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Just Breathe

Just Breathe

just-breathe-thumbEveryone has had stressful situations where they feel like if they don’t get out of the room soon, they are going to explode. Well, why don’t you? Even if you are busy, it is always a good idea to take a break. It might seem like a good idea at the time to just buckle down and work for hours on end until you get a project done. However doing this can actually hurt your productivity. Without taking a break, you can start to feel overwhelmed and get stressed out. Sometimes this gets so bad to the point where you can barely even work anymore.

I find it is a good idea to take a break every hour or two while working on a big project. This can help avoid stress, and keep your mind clear and working well. These do not have to be big breaks, nor should they be if you are on a deadline. Something simple such as having a short conversation with a friend, grabbing a snack, or getting a drink work great.

This technique can also work great in stressful social situations. We have all found ourselves in situations where someone is really making us mad, and we would really like to give them a piece of our mind. However this is not a good idea, and it might lead to losing your job or important relationships. Leaving the room and taking a short break is the best thing to do to avoid saying something you will regret later.

However you cannot always leave the room. Sometimes you are in a meeting, someone is explaining something that you need to hear, or you just feel rude leaving the room. Someone is still making you angry though, and you feel like you are about to explode, but you don’t really see a good way of being able to exit the room. In this situation all you can really do is take a deep breath and hope for the best. Then, when the time is right, go and take your break, you deserve it.

Just Get Away

Just Get Away

just-get-awayEveryday life can become too much sometimes. All the little things can start to build up, and eventually you feel like you might explode. However, you know you can’t just run around the office pulling your hair and screaming at the top of your lungs. So what should you do? Its these times when you just need to get away for awhile.

I mean REALLY get away. Some situations can be helped  by just mentally getting away through music, movies, or books. There are other times though, where the only way to truly help the situation is to physically get up and go somewhere, like on a trip.

Now I know vacations can cost lots of time and money that many don’t have to spare. (You do only usually get a set number of vacation days before it starts coming out of your paycheck) Some trips however can be accomplished in only a weekend or even a day, which is perfect for those who work or go to school full time. There are many different places you can go for a day trip, and many of these are located all over.

Some ideas for weekend trips:

Visit a state park
If you live in the United States many of them have state parks. There are many things to do at a state park such as hike, take photographs, or go on a guided tour and learn more about the area. These also have the potential to be good for your budget, as some of them are free.

Go to a waterpark
A waterpark can be a great place to go on a hot summer day. Some states have multiple ones, and they are often just a short drive from home. They are also not terribly expensive, and can often be cheaper if you go late in the day. Another great thing about waterparks, is that I have never seen two that are exactly alike. Most have a lazy river rafting pool, and a wave pool, but the slides are never the same. Which means you can spend more time at various waterparks without getting bored of the same old things.

Go to the city
Cities are everywhere all over the world, and chances are you live within a few hour drive of one. Cities can be a great place to go for the day or weekend since the possibilities of things to do are almost endless. Theres museums, places to eat, parks, clubs, stores of just about every kind, and much more. There is almost always an interesting event going on too, and sometimes these might even be free.

Amusement park
Most states have at least one amusement park. You can even sometimes find amusement parks in other parts of the world. Amusement parks are fun especially if you like roller coasters, or feel the need for an adrenaline rush. Roller coasters can offer a rush and excitement within a safe environment.

These are only a few ideas of some interesting day trips. Look up some destinations close to home online or ask people you know about some fun places to go on the weekend. Remember the important thing is that you get out of the house, or even better, out of town. It doesn’t necessarily matter what you’re doing, as long as its something.

Time to Relax

Time to Relax

time-to-relaxAll to often you can get caught up in life’s distractions and forget about ever taking a moment to relax. Most things are not important enough to skip having this time for yourself, yet often enough they still tend to get in the way.

 


Skipping this important time for yourself can be detrimental to your mental, physical, and emotional well being. Not only does taking time out for yourself help relieve stress, but it also helps you stay focused on the things that are really important.

 

The time you take out of the day to relax is really more of an investment than anything else. You spend a few moments of potential productivity to take some time to yourself, but what you get back is well worth it. For the few moments you take to yourself, you can get a big boost in productivity which more than makes up for the time invested in relaxing. It also helps you down the road by making you better able to deal with whatever comes your way, which in itself is nearly priceless.

