No matter how much you love what you do, there are going to be days when it feels like a slog.

I got to my desk this morning, opened Scrivener and the latest manuscript I’m playing with and my head said, “meh!” The sun is shining. Both my daughters left for separate school trips in Europe yesterday. It’s Friday. Insert whichever excuse you like, it’s just hard work!

Ever the pragmatist, knowing I wanted to write to you, I decided to put the book to one side for a few minutes to instead poke at this “I don’t wanna” to see what might come out the other side. After all, I’ve got to believe I’m not the only person on the planet who finds herself distracted from time to time.

What do you do when your brain says “meh” but your goals and commitments say “must”?

Maybe, like me, you have an automatic tendency to rebel against the “must”, even when it’s a must of your own making?

Or maybe you know yourself well enough by now to realise that if you switch to something else for a little while before coming back to it, upon your return it’ll be lovely?

Here’s what I’m starting to realise … when your brain resists it’s usually for a very good reason.

Sometimes it’ll be because the thing you’re stalling on is out of your comfort zone. Your brain, sensing imminent danger, pulls out the big guns and before you can say ‘geronimo!’ you’ve stepped away from the metaphorical cliff edge and back into the safety of ‘same old, same old’. Phew! That was a close one!

Other times your brain puts the brakes on because it hasn’t got enough information. This is where I’m at today with this book. The fiction is coming along brilliantly. Charlie’s having an absolute blast in this latest (although her poor mother is being put through the ringer this time) and I’m excited to share it with you later this summer.

Nope, it’s the non-fiction that’s causing me a few headaches, simply because it’s a new format for me. Sure, I write these little offerings every day, that’s easy, but I’ve never published long form non-fiction before and the structure is killing me! Okay, I’m being over-dramatic, but it’s definitely been a learning curve.

Other times, your brain calls for a time out, simply because it needs the space to breathe. And it’s this third option that we all too often resist and try to push through. You cannot do all of the things all of the time. It’s not healthy, it’s not fun, and it definitely doesn’t make for a joyful journey.

The trick is being honest enough with ourselves to recognise what it is our delightful brain is trying to tell us when we get that “meh” feeling.

I’d love to tell you my brain is telling me it needs to down tools and do something fun in order to rest and breathe but that would be a big, fat lie! I’m resisting because it’s a little out of my comfort zone and I need some better structure for the content. To kick back and binge watch Game of Thrones would be doing both myself and the words a disservice.

How about you? If you’ve been going at break-neck speed all week, that “meh” feeling is a reminder to slow the pace down a little, be kind to yourself, and allow space for some fun into your day. For the rest of us, it’s time to face the fear and get on with it! ?