How to Get Through the Day

Throughout our lives, we’re all going to come across periods of time where it’s hard to get through the day. Maybe our mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, OCD, or anything else are feeling particularly severe or challenging. Maybe our responsibilities at work or in school are feeling overwhelming and unmanageable. Maybe we’re having difficulties in our relationships or interpersonal interactions and it seems like it’ll be a long road for them to improve.

Whatever the reason, and however uncomfortable or not-fun it is, it’s totally normal to have a time when things just feel really freakin’ hard. By now, many of us know the “things to do” when we’re struggling: meditate for an hour every day, journal before we go to bed, limit screen time, eat healthy, blah blah blah. Don’t get me wrong: these are great strategies. But when we’re in a period of time as described above, some of these things just aren’t attainable. So let’s look at a few simple, approachable strategies we can use to get through the day and slowly build up to a more joy-filled daily life. I hope these make your days more manageable and enjoyable, as they have mine!

Photo by Cut in A Moment on Unsplash

A Simple Morning Writing Exercise

Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to journal for 45 minutes before you’ve even had your morning coffee. I am going to suggest, if you wake up with some dread or dreariness in your mind, to engage in a little writing exercise that won’t take more than 5 minutes. All I want you to do is write down three things:

1. Something You’re Grateful For

This does NOT have to be anything major. And I know if you’re going through it, there might not be a ton on this list. But try your best to think of something you’re feeling grateful for that morning - maybe the sun is out, you’re really enjoying your morning tea, you have a meeting-lite day - whatever it is and however small, jot it down!

2. A Self-Affirmation

This can be haaaard. And again, this does not have to be anything major. But it can be really powerful to say something nice to ourselves every morning to start changing our internal language, and it can set the tone for the rest of your day to move towards being kinder to ourselves. Maybe this is as simple as: I like my laugh, or I have good taste in music, or I’m doing my best. Whatever comes to mind, put this on paper so you can see it in writing. If this is feeling particularly challenging, it may be beneficial to do some work on self-love strategies to help identify affirmations more easily.

3. One Thing You Want To Get Done Today

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - this doesn’t have to be any kind of big task! Often when I’ve used this exercise, I’ve written something down that’s totally unrelated to work or school, like “call my insurance company to see what my new co-pay is.” I know when I’m having a really hard time, it’s incredibly hard to get things done - especially the day-to-day things we need to do to take care of ourselves. If it’s more beneficial to focus on work or school, by all means, do that! But feel free to think about your personal needs as well.

Though in practice, this is simply writing about three sentences or less, it’s incredibly effective. It makes you think about things you’re grateful for and things you like about yourself, and it encourages you to take action on something that may make your mental burden a little lighter. Give it a try!

Identify Things You’re Looking Forward To

When we’re having a hard time getting through our day, it can be really daunting and exhausting to think about persisting through not only today, but the next one as well. And then the next one after that. That being said, a powerful way we can shift our thinking about the near future is to think strategically about our week, and make sure to implement one thing that we’re looking forward to each day. 

The things you’re looking forward to can be small and simple - they don’t have to be anything big. (Man, there’s a theme here, huh?) To show you what this could look like, I’ve included a sample week (actually, I’ve almost copy and pasted this from my memory of a hard time I’ve had in the past - so this is a real-life example, people!).

Chart by Sarah Nemetz

A key to this is: if you’re thinking of a day and there’s nothing you are looking forward to, then build something into your schedule intentionally. You could decide to watch a favorite movie that day, or bake something yummy, or set up a coffee date with a friend. If you’re not up for anything that big, you could make sure to get your favorite specialty latte from a coffee shop that day and enjoy a little walk while you get it. 

This strategy is a really powerful way to both identify what is positive and fun in your life, and to intentionally build in those things when there’s a day in which joy is lacking. Even when the rest of your day or week is feeling grim, you’ll have these small joys to look forward to to get you through it.

Creating Time Blocks In Your Days

When looking ahead at your day is filling you with dread, fear, or hopelessness, it can feel impossible to even start. It can be really helpful to create blocks of time in your day to focus on, rather than looking at the whole day or week. By creating blocks of time in your day to focus on getting through, we bring the goalpost back and make the field shorter. (Wow, I don’t think I’ve EVER used a sports analogy - this is a first, y’all). This way, we make our days less daunting, and create more opportunities to celebrate our successes as we go.

To do this, take some time to look at your day and do a temperature check. What parts of the day are feeling particularly challenging? Is it your 2:00 meeting with your boss? Maybe it’s your long biology lecture that feels like it’ll never end. Is it your free block that just feels like unstructured time you have to figure out how to fill?

Think about the barriers throughout your day, and break it up into blocks of time. Once the day is broken up, just focus on getting through that current block of time - don’t think about the next one. Once you get through it - celebrate a little! Maybe reward yourself with a fun snack, or simply pat yourself on the back (internally or physically). Then you can focus on the next block of time.

This allows us to have attainable goals that we can celebrate, instead of having never-ending thoughts of “how am I going to get through this whole day?” And, “This whole WEEK? I’m never going to make it.” If you have a goal of getting through your first two meetings, it’s a lot more feasible to meet. This shows us that we CAN get through it, that our barriers can come to an end, and that we’re able to tackle the rest of the time. Below is a sample of what it might look like to create time blocks in your days, for inspiration!

Chart by Sarah Nemetz

While these strategies aren’t going to magically make everything better, they will help you get through the day, identify or create more joyful experiences in your life, and foster some future-focused hope. I sincerely hope these strategies help you as much as they’ve helped me.

P.S: Shout out to my mom for helping me develop some of these life-changing strategies when I was growing up! You’re the best!

Have you used any strategies like these to make your days or weeks feel more manageable? Are there other strategies you’ve used that have helped? Share them in the comments!

Note: If you are struggling severely, and for a long duration of time with depression, anxiety, feelings of grief, hopelessness, or thoughts of suicide - please reach out to a licensed therapist or other mental health resource. You do not have to go through it alone!