 

How to find the time

If it always seems like you never have a moment to just take a break from things, then you might want to consider planning out some time in advance. You may need to do this anywhere from a few hours in advance, to a few days. The important thing here is that you find a time that works well for you. Just make sure that it is not so far out there that you’ll have forgotten about it by the time it comes.

 

Actually finding a time that works well for you can be a task in itself(but well worth the effort!). When planning things out, make sure that you will not have anything else that will need your immediate attention. Also, its good to plan for a time when you know you can be in a place that is at least somewhat free of negative distractions. Negative distractions can be nasty little things that ruin your entire moment by focusing your attention away from relaxing, and onto other more stressful things. This is why it is best to find places that will keep these at a minimum.

 

Relax with what you love

One thing to consider if you are planning some relaxation time, is what the word relax actually means to you. Relaxing does not always mean sitting around in a hammock between two palm trees sipping tropical drinks(although that would probably work quite well). Instead, relaxing can mean many things to many different people. It can even mean many different things to a single person.

 

The trick to finding what works for you is to look for things that calm you down the most. Start by looking at some of the things you do to calm yourself down when you are stressed out. What eventually gets you back to feeling somewhat normal? Many times the things that you use as stress relievers are things that can be done when you just feel like relaxing (as long as you are not relying on bad habits).

 

Remember, time taken to relax is an investment.

Mellow Out

Mellow Out

mellow-outWe all have those days where we swear if we get yelled at again, or the printer jams up one more time we feel like are going to snap. Well there’s less violent ways of dealing with those situations, other than punching your boss in the face or taking a hammer to the printer. I find one of the best things to do when you are stressed is to listen to some mellow music. The right album or song can just seem to melt away your stresses. Sometimes it can almost seem to take you to another reality where everything is calm and good.

Different people listen to different things to calm down depending on their individual tastes. Try out different albums from your music collection and find out what works for you. Also you can try talking to other people, and find out what music calms them down. Switching up your calm down music every once in awhile is good. If you listen to the same cd all the time, eventually you might get sick of it, and it might stop calming you down. Another thing you could do is if you find that a certain cd really seems to work for you, go online or to your local library and see if that band has any other cds.

Getting a good pair of noise canceling headphones is also good idea to help reduce stress while listening to music. It can block out external distractions and stressors, making it easier to calm down and relax.

Listening to the right music can sometimes calm you down no matter how mad you are, and make it much easier to deal with those things that were stressing you out. You might even come to realize that the stupid thing which made you so angry, wasn’t even worth getting mad about in the first place.

Cat Nap

Cat Nap

Cat NapYou hear it all the time that sleep is important, but many times even if you try, it can be almost impossible to get the proper amount. This is because all sorts of things seem to interfere with your normal sleep patterns. It could be a problem at work, a fight you had with someone, an illness you are currently fighting off, or various other worries and stresses. Whatever the case may be, not sleeping is not good, and it can definitely make you unhappy.

In fact those problems which you were up all night worrying about, can actually become worse if you try to face them without proper rest. When you are tired, you get crabby and tend to not think about what you say. You can also be irritable to those around you. Poor sleeping habits can even affect your performanceat work or school.

So what can you do about it?

Trust me, I’ve been there. In my experience if you have been up all night, chances are your body is going to try and sleep at some point in the day whether you want it to or not. So the best thing to do is to take a short cat nap. Your body needs it’s sleep, and even a short 20 minute nap can recharge you and make you feel more alert.

There are many benefits of taking a short nap. You could possibly avoid a car accident by being more alert when you drive, and you could also avoid getting in serious trouble or even fired at work. Imagine having to explain to your boss why you fell asleep at the morning meeting. Chances are, they will not like whatever reason you might give them for you being so tired.

Taking a short nap is also useful whenever you have been sick, or feel like you are getting sick. You will be amazed by how a short nap sometimes really is just the thing to help that headache or upset stomach. Plus it recharges your body, and helps keep your immunity in its best shape so it can fight off new infections.

Anytime you are feeling stressed is also a good time to take a short nap. Sleep is the best, most natural, and healthy escape from reality. When you awaken you will be much calmer, and your problems will seem much easier to take on.