Everyone, in every profession goes through it. In fact, I have even gone through it recently. It’s that funk that just gets you down, perhaps has you telling yourself that you aren’t valuable, or prevents you from being an engaging member of your company.

Getting out of the funk can sometimes be hard – especially when there may be some additional underlying reasons why you’re in that funk in the first place. But there are several ways to get out of that funk, but here are specific things you can do to clear the fog.

Talk to Other Administrators

This is especially important if you are a solo admin. Sometimes you just get lonely, and feel stress coming from the organization. Your time is valuable and is a hot commodity. Talking to other administrators can help reignite your spirit and passion for what you do.

I recently heard from a friend who has been in a consulting role for a while and is now moving back into an Admin role with a new company. Her email mentioned how excited she is to be a part of the Admin community again. The passion with which she expressed her excitement got me excited and got me fired up as well. Her words helped me to realize my love of being an Admin. Her emotions got me excited and helped to lift my head above the fog.

Cheryl Feldman wrote a post on her blog a few weeks ago which was an inspiring post. This type of information is what we should be sharing with one another. We need it.

It’s okay to feel like your job sucks. It’s okay to feel like no one cares. But staying in that place is not okay. Talk to other Salesforce Administrators and create a place where you can share what’s on your mind to keep your passion burning inside you.

Go for a Walk

Science has proven over the course of several studies that walking is a great exercise. Not only does it help to reduce blood pressure, prevent depression and even reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, but it also has proven to help improve your brain.

Walking is shown to improve cognitive and creative thinking by up to 60% compared to sitting.

In addition to regular exercise, taking a walk is a great way to get out of your set, change your surroundings and process information. With the improvements in cognitive thinking, I find that taking a quick walk improves my approach to people and helps to create new ideas when I’ve hit a roadblock.

Research done by Stanford found that walking indoors or outdoors had similar effects, showing that the location of the walk makes no difference. Instead, it was the act of walking that improved memory and creative thinking.

And the good news is that these results were found to take place with only a 5-16 minute walk.

If your calendar is booked solid and you don’t have time for a walk, consider a walking meeting. Mark Zuckerberg and the late Steve Jobs used walking meetings as a way to increase creativity and get out of the office.

 

So if you are in that funk, get out of your chair and take a walk. Enjoy the sun on your face and exercise not only your body, but your brain. You’ll notice that your ability to think and your general mood will improve; helping to remove that fog.

Take a Vacation (or Long Weekend)

America is notorious for having the worst PTO policies of developed countries. While European workers are guaranteed 30 paid days off a year, American’s are not guaranteed any paid days off, although 91% of employers provide some paid time as part of total compensation.

And although American’s have fewer paid days off per year, even fewer of us are actually taking that time off.  A study done by Glassdoor found that employees used about 51% of their vacation days and approximately 61% of those that took vacation performed some work related tasks while taking time off.

I don’t know about you, but I have taken every day of my vacation and haven’t felt bad about it once. Paid time off is part of your total compensation package. While I love what I do, I also find enjoyment in relaxation and spending time with family.

There are proven health benefits as well. Here are seven of them:

1. Better physical health
2. More productivity
3. Close family relationships
4. Fresh perspectives
5. Increased mental power
6. Improved mental health
7. Decreased risk of burn out

So, don’t be the person in the office who decides that they can’t take the time off. We only live once. Get out there. Make memories. Experience the world. Unplug from reality for a little while. Your work will still be there when you get back and your company will manage without you (as long as you set them up for success).

If you are in a place where you are near burnout, or you just can’t get out of that funk without taking some time off, think about taking a long weekend to disconnect.

Laugh More

I love to laugh. Unfortunately, I don’t know that I do it enough. I remember as a kid, even into my young adult years, laughing so hard I was gasping for air while tears were running down my face.

Why do we have to be so serious?

Laughter has proven to reduce anxiety and stress levels. From personal experience, I think that we can all agree, that a healthy dose of laughter is a bad-mood buster as well.  But there are other benefits of laughter on the body.

1. Improved blood flow
2. Increase in infection-fighting antibodies, boosting immune cells
3. Lower blood sugar levels
4. Improved relaxation and sleep

Having a toddler at home, I have realized that we, as adults, allow our lives to get in the way of our happiness. We hold onto the past, we don’t enjoy the company of others as much; always buried in various forms of technology.

I don’t want to live life thinking about the missed opportunities to engage with someone and bond over a funny story. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to make my kid laugh and bond over a tickle fight or funny movie.

Here’s a video that is sure to make you laugh and help improve your mood. Babies and dogs. What could be better?

Laughter really is the best medicine. Let’s laugh more!

Create “Me Time”

Dale Ziegler wrote about this in The Importance of Me Time here on Admin Hero. The idea is to carve out time in your day to do the things that you want and need to do.

It’s okay to block out time on your calendar to answer questions on the Success Community, or study for your maintenance exam. Perhaps you want to learn how to use Flow and Process builder. Setting time aside for yourself, even during the work day, is super important and will help you feel excited to be at work.

Your Me Time may be taking a long weekend to go camping, or even taking your computer to the local Starbucks to study, work or learn something new. Expand your horizons and find ways to get out of your routine a little bit. It’s just another way to clear the fog and get you back on track.

So, what are the ways that you get out of that funk and clear the mental fog? Leave a comment below!