You know that feeling you get when you wake up in the morning and know it’s going to be a long day? Or the feeling when you’re mentally and physically exhausted and then you look at the clock and realize it’s only 11 AM? Worse yet, when it’s 7pm and you realize you haven’t accomplished even half of your to-do list for the day?
While there’s no way to remove those days completely from your life, there is a few ways to make surviving them more manageable!
1. Going For A Walk: Sometimes getting up off that couch, or putting off your to-do list even more seems like the worst possible alternative. If you just force yourself to get up, pop those headphones in and go for a walk, no matter how short, you won’t regret it. Walking is not only well needed exercise for everyone, but it’s distracting. Before you know it, your thoughts will drift to what that neighbor is doing, or what crazy person would buy a color in that horrific shade of orange. It will give you the energy you need to face the tasks left in your day, and the serenity to breathe easy.
2. Read A Book: Reading can do the one thing so many other activities can’t, and that is entirely captivate your mind. I can go from wondering about this, and worrying about that, to being in a complete state of enrapture. Your world slowly dissipates and the world found in the book creeps in and replaces it, and we all know it’s easier to worry about someone else’s problems than our own. This mental break, even just ten pages or a chapter a day can be exactly what you need.
3. Exercise/Working Out: Going to the gym, or to that yoga class you’ve been debating about for a while will leaving you feeling ten times better than before. Not only does exercising release endorphins to make you feel good physically, but it will help you make you feel accomplished and relaxed mentally.
4. Crack Open That Bottle of Wine: That bottle of wine sitting on the corner of your counter, waiting for an occasion to be opened, just open it. You never need an occasion to treat yourself.
5. Buy Those Boots: May I repeat, you NEVER need an occasion to treat yourself, sometimes you just need to reap the benefits of all the hard work you put into each and every day.
6. Write things Down: You don’t need to keep a journal, diary, blog, or anything consistent. Sometimes you just need to write it down, let out all the thoughts that are burdening your mind. You can burn the paper once you’re done if you want. The point is that sometimes you don’t know where to turn, but you have this yearning to express yourself, and it’s so important that you don’t suppress that feeling.
7. Plan Something… Anything!: Sometimes all you need is something to look forward too. A date night with someone you love, a night out with the girls, anything.
8. Make Your Favorite Food: … because let’s be honest, the way to everyone’s heart is through food, isn’t it?
9. Call a Friend: Sometimes all you need is to hear the voice of someone who gets you, even if all you talk about is how your week went. I swear, my mom’s voice has been my saving grace more than once on a tough day.
10. Sitting in Silence With a Cup of Tea: Life is a never-ending list of obligations, deadlines and to-do’s. The chaos and noise inevitably gets to all of us after a while. Sometimes the best solution is to make a hot drink, find a quiet room and sit there for a few minutes. Do your best to push your thoughts from your mind, and think about absolutely nothing. You deserve a break, and so does your mind. There is always, always five minutes to spare.
It’s never easy getting through the days that seem impossibly long and stressful, but it’s important to stop, give yourself a break and do something to help yourself cope. It can be one of these 10 things, or anything you find that works for you. Life is never going to hand you the break you need or the peace of mind you crave, it’s up to you to take it.
Featured image via Pexels
