Yesterday, I had one of those days. You know the ones. The days where you wake up irritable for no apparent reason, and everything just feels… off. Nothing seems to go right. You spill your coffee, your kids need you now, your computer decides today is the day to glitch out, and you’re behind before the day even starts.
Maybe it’s hormones.
Maybe it’s a bad dream you can’t remember.
Maybe it’s just life.
Who the fuck knows?
Whatever the reason, the day snowballs. You’re snappy. The little things that normally wouldn’t bother just about send you over the edge. You keep pushing through, checking off tasks, but underneath it all, you’re toast.
So what do you do when you’re in the middle of a day like this? How do you pull yourself out before it spirals into complete burnout?
Let’s talk about it.
Recognizing the “Off” Feeling Before It Takes Over
The first thing I noticed yesterday was that something just felt… off. Not in a catastrophic way. There were no major crises, no huge fires to put out. But my body was tense. My mind was scattered. I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and overstimulated.
And the thing is, I could have ignored it. I could have powered through, pushing myself to just “suck it up” and keep going. I could have convinced myself I didn’t have time to deal with my feelings. But, that’s just some patriarchal bullshit.
But here’s what I’ve learned: ignoring burnout doesn’t make it go away. It just compounds it.
So instead of steamrolling over my own exhaustion, I did something different. I noticed it.
I let myself pause long enough to acknowledge:
- I am really irritable right now.
- Everything feels harder than usual.
- I am carrying a lot of tension in my chest and shoulders.
- My thoughts are running a mile a minute.
That self-awareness alone gave me a moment of clarity: I need a reset.
The Power of a Simple Reset (That Actually Works)
After dinner, I could have easily kept pushing forward. There were still things to do. There are always things to do.
But I didn’t. Instead, I let myself pause. I went into my bedroom, flopped face-first onto the bed, and just breathed.
Deep breaths. The kind that expand your lungs fully and make your shoulders drop just a little. The kind you don’t realize you haven’t been taking all day.
It sounds ridiculously simple. You hear it all the time—”just take deep breaths.” But there’s a reason for that. It actually works.
As I lay there, I let myself feel what I was feeling. No judgment. No trying to fix it immediately. Just noticing:
✔ The tightness in my chest.
✔ The mental fatigue from a frustrating day.
✔ The emotional weight of feeling overstretched.
And then, I got curious.
Getting Curious Instead of Getting Stuck
One of the biggest traps when you’re having “one of those days” is going straight into problem-solving mode.
Why do I feel like this?
Is it hormones? Am I overtired?
Should I be doing something differently?
How do I make sure I never feel this way again?
While problem-solving can be useful, sometimes it just adds to the mental exhaustion. Instead of solving, I tried something different: curiosity without judgment.
I simply observed:
- This is how I feel right now.
- I don’t need to justify or analyze it.
- It’s okay to have off days. They don’t mean I’m failing.
And instead of spiraling into what went wrong, I gently reminded myself:
Overall, things are okay. This is just a hard moment.
That small shift—from frustration to curiosity—helped me take the pressure off myself. I didn’t need to fix everything. I just needed to regroup.
Releasing the Pressure (and Moving Forward)
After breathing and reflecting for a few minutes, I vented to Husband. Just a little—nothing dramatic, just a quick, “My fucking computer wouldn’t load and it just cost me more time.”
And you know what? That tiny release helped.
Sometimes, we hold onto our frustration because we don’t want to sound like we’re complaining. But bottling it up just keeps it trapped inside. A quick vent, a sigh, a few deep breaths—it all helps release some of the tension.
And then? I felt calmer. Not perfect. Not magically energized or joyful. But less overwhelmed.
And from that calmer place, I was able to do something important: decide what to do next.
The “Now What?” Moment
One of the hardest parts of a day like this is figuring out what to do next.
Do I push through and keep working?
Do I collapse on the couch and scroll my phone for an hour?
Do I check out completely and call it a night?
For me, once I felt even slightly better, I asked myself:
“What’s one simple thing I can do next?”
Not the entire to-do list. Not everything I had planned before the day went sideways. Just one thing.
And that’s what I did. I picked one small, manageable task and got it done. Not as a way to force myself to be productive, but as a way to create momentum.
Because once you take one intentional step, it’s easier to take another.
What You Can Try Next Time You Have “One of Those Days”
If you’ve had a day like this recently (or, let’s be real, if you’re having one right now), here’s what I want you to remember:
✔ Pause and notice. Don’t ignore how you’re feeling. Recognize it without judgment.
✔ Breathe. Deep breaths. Let your body catch up with your brain.
✔ Get curious. Instead of solving, just observe what’s happening inside you.
✔ Release some of the pressure. Vent a little. Remind yourself that hard days happen.
✔ Decide one next step. Not everything—just one simple thing to do next.
You don’t have to fix an entire bad day. You just need to reset enough to move forward.
So the next time you find yourself spiraling, I hope you remember this: it’s okay to pause. It’s okay to breathe. And it’s okay to have an off day.
Because you won’t stay stuck there forever.
We’ve all been there. And we’ll get through it together. 🧡