Everyone has those days when they are just not feeling it. They wish they could stay in bed all day and do nothing. They look at their responsibilities and feel a weight settle over them that makes them just not want to move.

This slump is hard to get out of, but unfortunately, our problems and responsibilities don’t just disappear because we wanted them to, or because we ignored them long enough. So, here are a few things you can to to help you get out of that bottomless pit where motivation goes to die and start getting things done.

1. Get dressed.

It may sound simple, but getting dressed can be one of the best things you do to make yourself feel better. And when I say, “Get dressed,” I don’t mean throw on some leggings/sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, even though that’s probably the outfit that sounds most appealing. Instead, throw on a fairly decent outfit, something you’d go out to a restaurant in. Even jeans are better than leggings. When you dress up, your psychological reaction actually affects your sense of personal being. The nicer you look, the more confident and creative you feel. You also begin to think more expansively. So, when it is so easy to just select a nicer outfit when picking your attire for the day, why wouldn’t you take this simple step in kick-starting yourself?

2. Clean up.

Having a clean and fresh workspace can really help your mind feel ready to work. Even if it is as simple as making your bed in your dorm, for some reason, it makes us feel ready to get things done. If you have a big project to work on, clean up your desk. Put away things that don’t need to be out, and try to give yourself as much open space as possible to do work. This being said, don’t turn this cleaning break into a two-hour long procrastination session where you re-organize the whole room. Just tidy up a little bit, then get down to work.

3. Go for a walk.

Or even just go outside. Having a few breaths of fresh air can really help clear your mind so that you can feel motivated. Taking a walk can be particularly good because it means that you get both fresh air and exercise. Exercise is great for preparing you to get work done because it energizes your body. When you exercise, your metabolic, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems all start working harder, which gets you ready to start working hard too.

4. Eat something.

If you’re going to get something done, you’re going to need energy, and that means you should eat. Now, I don’t mean junk food. Don’t dive into the bag of potato chips, even if that’s what you might be craving. One of the best ways to get rid of that groggy, unmotivated feeling is to eat something healthy. My personal favorite is apples. Apples are particularly good because the sucrose and glucose from them—which you digest quickly—gives you energy right away, while the fructose—which takes longer to digest—helps sustain you for a longer period of time. Regardless of which health food you choose, it’s important that you avoid junk food, which is high in processed sugar and chemicals, which will make you feel more sluggish.

5. Drink a cup of tea.

Obviously, I had to put this one (see my article from last week, British Blood In America: Moments We Know All Too Well). Tea makes you feel so much better. It helps clear your head and get rid of that groggy feeling, so that you’ll feel refreshed and ready to take on anything. And if tea isn’t your thing (which, by obligation, I must disapprove of), try coffee, or fruit juice, or whatever your favorite beverage is. Even drinking a glass of water helps.

6. Get rid of distractions.

One of the biggest things that sometimes prevents us from getting work done is that lack of motivation causes us to wander easily. We sit down in front of our laptop, ready to write that research paper, and we end up on YouTube, or Facebook, or any other one of the billions of things that isn’t your homework. The solution is to get rid of any distractions, no matter how much you don’t want to. So silence your phone and put it away, or at least put it across the room. Close your laptop. If you need your laptop for your work, close out of all applications and windows that don’t need to be open. There are even apps to help you stay focused by preventing you from opening certain applications or visiting certain websites for a designated amount of time. Eventually, if you close off all distractions, you’ll be bored enough by the lack of distraction to actually get something done.

7. Start doing work.

In the end, the only real way to get things done is to hunker down and just do it, no matter how much we don’t want to. Even if you think you might just about die of boredom, sit down and make yourself do five minutes of focused, non-stop work. By the end of those five minutes, you’ll actually feel motivated to keep going and finish it.