With school and my jobs, I've been feeling burnt out by the end of the week. The midpoint of the quarter has passed, and though I'm still new to this whole routine of mine, I'm learning quickly that I need to do things for fun and guilt-free. Doing so allows me to recover from whatever stress I'm feeling and to get back into the game with new energy.
Reading, for me, is always a good option. Often it is my form of procrastination (better to be reading Mary Russell mysteries than stalking middle school friends on Facebook), but I'm also intentional about this hobby. I was worried that once I started up school again I wouldn't have time to read, but I make time to read. Because my brain needs a break from reading about theories of information behavior and the history of scholarly journals, I have added lots of fiction to my to-read list, especially children's and young adult. (I just finished reading Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, and it's the best children's book I've read in a while).
Passive and/or meaningless activity is a good way to wind down. I don't mean checking Facebook and Twitter repeatedly and almost reflexively, which I do, but rather things that have an end of sorts or have a better entertainment factor. Like watching whole seasons of sitcoms on Hulu, or playing a round of Plants Vs. Zombies or Freecell.
Other things are more reenergizing and better at preventing minor meltdowns. Usually, this means something creative. I will include baking in this category. And letter-writing and mending holes in socks. Last Thursday, I reviewed the basic crochet stitches, taught myself how to make a granny square, and decided to start making enough for an afghan. I got about 50 granny squares done over the weekend. I haven't figured out how many squares I need yet, but I know I need at least twice as many and that's fine because I have plenty of stress-relieving to do.
Reading, for me, is always a good option. Often it is my form of procrastination (better to be reading Mary Russell mysteries than stalking middle school friends on Facebook), but I'm also intentional about this hobby. I was worried that once I started up school again I wouldn't have time to read, but I make time to read. Because my brain needs a break from reading about theories of information behavior and the history of scholarly journals, I have added lots of fiction to my to-read list, especially children's and young adult. (I just finished reading Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, and it's the best children's book I've read in a while).
Passive and/or meaningless activity is a good way to wind down. I don't mean checking Facebook and Twitter repeatedly and almost reflexively, which I do, but rather things that have an end of sorts or have a better entertainment factor. Like watching whole seasons of sitcoms on Hulu, or playing a round of Plants Vs. Zombies or Freecell.
Other things are more reenergizing and better at preventing minor meltdowns. Usually, this means something creative. I will include baking in this category. And letter-writing and mending holes in socks. Last Thursday, I reviewed the basic crochet stitches, taught myself how to make a granny square, and decided to start making enough for an afghan. I got about 50 granny squares done over the weekend. I haven't figured out how many squares I need yet, but I know I need at least twice as many and that's fine because I have plenty of stress-relieving to do.
0 comments:
Post a Comment