This is been my first blog post in almost two weeks… I’ve gotta admit, I fell off the bandwagon a bit. My birthday weekend – when let’s fact it, no one gets any work done – was followed by a brutal sinus infection that knocked me out of business for a full week.

So I’ve been playing catch up at work, in my personal life, and with my writing.

Life has a funny way of doing that. You’re on top of the world, nailing your diet/exercise plan, rocking your professional goals, writing 1,200 words a day, and then…

You’re derailed.

So how do you get back on balance?

• Shake off the funk.
  If you’re anything like me, these periods of less than stellar productivity have an emotional consequence as well. I find myself feeling frustrated and disheartened. So first things first, you have to get out of your funk and approach getting back on track with a clear mind.  Check out these five tricks for recovering from the funk.

• Get organized.
  Grab yourself a cup of tea or a glass of wine and spread all your projects out across your desk. The most important thing to getting back on track is to not jump back in full throttle. Write your goals out in your journal, in an Excel spreadsheet or on a spare piece of paper – whatever works for you – and take stock of where you stand.

• Prioritize your projects. 
  Like I said earlier, I didn’t publish any new blog posts last week. That’s because my new novel is a much bigger priority. I’ve felt some guilt over neglecting my blog, but then I remind myself that trying to a write book in three months is no easy task.  So if one project has to take a backseat while you catch back up, no harm in that.
  
• Start small. 
  Ease back into your strategy with small goals. Don’t start with a 12 mile run or a 5,000 word count day. Go for a brisk walk instead and focus on a few pages at a time. Then build your momentum back up until you’re hitting your normal numbers.

• Block your time.
  I find that when I put something on my calendar, I usually stick with it. So when I open up Outlook and see a spin class at noon and a writing session at six, then I can mentally wrap my head around the commitment (and no one can schedule something else in the meantime).

• Find a little inspiration. 
  We all like to think that inspiration strikes like a bolt of lightning, but sometimes you have to create your own. Listen to a podcast, talk to your friends or read a great quote – my favorite writing quotes can be found here. Over the weekend, I wrote ten thousand words in three days. Why? I was inspired by a friend who just signed with her new agent (85% thrilled for her, 10% motivated by the prospect of my own success, 5% pure jealousy).

But hey, inspiration is inspiration!

Before you know it, you’ll be back on top, blowing your goals out of the water. But remember, life will knock you back down again. The key is to not get discouraged and keep trekking… Hopefully these tips will help you recover even faster and easier next time!