Ruts: The What, Why and How
Ruts are those annoying pitfalls that happen every day, when you feel tired even though you slept but you can't be asked to do anything. If that sounds like you, then go ahead and read this thread.
(p.s. If you are rushed for time, just read the bits in bold).
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Feeling Rather Than Definition
Before I give you a concrete definition of what a rut is, let me tell you a story about the topic (this topic is more along of the lines of you have to understand what I am talking about rather than just absorbing the information. That is why I feel that you will understand best, with a story).
A Normal Day
A normal day would usually start out like this (for the holidays at least): You wake up (I know, very surprising). After sticking to a relatively coherent morning routine, you usually do some work. You end up getting around 2-3 hours of work done.
The Invisible Weight
After that, something strange happens - you physically could not be bothered to do any more work. It felt like there was this small weight attached to everything that you do, slowing your movements, making me unable to think straight. It can also be described as move through a thick fog. Both your mind and the space around you has become cloudy. The rut has started, even in this miniature form. Although it is not a big thing, it adds up over time. When you try to do some more productive work, you get distracted. I wonder what’s on Youtube, let me check. That video looks nice, and I HAVE been doing a lot of work, so I might as well have a SMALL break.
The “Small” Break
We all know that once we have a “small” break, that “small” break expands into something longer and longer and longer. By the time you realise, already one hour has gone. As fast as the snap of your fingers. As fast as a blink.
Am I Ready to Get Back to Work?
You wonder where the time went. You think, do I really feel ready to get back to doing something productive? Nah. I was on Youtube that whole entire time, I didn’t even get a proper break. But I really have to finish this work by the end of this weekend. I GUESS I better get back to work.
Failure Even When You Succeed
You try to focus intently. You try to complete the work. Your eyes strain. You have a headache. NO, I have to get this done. Just a little more… Finally, you finish your work. You look at the time. It’s 2:00pm. ONLY? I swear, I could sleep on the spot. You have completed all of your work, and really early as well. Now you have the rest of the day to play and have fun and do other stuff. BUT, not all is good is it. You feel lethargic. You can’t be asked to do anything. The effect of the rut has fully taken control.
“What is a Rut?”: Unlocked 🗝️
Now I think you have a pretty good understanding about what a rut is. Just to make sure, here is the google dictionary definition of a rut:
“RUT: habit or pattern of behaviour that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.” - Google dictionary definition
Essentially, a rut is something that you do every single day that makes you unproductive, and it often gives you that “tired” feeling that I kept on telling you about. Usually, it happens at around 1-2:00pm because this is the time where most of us have a break, at the middle of the day. That break is where the rut strikes. Also, when a rut successfully attacks a target, the effect can be quite bad.
The Disastrous Effects of a Rut
They make you feel like you can’t be bothered to do anything, much less anything important. As a result, you spend the rest of the day literally doing NOTHING. Not even like the “oh I’m not doing anything today because I want to lie down and relax” type of nothing or the “I’m not going to do anything productive today because I want to binge watch the new season of Bleach or speed run through the new God of War game” type of nothing (although the second one does sound appealing). Literally nothing. Your brain is switched off. You are just performing idle tasks for the sake of doing them, because anything else would be too strenuous on the mind and body.
“Why do Ruts happen?”: Unlocked 🗝️
Ruts happen because your actions, what you do, have allowed for them to creep in and ruin the rest of your day, week, or even month. They happen, because you let your guard down for a moment, and do something which is not meaningful at all to you (i.e. it only gives you an immediate sense of satisfaction and you are only doing it because you have nothing else to do). Examples could be:
Watch Youtube/Youtube shorts
Go on Twitter
Read Messages on Whatsapp
Seeing your friend or family member’s post on Instagram
LITERALLY ANYTHING related to TikTok
(notice how they are all social media apps)
There are more examples than this, but these are the main ones that people do. Also, I am not trying to villanise these apps or the people who go on these apps. Watch Youtube. Read Whatsapp messages. I (almost) encourage you. BUT (and this is a HUGE caveat, so pay attention). Only go on social media and do these immediate gratification activities in a set block that you have planned after you do all your work.
“How to Solve Ruts?”: Unlocked 🗝️
What ❌NOT❌ To Do
Do NOT do any activities which derive from that sense of “instant gratification”. Anything which gives you some joy one moment but that joy is diminished the next. Common activities which go under this umbrella include:
Do NOT go on these apps (mentioned above)
Do NOT go on these apps during your “break”.
Do NOT go on these apps until you have finished most of your work.
Do NOT go on these apps just because “you feel like it”.
What You ✅SHOULD✅ Do
Instead, what you should do are actions that will let you lose a bit of steam that you have piled up, sitting (or standing, if you have a standing desk) down for the amount of time that you have done work. More long term activities that will give you a long term sense of satisfaction even after you are done with them. Common activities which go under this umbrella include:
Going for a walk/jog around the neighbourhood.
Calling a friend/family member (this one is risky, since the social media apps are just a couple of inches away on the phone. Stay determined. Do NOT click on them).
Being aware of your surroundings (mindfulness)
Doing some chores (I know this one might sound cumbersome, but it can actually be quite a good stress reliever)
Try that for a little while. Message me if it has changed anything (click on the button below to comment).
If I was able to bet, I would bet nearly everything that doing what I told you to do above will reduce that amount of ruts that you have by a great amount.
The Aftermath
Now that you have learnt how to identify ruts, why they happen in the first place, how to avoid them, and what the solutions are, I feel that you are now prepared to tackle the dangerous enemy that is ruts head on, thereby improving your life. After doing the tips and tricks that I have laid down before you, you should be feeling like you have more energy, rather than less energy, after the middle of the day. You are now ready to finish the rest of the day in style, and maybe even have a couple of hours to spare to finally finish that thing that you have always wanted to do. And with that feeling of satisfaction, I bid you farewell. Hope you have a good rest of your day!
