Break the Funk Gunk

Tuesday January 31, 2023 // Early Afternoon

This is probably cheesy but lately I’ve been in a funk and I’ve been working on a strategy to “break the funk gunk”. Yeah, it’s cheesy.

In my last post I talked about being in the thick of it – bogged down by a billion things, mostly out of my control. This has had a direct impact on my funk. My normal over-achieving self has been satisfied with achieving. I’m beaten down by life at the end of the day despite sitting at a desk in my home all day long in sweats and then playing Magna-Tiles with my three-year-old all evening. It feels like I’m Atreyu pulling Artax through the Swamps of Sadness trying to get myself to do the easiest tasks each day.

GIF from the Neverending Story scene with Atreyu pulling his horse Artax through the Swamps of Sadness

In my best self-help guru impersonation I wrote out ten items on my daily to-do list on my Notes App to “Break the Funk Gunk”. This is listed directly above my tasks for the day. In no particular order they are:

  • Finish the sh!t that is weighing on you
  • Exercise and/or spend time outside 
  • Clean up the house
  • Put the screens away for awhile
  • Listen to good music
  • Drink more water and less caffeine 
  • Eat fruits and vegetables 
  • Shower and dress for the day
  • Make positive life decisions 
  • Get solid sleep opportunity

I could spend at least a paragraph on the importance of each but I don’t need to waste either of our time or mental brainpower on that. They’re all pretty simple things that we know are good for us. It took me writing them out and staring at them on [digital] paper and checking them off to actually do most of them.

After the first few days the funk gunk has greatly resided. I feel lighter and while not quite over-achieving I’m doing less than the bare minimum. For the moment, that’s all I can ask for.

I’m going to keep at this for a bit until the high of a new productivity system wears off and I’m back in a rut and it’s time to reinvent myself again.

GIF from the Neverending Story with Sebastian riding Falkor putting his fist in the arm

Do you have anything to add to the list to break the funk gunk?

– Josh // Gunk Fighter

Related Reading: What Are You Putting Off?

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