Ever have those days when you wake up wanting to punch someone and cry, set your house on fire and move to Europe? (Maybe it’s just me…)

On those days I dread getting out of bed and turning on the laptop, because I know the things I usually let roll off my back are going to feel like personal attacks of barbed wire and teargas. I know it will be more of a challenge than usual to deal with my challenging clients. Any computer problem I experience will likely send me into a fistful rage, and nothing I write/think/do is going to feel good enough.

Bad moods suck. But should a bad mood kill our productivity, bring our freelance businesses to a halt, ground us to our beds until we’re better suited to play with others? Perhaps. Yet sometimes we have to find a way to push on.

Here are some methods that have worked to help me survive myself on bad mood days without committing any sort of crime or murdering my business.

1) Lighten the load.

On days I feel like crap I know I’m not going to be producing at my best. Since my bad moods usually only last a day, it makes sense to save anything I can until the next day when I’ll be more up for the challenge. Unless a client’s deadline is set in stone, I save the task. The client ultimately gets a better finished product, and I don’t have to drive myself crazy with my moodiness-induced nitpicking.

2) Be honest.

I have several freelance blogging clients I work for on a daily basis. With those clients, saying “I’m having an off day today, so if there are any problems with this article, please don’t hesitate to let me know” can go a long way. Folks tell me they appreciate the heads up. It shows that my less-fabulous-than-usual work product is a reflection of my own bad day and not that I’ve suddenly stopped caring about their project.

3) Reward thyself.

This one may sound silly, but I’ve learned that planning a reward for myself at the end of a moody workday really helps me to get through the day without wanting to hang myself or throw the laptop out the window (too much). I usually choose a new book, movie or album download. On an extremely bad day I order pizza.

How do you all keep yourselves productive when you’re in a bad mood?