I have the mid-summer blahs. It happens every year, and, even though I know it’s coming, there isn’t much to do to prevent it. It’s something I have to survive instead of avoid.

Maybe you get it, too? You look out your office window, see the glorious warm sun shining, and the last thing you want to do is work. You remember summers spent at camp or on a beach or running in the backyard at your grandmother’s house and your thoughts are overwhelmed with joyful nostalgia instead of the monthly report you have to produce for your boss. You want to be just about anywhere other than at your desk.

To survive these blahs and stay somewhat productive, I try to do the following things every day:

• Get to my desk earlier in the day (for me, this is around 6:00 a.m.). I try to get as much work done as possible before other people start working. I have more energy than I’ll have later in the day, my phone doesn’t ring, no one e-mails, and it keeps me from feeling guilty when I totally zone out around 3:00 in the afternoon.
• Do a lot of positive self-talking. My internal dialogue is typically: “Dude, you’re wasting time. Get your stuff done so you can go out and do something outside. The longer you procrastinate your work the less time you’ll have for whatever else it is you want to do.”
• Have a clear plan for what needs to get done each day. Schedule brainy, thought-intensive action items for early in the day and more mindless stuff for the afternoon.
• Avoid heavy lunches. If the meal is hard to digest, it often puts me right to sleep or into a zone. Lighter lunches don’t seem to have the same impact. This might be psychological, but, even if it is, I’m okay with that.

What do you do to survive the mid-summer blahs and keep on track with your work?

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