Dealing with that Rainy-Day, Mid-Afternoon Lethargy

Today, at approximately 3:21pm on a rainy day, it hit. I really, truly, did not want to do anything. I was suddenly overwhelmed by how underwhelmed I felt. All I wanted was to go home and do absolutely nothing. Really... nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Not even one of the sticky notes or piles of paper on my desk were looking like they could hold my attention for more than 3 minutes.

What to do? Typically, I turn to caffeine and/or Facebook... but lately, I am trying to shun those habits. So I present to you... 3 ways to get yo-self back to work!

Solution #1: Read a kick-in-the-face St. Josemaria Escriva quote. Really, anything he ever said in his entire lifetime will do... but for starters, something like this: 

"Ask yourself many times during the day: am I doing at this moment what I ought to be doing?"
  
Tweeting, twirling my hair and texting my friends? Prolly not (for this very reason, I have that quote on a sticky note above my desk). This one is also fantastic:

"Don't let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love."
 
Then say a prayer and get back to work.

Solution #2: Put on some upbeat music! I suggest one that I ran across recently: "How I Feel Sometimes" by Kevin Heider. It's peppy and motivating, but yet you also feel understood. Bonus: it makes you want to kick Satan in the face.

"Hey, Depression, I see you lurking, and I don’t like you none. I’m gonna keep my eye on you, Mr. Serpent. Come take a good look at the bottom of my boot. I cleaned it just for you." 

I'm also a Switchfoot fan, so a song like "Afterlife" will work nicely:

"And I wonder, why would I wait 'til I die to come alive? I'm ready now, I'm not waiting for the afterlife. I still believe we could live forever. You and I, we begin forever now."

Then say a prayer and get back to work.

Solution #3: Get up out of your chair, walk around and talk to someone else. Ask them about their day, their new puppy, their sick great-aunt, their favorite pizza... anything! It's even better if you can give them a hand with something. Basically, the point is A) get your mind off of yourself and your lack of motivation, and B) do a little physical activity, however simple. 

Then say a prayer and get back to work.

I'm starting to see, more and more, that this all boils down to what kind of a person I am. Isaiah 58:8 says, "Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you." OH SNAP. I recently heard that at a funeral, and it stuck out to me like a sore thumb... which usually means that God is convicting my heart of a change I need to make. In similar fashion, Mark Hart recently quipped the following: "You can learn far more about a person's work ethic by observing them on a Friday than on any other weekday." Let me tell you, that certainly made me sit up a little straighter!

There's been so much goodness written on a "theology of work" (again, check out St. Josemaria Escriva for starters... also Blessed John Paul II!), so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. But I will say this: we aren't meant to slug along until 5:00... we're meant to be excellent! We're meant to sanctify the world, and be sanctified ourselves, by our daily duties. In fact, according to Fr. Mike Schmitz, simply doing our daily duties is one of three main steps to discerning your vocation! So BAM. Want to fulfill your life's purpose, given to you by God? Step one: just do your job. Maybe not the most exciting thing - depending on your tasks that particular day - but hey, if it works, I'm not going to complain!

To tell the truth, I'm just tired of "getting by," "making it through the day," and all those watery, lazy, lame excuses for procrastination and lack of integrity. So let's do this, St. Josemaria Escriva style!

"To begin is for everyone, to persevere is for saints."