Leave the Stress Behind: How to Use Your Downtime Well
Leave the Stress Behind: How to Use Your Downtime Well
The onslaught of fall activities can be difficult after a laid-back, relaxing summer. If you’ve got kids, it’s an even more significant change, and it can be important to use your down-time wisely in order to manage the busy moments. But how do you leave behind the stress of your day when you get home in the evening? It can be easy to run through lists in your head all the way until the moment you’re in bed, trying to fall asleep. Maybe that crucial conversation with a co-worker or argument with a spouse is still playing in your mind when you need rest in order to meet tomorrow with strength. Here are a few ways to create some healthy boundaries between stressful times and restful times.
Use Something Physical to Signify a Mental Shift
When you get home in the evening, do something physical that will help train your mind that it’s time to down shift and leave the stress of the day behind. This may be a few yoga stretches if you have the time for that. It may be a 15-minute power nap. Another good option is changing into your favorite comfortable clothes, such as joggers pants. This change will help your brain release the stress of the day. Keep reminding yourself as it rises that you are physically removing it from yourself. You can deal with the worries of tomorrow in the appropriate time frame – tomorrow.
Exercise
If you have the time, one important idea is exercise. Even just a thirty-minute walk around the block can help get some healthy endorphins bouncing and give you time to think, process, and gain some perspective. Throw on some comfy harem pants or leggings. You don’t have to have fancy workout attire to accomplish your goals. Rue21 has some great options. Make it your goal to walk 20-30 minutes each day. You’ll feel the difference in no time.
Keep a Special Notebook
Keep a notebook hand as you’re riding home on public transportation, or to get out after driving home. In it, list out all the things in your head that are following you into the evening. You don’t have to journal them unless you want to – bullet point lists also work for getting it done quickly. Once you’ve written them all out, close the notebook. Those issues will stay there until tomorrow. Then find your kids, and enjoy your evening.
When I’m stressed I tend to clean. It helps get my mind off things. Sometimes a nap helps too.