You know those days when you're hopelessly unproductive?

How do you respond? Come on. Tell the truth. Do you agonize over the research project all day hoping a "eureka" moment will break through? Do you sit there shuffling papers, reading, tweeting, or (worse) recycling lame jokes via email?

Or do you just stop?

I had one of those days recently. My to-do list was really long, but there was nothing that had to be done right away. My brain tried to focus on first one task and then another. Then I tried to tackle some low-hanging fruit. Nothing. Neurons definitely were not firing.

So I walked away.

I ran errands. Went for a walk. Took a nap.

I took the day off.

Workshifting takes discipline, but success is based on results and not time chained to a desk. Whether you work for yourself or are part of a bigger team, there's no one tracking your comings and goings. You either get stuff done or you don't. So why do we so often feel compelled to be "at work" on some variation or other of 9-to-5, Monday through Friday?

Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to take a day off.

Photo Credit: pmin00