Stress and the Holiday Season- #NaBloPoMo Day 2

Maybe its a bit early to talk stress and the holidays, but I don’t think so. Personally, I’m trying to be proactive about it. I’m already super stressed out from the day job, and I don’t want things to get worse. I’m trying to do better and leave work at work (Hard when you’re a teacher) and not stress over author stuff. Or personal stuff.

Here’s a few stress busting tips for the season:

• Take a break. If you can’t get it all done right now, its okay. Stop and come back to it tomorrow.
• Designate 5 minutes at the beginning of the day, during lunch (or a break), and at the end of the day to just sit quietly and focus on breathing or nothing at all. Sometimes (at least for me) 5 minutes of total silence makes a world of difference.
• Focus on the positive stuff. I struggle with this one a lot. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but I have a tendency to get really frustrated and fixate on all the bad things that happened during the day. Take a few minutes to think about the good stuff too.
• Snuggle. If you have a special someone, snuggle with them. If not, find a good book and a fuzzy blanket (or a stuffed animal) and just relax. Take a nap. 
• Go to bed early. I’m the poster child for “I’ll just finish this and then go to bed” – and it always turns out that my 5 minute delay is really more like an hour. Go to bed early and get some rest. 

Do you have any other tips? Anything that helps you destress? I’m always open to suggestion!

And my photo for the day? Something you’re reading. I’ll post it later today again – the camera is at home, but I finally found the charger and all is well with it again!