Four Ways to Reboot Your Brain

I’ve been experiencing a bit of a creative block lately. I haven’t felt much like writing blogs or book chapters. Haven’t come up with meaningful messages to post on social media, etc. I thought I’d submit another article on what I learned from surveying women physicians with infertility, but I keep writing and rewriting the same couple sentences.

Such is the loop I’m in. 

It happens now and then. I just feel kind of… blah.

Part of the issue is that I spent months pouring all my free time into the talk on infertility I gave last month. And part of it is the expectation hangover that accompanied the talk and the conference. 

This kind of feeling has been described perfectly by psychologist and author Adam Grant. See him in his Ted talk about it here, in addition to how he escaped it. Spoiler: it involves Mario Kart. 

Now I wouldn’t say I’m quite languishing to the same degree he described of his COVID quarantine Groundhog Day existence. But I do identify with “the blahs”. I mean, aren’t we always on a continuum between peak mental focus and burnout? 

So what can you do to move the needle in the right direction?

Cultivate connection

Connecting with people, nature, or both can help you out of a slump. When’s the last time you spent time outside? Spring is coming, so what better time than now? 

I’m currently on an RV trip with my family in the desert of southern Utah. We wake up to the sunrise over Zion National Park in the middle of an expansive valley. We’re meeting other campers, participating in some homeschool group activities nearby in St. George, and planning to visit some other nearby natural wonders. 

Oh, and we brought our bikes, which leads me to a second way you can try to escape “blah”…

Embrace challenge

I’ve written before about the power of doing hard things. You can try something you know is hard for you, such as a workout challenge, or you can just try doing something new. Pay attention to even micro improvements and celebrate them! 

On this trip, I’m going to try biking again. I haven’t mountain biked since before I started residency 15 years ago! We used to go a few times a week, and I know it was challenging then. Now, it’ll be like starting all over again!

Find flow

This is where the Mario Kart comes in. Adam Grant found flow, and subsequently his way out of languishing, by playing Mario Kart with his family. The game not only involved flow, but it also brought him social connection and challenge. 

Is there something you do where you know you’re able to get into a state of flow? Even mundane things like cooking and cleaning can bring a state of flow. If you don’t know what I mean by flow, you can read about it here.

My current favorite flow-inducing activities are walking, hiking, and yoga. This month, I’m taking a break from going through the motions at the gym, despite my love for weight training. I’m shifting to a period of doing yoga to psych up for a yoga retreat I’ll be attending at the end of April. 

A mindset of RESET

Lastly, in moving beyond my blahs, I’m cultivating a mindset of reset. When struggling on a technical problem with an electronic device to my wit’s end in the past, my husband has often said to me, “Don’t even bring your problem to me until you’ve turned it off and back on again.” I keep this in mind with all sorts of problems now.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Anne Lamott

What about you? How do you reboot your brain and move past a state of the blahs?

(A version of this article appeared on the website Doctors on Social Media. View it here.)