How To Upgrade Your Stress Management Strategy
When I was in grad school, I’d go to class, then to my internship, then spend several hours on homework, and by the end of the day I could barely speak English let alone remember the things I do to de-stress. I called this “grad school brain” but the technical term for it is “decision fatigue” which is a phenomenon where the more decisions you make over the course of a day, the more physically, mentally and emotionally depleted you become and the more you struggle with executive functioning. After a long day, you’re basically too tired to think straight.
So I came up with a stress management strategy that only required me to remember one thing: look at my list.
This was before smartphones so I kept a list in my wallet of everything that gives me even the smallest bit of pleasure or joy. Then at the end of the day all I have to do is choose something from it and do it to help me relax. That list has grown over the years and I now keep it on my Notes app but here are some of the things on it:
Create a kick-ass playlist and have a dance party of one
Have a snack (is your blood sugar low?)
Take a break
Have lunch outside
Put down your phone and step away from the laptop
Call/text friends or family
Make plans to hang out with friends or family
Find a MeetUp/Eventbrite to attend
Practice gratitude
Paint
Go for a walk
Go to the park
Play on the swing set in the park
Go to the sculpture garden
Go to the lake
Go swimming
Try a new restaurant
Go see some live music
Play with kitties
Journal
Listen to binaural beats
Read a comic book
Watch the sunset
Get a massage
Get a manicure
Watch some cartoons
Hula hoop
Go for a ride on the streetcar
De-clutter
Donate something you don’t need anymore
Visit a thrift store
Plan a vacation
Take a bubble bath
Take a hot/cold shower
Soak your feet with Epsom salts
Sit on your front steps for a while
Go see some stand-up comedy
Watch some stand-up comedy on Netflix
Watch a TED Talk
Use BreathWrk app
Do a crossword or sudoku
Paint your nails
Dye your hair pink
Do some yoga
Tae Bo
Cook something delicious
Read Calvin & Hobbes
Check something off your bucket list
Make some tea
Meditate
Take a nap
Put on pajamas/comfy clothes
Make some art
Go take some photos
Color in coloring books
Give yourself a facial treatment
Do a random act of kindness
Watch a movie
Read a fictional book
Take a half-day off work
Do some thought work - Identify what you’re saying to yourself, how’s that influencing your mood? What could you say to yourself that would help?
Cry
Aroma therapy (smell something pleasant & ideally tied to a good memory)
Cuddle
Try a new restaurant
Go to the aquarium
Use Relax & Sleep Well hypnosis app
Buy some plants
Grow some plants
Use your acupressure mat
Progressive muscle relaxation
Go to the beach
Clean off your desk
Activate the mammalian diving response by dunking your face in ice water
Play a game
Curl up under your weighted blanket
Tapping
I encourage you to make your own list and please feel free to steal any of the items on mine.
