Ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong and world seems to be against you?!  And the more irritated that you get, the worse it gets?

One morning this week, I was feeling under the weather and everything I did seemed to take more time and effort than usual.  So I hurried, tripped over and dropped everything I was carrying in spectacular fashion.  My computer was going slowly, so I stabbed at the keys impatiently until it froze entirely…and I had to remind myself:

Despite all the mindset work and productivity methods in the world, some days are slower, harder and more frustrating than others.  It’s just part of being human.  The trick is to expect that there will be days like this and have some tricks up your sleeve to navigate them.

Here are my 4 favourite tips for navigating a day that is going to cr%p

1. 1. Acknowledge negative thoughts, then shelve them:

If you feel like the world is against you, that you want to give up on whatever you have been working hard on, or feel irritated with those you love … acknowledge those thoughts and don’t “make yourself wrong” for thinking them. But don’t bother analysing them today.  Shelve them to deal with when you are in a better state of mind –many of those thoughts may dissolve or be put into perspective after a good nights sleep.

1. 2. Be kind to yourself:

If you are feeling disappointed with yourself for having a less than optimally productive day, forgive yourself –off days are a normal part of human life.  If you can, treat yourself to a small indulgence, some time off and an early night –you will come back fresher and more efficient for it.

1. 3. Prioritise the most important things

There are days when you are on a roll are incredibly productive and can knock screeds of things off your to-do list.  Then there are days when the most efficient thing you can do is prioritise what is absolutely essential to get done that day, do it and then call it a day.

1. 4. Remember, this too shall pass

The truth is, sometimes due to circumstances outside of our own control, bad days can sometimes stretch into bad weeks, months, even years.  When this happened to me I started to wonder if life being incredibly difficult was a normal and permanent part of getting older.  But, turns out that you can come out the other end of struggle, trauma and grief even stronger and find happiness again.  So if you are going through a tough time, hang in there.  Know you that are not alone, that there are mindset tools that you can use to help (3 are above) and that things usually do get better!