I used to beat myself up a lot when I would have an unproductive day for whatever reason (because I was tired, depressed, anxious, distracted, etc). This would then carry over to more days where I needed to be productive, thus hurting my focus and productivity further. Then I realized that, at least in my job, things won’t fall apart if I just have an off day. Now when I have one of those days I’m easier on myself and remind myself that tomorrow will be a new day where there will still be plenty of challenges to tackle and I don’t need to be working at 110% capacity every single day of my life. I now find it a lot easier to just write those days off so that I can come back the next day and focus.

Sometimes we need days where we aren’t “productive” to rest, recover, or process so that we can do our best on the days where we are able to be productive.

I’ll also say that for me having a good, supportive team makes a huge difference. If you have other people who can help you stay motivated and accountable who are also empathetic it’s a huge boon for staying focused and productive.