How to quickly get out of a rut

I’d need about 10 pairs of hands to count the amount of ruts I’ve gotten myself into over the past 5 years.

But, as the Japanese say “fall down 7 times, get up on the 8th”.

So right now, I’m going to share with you the one big breakthrough I’ve had which ensures I can beat a rut like it owes me money.  

And a rut is a pretty depressing place to be. So let’s get you out.

The first part is an equation I realised about 8 months ago, when I woke up one cold winters morning in Bristol.

The night before I’d written out my to do list for the next day, and the first thing on it was to learn 30 minutes of Spanish.

But I woke up and I couldn’t be bothered to do anything.

So I moped around and tried to do anything I could to distract myself from the uncomfortable feeling of resistance.

But then I remembered one of the first things I learned from Andrew Huberman:

Which is that behaviour comes before thoughts and identity.

In other words; mood follows action.

So the first part of the equation is:

Behaviour first.

So I acted, I sat my ass down and I learned 30 minutes of Spanish.

I felt a bit ambivalent about putting this part in the video because I know that every YouTuber who’s ever created a video about how to get out of a rut always says the same thing: just act. But it is necessary. And this is best summarised by Bill Wilson:

“You can’t think your way into right action, but you can act your way into right thinking.”

So right now, think about the one action you could take and that you would do which will stack the vote in favour of you getting out of the rut.

10 press ups, cooking lunch, walking into the kitchen and drinking a glass of water, putting your phone away in your wardrobe and going for a walk. Just pick one.

After finishing learning Spanish that day, I noticed I felt incredible, especially because of the initial resistance I felt.

Enter part 2 of the equation:

Earn your dopamine.

Essentially the shift in mood you’re searching for when you’re in a rut, the exhilarating feeling of motivation can only come through sacrifice. You have to earn the right to feel it.

And as you guessed, you do so through action.

Part 3 of the equation is:

Create momentum.

When you’re in a rut, you feel stationary, stagnant, depressed.

But, when you follow the first two parts of the equation you’ll realise that now you have momentum. Allow that to take you forward into the direction of further taking care of yourself.

Seize the momentum and keep going.

Perhaps after your 10 press ups you clean your room.

You reorganise the blanket you’ve been snuggled under, then you reorganise your desk and make yourself some lunch.

After you’ve properly seized the momentum, hopefully by now it’s getting dark and it’s time for bed.

Part 4: rest and replenish.

This part makes it easier for you to take the momentum you’ve gathered into the next day where you repeat the process.

And then you’re out of the rut.

But if there’s one thing that Albert Camus book the plague taught us, it’s that the plague can hit at any moment.

So too can a rut.

So here’s the framework I use and read regularly to prevent myself from falling into further ruts.

It’s called the crisis plan and counter attack.

Now you’re out of the rut, I’d be surprised if you thought “that was fun, I’d do that again!” So this is what we strategise against in the crisis plan.

First think about this question:

“What happens when I start collapsing?”

So then you write down one sentence for each part of the habit forming framework.

Cue:

Craving:

Response:

Reward:

For example, every 2 weeks or so I travel to Bristol to see my friends and I’ve noticed that probably 2 or 3 times after my return home from Bristol I’ve fallen into a rut.

Because I spend the weekend there and it knocks me out of my routine.

So…

If I used this framework I would write.

Cue:

Feeling tired after returning from Bristol.

Craving:

Distraction from uncomfortable feeling of tiredness and fatigue.

Response:

Reach for my phone and watch YouTube videos.

Reward:

Mind is distracted from the fatigue/boredom.

So even though we’ve labelled it as a reward it’s not a reward in an entirely positive sense.

Because for me one video leads to another, I wake up late the next day, I can’t be bothered to do anything and I want to distract myself from the feeling of being human.

So, using the exact same framework, in the counter attack what we’re going to do is keep the same cue and craving, however we’re going to change the response and reward for more positive things.

For example for me…

Cue:

Feeling tired after return from Bristol.

Craving.

Distraction from uncomfy feeling.

Positive response for me:

Put my phone away in garage loft, have a 20 minute nap then cook a colourful high protein meal.

Reward:

I feel genuinely rested, clearer, energised.

And then, stick that on your wall, and yes even during times when you’re not in a rut, just to remind yourself of ah! When the cue and craving arises what’s the response and reward that you’re going to do.

What’s the response and reward that you’re going to do.

Proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance.

Lastly, let’s finish on one final point, and this might hit a little hard:

If you really loved yourself, you wouldn’t be in a rut.

Because to love yourself means to act with your long-term best interests in mind.

And getting out of this rut is within your long term best interests.

So get moving.