Unproductive days at work?

[SeekingAfrica]

Do you ever have those days, like after flashbacks or something, when you find yourself going through your day doing nothing useful? What do you do?
I had few rough flashback days(I don't mean it was constant, but that I have more than one flashback daily and nightmares etc.). So today I'm all burned out. I have been trying to work and managed almost nothing. I tried to take a break and it didn't help. Making todo list just made me anxious. I tried to tell myself that I have tomorrow and the weekend if I need to, and so there is no reason to worry about finishing work on time. But I feel more anxious, and the more I do the less I can start.

I'm not in actual panic, so I don't think meds would help, I just have this heaviness in my chest and I can't concentrate or do much. Like in movies when they stare at a screen and can't start writing...kind of like that. A lot of things I just can't even make myself start. Yet I can't rest. I don't know how to push through this, or if I should just give myself a break, and just do more tomorrow. I am self-employed, but if I was at normal work time, most of the work day would have passed by now. And I've been sitting and trying to move through this and I can't concentrate. I thought if I can't do the direct work that I should do first, I can catch up on other things to do that will be useful later on, but I couldn't. I feel completely blocked.

 

[blackemerald1]

Sounds like you are pretty wasted. If you cannot focus on one single thing successfully I'd suggest you take a decent break, set an alarm on your phone and remove yourself from the task completely.

Make sure you are fed, showered and have slept properly (have a short nap if you can manage it).

When the alarm goes. Go back and sit down with purpose and get yourself organised to complete your most important tasks first.

Set aside some time each day to organise your desk or work space and keep it tidy. It makes a huge difference for my state of mind.

I think the more you think about being blocked the more blocked you become. And it ends up being a frustrating cyclic experience. So break the cycle. :hug:

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Sounds like you are pretty wasted. If you cannot focus on one single thing successfully I'd suggest you take a decent break, set an alarm on your phone and remove yourself from the task completely.

Make sure you are fed, showered and have slept properly (have a short nap if you can manage it).

When the alarm goes. Go back and sit down with purpose and get yourself organised to complete your most important tasks first.

Set aside some time each day to organise your desk or work space and keep it tidy. It makes a huge difference for my state of mind.

I think the more you think about being blocked the more blocked you become. And it ends up being a frustrating cyclic experience. So break the cycle. :hug:

Wasted sounds like I'm drunk or something:D. I get the point though. Yeah, after a lot of different ways of not managing to do much I definitely feel blocked.

I'll try to follow your advice. Sometimes we just need outside perspective. I hope I can manage to push through it soon. I feel really depleated.

 

[blackemerald1]

Oh..so sorry..lol :roflmao: I didn't mean that kind of wasted @SeekingAfrica :giggle: though it might help unblock you or maybe not. :unsure:

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Oh..so sorry..lol :roflmao: I didn't mean that kind of wasted @SeekingAfrica :giggle: though it might help unblock you or maybe not. :unsure:

I know, lol. Well, I already tried what I know and it didn't help. So I don't lose anything trying out your advice and seeing if it will work.

 

[desiderata310]

The only other thing I have tried is to simply focus on getting ONE THING done at work. If I can do that ONE THING I have accomplished something (and I make sure it's not like trying to pull together the budget for the year.)
If I can do ONE THING, I give myself a break, go get an ice cream or coffee and see if there is ONE MORE THING I can do.

Granted, This is usually on mildly more productive days.
The last few days for me have been absolute hell. I couldn't fight my way out of a paper bag so I found myself staring at my computer, clicking around to make it appear that I was actually DOING something and counting down the minutes till I could leave (I don't have any PTO built up yet so there's no 'leaving early' for me.

But I would say that if you have the luxury of having time off available, take it, pull yourself together and come back.
Another thing I would do is to make sure you have made it clear through HR that you have a disability (through the little check box they like to send out) and then ready yourself to ask for accommodations with your therapist.

It's a thought.