Sometimes you get stuck in a rut. Or the doldrums. Or holding the bag. Or your own pile of doo-doo. (I can’t believe I said that word, but this is a G-rated blog, so…)

Lifehacker lead me to a great solution to the too-frequent result of feeling blue, which is whining: “Whining, White Smoke, and the Mechanics of Getting Unstuck.”

If the title alone hasn’t convinced you that you need to read that post from 43 Folders, read this quote from it:

“Whining is the white smoke in your tailpipe that lets you know you’re burning mental oil. It means you’re unconsciously devoting cycles to something that you can’t, won’t, or shouldn’t be spending time thinking about. Otherwise, why would it be bothering you, right? You’d be either extricated or done with it.”

I am no expert, but these tactics work for me:

Listen to some music, either Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” or George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.”

Clean some windows (not the entire house, just the ones you look out of most of the time).

Get in some water�either bathtub or kayak on lake.

Pretend like I am in Cher in “Moonstruck,” by looking in a mirror, slapping self while commanding: “Snap out of it!”

Buy fresh flowers.

Make a batch of homemade playdough.

What works for you?