The Blah Diary: Contemplation of Uninspired Moments

by Manal on February 6, 2012

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Do you ever feel like you don’t want to do anything?

You stare at the work you’re supposed to be doing but feel blah. You’re in a blank state—unmotivated or bored.

The same can happen at home. You’re just not up to much and don’t know what to do with yourself. You feel numb and indifferent.

I go through phases of this blah state. I just sit there and do nothing. Or worse, I start wasting time, mostly online, doing useless stuff.

I had a conversation with Matt, a wonderful and talented reader. After the exchange I decided to run an experiment and keep a blah diary. Basically I would document all the moments that I felt numb and try to understand where these moments are coming from and what I can do about them.

Today I want to share with you some of the main findings and encourage you to start observing your own moments.

Why use a blah diary

Being in a dull state every now and then is not a big deal, but if it goes unnoticed for an extended period of time, it becomes part of your routine. It turns into a habit that causes you pain for no reason other than it hasn’t been noticed and questioned. It can be quite disruptive and draining.

A diary will help you in the following progression.

Observation creates awareness.

When you start recording (observing) your activities, you become more aware of them.

I usually track my productive time for work purposes but it’s much harder to track your unproductive time. Once you start noticing your blah moments, you pay more attention.

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