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Think back on the last week: have you felt incredibly sluggish and tired? Are you usually someone who jumps at the opportunity to take on a new project at work, but lately, the smallest task feels impossible?

Do your colleagues typically turn to you for your innovative genius, and now, you can’t seem to come up with one stellar idea? Take a deep breath: You aren’t failing as a leader, and you aren’t slacking.

You are, however, suffering from pandemic brain fog. This is caused by living through a period of intense, on-going stress and unknown variables that impact every single moment of our lives.

Even now when most of us are back in our offices, we don’t know when mask-wearing will be a distant memory. We don’t know when traveling will be completely safe. This can cause even the most well-intended and passionate professionals to feel unlike themselves.

Oftentimes, when you try to implement some of the mentioned elements, you may run into challenges. To resolve this very issue, I wrote my book series “Becoming Pioneers”- Receive a Free download of this book by Clicking this Link

In addition to giving yourself a much-deserved pat on the back for making it this far, consider these strategies that help you break through the exhaustion and find your creativity:

Schedule a quick exercise break. When was the last time you left your home ‘office’ (or ahem, corner of your dining room table) and walked more than a few steps? Movement is essential not only to our physical health but our mental and emotional well-being, too. it’s vital to work in some exercise in the middle of the day to keep your brain happy.

By pumping up your adrenaline and getting your breathing deeper and more regulated, you can increase your energy, focus, and creativity while reducing physical lethargy, mental sluggishness, and emotional distress. Especially during times like this, it is imperative for people to stay physically active to keep their minds, bodies, and emotions functioning as close to their norm as usual.

Give your mind time to disconnect. All too often, professionals punish themselves for not performing up to the standards they set for themselves. So, rather than listening to their bodies, they push forward, staring at their screen, feeling less and less productive.

Rather than torturing yourself, prioritizing mindfulness by blocking time to slow down, practice deep breathing, and other calming tactics. When we do this, we force ourselves to live in the present moment, helping to eliminate other thoughts and worries.

Time-block your work. Part of the struggle of a brain fog is feeling as if you can’t make progress. You start one deliverable, you feel stuck, so you move to something else. Then, you repeat this process until you feel defeated. This doesn’t give you the type of confidence you need to tap into your creativity zone.

Create time blocks in your day-to-day calendar where you are hyper-focused on work for short stints, followed by a short exercise or mindfulness break. Because you know you have a limited amount of minutes to give attention to a project, you are more likely to remain productive.

With mindfulness, a person can generally get into the habit of keeping oneself focused and stopping distracting thoughts and feelings which limit or impair one’s functioning at work. As a result, his or her ability to be creative and productive at work can be increased

With these strategies by your side, you can be more alert and excited to stave off any possibility of a brain fog clouding your decisiveness, even during these troubled times!