Nilson Tales Guimarães
Maybe it’s the change in seasons, but lately there has been a lot of thinking about how to get out of a funk. That is the in-between state where nothing is exactly wrong, but everything feels slightly off. A person might be more tired than usual, a little unfocused, and strangely unmotivated by things they normally enjoy. It isn’t dramatic enough to name, but it is felt in everything.
Sometimes it is there the moment you wake up—a heaviness you can’t quite explain. Other times, it builds slowly, almost imperceptibly, until you realize you’ve been moving through your days at half-capacity. You’re getting things done, technically, but without your usual clarity or energy. And the more you try to push through it, the more it seems to linger.
The instinct is often to fix it. To reset, optimize, get back on track. But through trial and error, it has been learned that getting out of a funk is about interrupting the pattern with something that shifts your energy just enough.
It is not a full reset, but more like a pivot. Stepping outside for a few minutes longer than usual. Putting on music while you make dinner. Letting yourself move a little slower instead of trying to catch up. The kind of choice that doesn’t feel like a solution, but changes something anyway.
When feeling this way, the goal is not to overhaul a routine or suddenly become a different person. It is about looking for a small opening—a moment where you can re-enter the day with a little more presence. Usually, that is enough to start changing the tone of everything that follows.
How to Get Out of a Funk, Stat
When in a funk, even deciding what to do can feel like too much. There is a tendency to overthink it—to search for the perfect reset, the right routine, the thing that will fully snap you out of it. But often, the fastest way to feel better is simply making a choice and following where it leads.
Again, the aim is to create a small shift. Something that interrupts the loop you’re in and brings you back into your body, your environment, and your life as it actually is. Even a slight change in energy can be enough to build momentum.
If you are not sure where to start, start here: Step outside for five minutes with no phone, just light and fresh air. Drink a full glass of water and eat something with protein. Text or call someone you trust, even just to say hello. Take a short walk, where around the block counts. Put your phone in another room for 10 minutes and notice how you feel. The goal is not to fix everything. It is to feel a little bit better than you did five minutes ago.
1. Do One Thing That Supports Your Body
When in a funk, the first instinct can be to figure out why. You might look for a mental explanation of what’s off, what needs to change, what should be done differently. But more often than not, the issue is not something you need to figure out. It is something you need to support.
A low mood can come from surprisingly simple places: not enough sleep, not enough water, blood sugar dips, too much time inside. And when your body feels depleted, your mind follows. What feels like a lack of motivation or clarity is sometimes just your system asking for something more basic.
Start there first. Not with a full reset, but with one small, immediate act of care. Something that doesn’t require overthinking, just a way of telling your body you’re paying attention. Before you reach for your phone or try to push through the feeling, pause and do one thing to support your body. Start with what feels easiest, and notice what changes.
2. Move Your Body
This is not about a full workout or a structured routine when you’re already low on energy. When in a funk, movement works because it shifts something almost immediately. It changes your environment, your breathing, your pace. It interrupts the mental loop just enough to create a little space between you and whatever you’re feeling.
It doesn’t have to be much. The smaller it is, the more likely you are to actually do it. A short walk. A few minutes of stretching. Even just standing up and moving around instead of staying in the same spot where the mood settled in. There’s something about changing your physical state that reminds you you’re not as stuck as you feel. Step outside and walk for five minutes. Or put on one song and move your body for the length of it. Let it be brief, and let it shift your state rather than your schedule.
3. Get Out of Your Head
One of the quickest ways to know you’re in a funk is how inward everything becomes. Thoughts loop, perspective narrows, and you start overanalyzing things that wouldn’t normally hold that much weight. Even when nothing is technically wrong, it can start to feel heavy just from sitting with it too long.
What helps, almost every time, is shifting attention outward. There is something grounding about connecting with another person—stepping into a conversation, even briefly, that isn’t centered on your own internal dialogue. Reach out to someone you trust with a quick text, a voice note, or a short call. Ask them how they’re doing, or share something small from your day.
4. Name What’s Actually Going On
Sometimes what feels like a vague, all-encompassing funk is actually something more specific that hasn’t been fully acknowledged yet. There are days where you might think you are just off, only to realize—once you slow down enough to notice—that you were anxious about something, avoiding a decision, or carrying around a thought you hadn’t fully processed.
A shift happens when you put words to it. It doesn’t necessarily solve the problem, but it takes away some of the weight of not knowing. Take a few minutes to write down what’s been sitting in the background of your mind. No structure, no filtering—just get it out of your head and onto the page, and see what becomes clearer.
5. Change Your Environment
It is easy to underestimate how much your surroundings shape your mood, especially when you have been sitting in the same place for hours. This is most noticeable on days when everything starts to feel a little stagnant. But even a small environmental change can interrupt that feeling. A different room. A cleared surface. Fresh air. You are not going for anything dramatic. It just needs to be enough to signal that something is moving again.
Open a window, step outside, or move to a different space entirely. If you are staying put, clear one small area, like a desk or a nightstand, and notice how it changes the way the room feels.
6. Step Away From Your Phone
There is a specific kind of funk that sets in after too much time on your phone. Your energy dips, your focus scatters, and your mood starts to feel a little flatter than it did before. It is not just the time spent, it is the constant input. You are taking in more than you can process, often without realizing it. And when you are already feeling off, that added noise doesn’t help. It just makes it harder to hear yourself think.
Put your phone in another room for 10 minutes, fully out of reach. Then do something simple and analog: make tea, stretch, sit by a window. Pay attention to how the shift in input changes your energy.
7. Do Something Slightly Different
A funk can sometimes come from sameness, the same routine and inputs day after day. Even if everything is technically working, there is a point where it starts to feel a little flat. Instead, try introducing something small and unfamiliar, just enough to break the pattern and bring a little curiosity back in.
Take a different route on your walk, listen to something you wouldn’t normally choose, or swap one part of your routine for something new. Just a small change that reminds you there are other ways to move through your day.
8. Create a Small Anchor in Your Day
When everything feels a little scattered, it helps to have something steady to return to. Think of these as anchors, simple rituals that gently bring you back into yourself. It is less about what you do, and more about giving your day a point of connection. Something that feels consistent, even when everything else doesn’t.
Choose one small moment in your day to treat differently. Sit outside with your coffee. Step away between tasks and take a few slow breaths. Let it be brief, but intentional, and notice how it shifts the pace of your day.
9. Let Yourself Rest Intentionally
Not all rest is the same. There are plenty of moments where you might try to relax by defaulting to scrolling or zoning out, only to feel just as off, if not worse, afterward. What actually helps is a different kind of rest. The kind that feels chosen, not passive. Something that gives your mind a break without overstimulating it, where you are not consuming more, just allowing a little space.
Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and step away from screens. Lie down, sit somewhere quiet, or do something simple with your hands. Let it be unproductive on purpose, and see how you feel on the other side.
10. Shift Your Focus Forward
When in a funk, it is easy to get stuck in the immediacy of how you feel. Everything narrows to the present moment, and it can start to feel like it will last longer than it actually does. Don’t try to force optimism or map out a full plan. Instead, explore creating a small sense of forward movement. Something that reminds you this moment isn’t permanent, even if it feels that way.
It can be as simple as thinking about what might feel good later today, or later this week. Not in a way that adds pressure, but in a way that reintroduces a little momentum. Write down one thing you are looking forward to. Keep it simple and specific, and let it be something you can return to when you need a reminder that this feeling isn’t the whole story.
This post was last updated on April 18, 2026, to include new insights.
