ease.”

Number 6: Cook (optional depending on how recent your last meal was)

I love food and, whilst not particularly skilled, I do love to cook. So, if nothing else is working, then I’ll cook myself up an elaborate lunch. The all-encompassing nature of following a new recipe or working out something I can make with the leftovers in the fridge, is a great way of switching off from what I was getting all pent up about. I find when I am feeling super excited by my work or I am brimming with creative ideas, then cooking gets side-lined (a.k.a. handed over to Harry). However, during periods of particular high stress, I find the meals I cook get more elaborate as I need longer and longer at the end of the day to switch off. I’ll find myself making batches of granola, baking cakes, or preparing increasingly time-consuming meals. There was a phase when Harry was coming home to (very poorly prepared) sushi!

Number 7: Do the essentials and de-prioritise everything else

If none of the above have worked to make me feel able to sit back at my desk and get on with work, then I feel it’s time to abandon ship on the work I thought I would do today, and instead do something I am more in the mood for. So, I’ll set myself a time limit to finish all the essential things that had to happen (sometimes that’s just making sure I am on top of emails), and then I’ll allow myself to do what I feel like. Today, that was writing this article. Another day it could be doing some sewing, or drawing, or organising my photos, or looking for inspiration. Whilst the jobs I had to do haven’t gone away, I tend to find that the following day, I’ll feel reinvigorated for it due to the fact I gave myself space (also a little more time pressure does wonders for me!)

Tell me what you do!

So there we go, that’s my 7-step plan. As you can see, today I made it all the way to Step 7. Clearly no marketing plan is getting done today but I do have this article to show for the day instead. Let me know if you have any mad re-invigoration techniques!


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