My Tips To De-Stress

1. Make a list.
My job is the catch-all of jobs. I do a bunch of little things, and these things are constant and yet also constantly changing. It is enough to make me go crazy just trying to complete my ridiculously long daily to-do list, let alone tackling the "fun" add ons that happen continuously throughout the day. But if I can see ALL the tasks I need/want to complete in a day laid out before me, and I can cross things off as I complete them I feel much more in control.

2. Prioritize that damn list!
My bio teach in grade 12 used to say "priorize" and this was no end of amusement to my friend and I. Anyhoo, sorry what? Back on topic...not everything on your list is top priority! Whether you divide things up by due date, or daily items vs. more long-term projects, things will become even more manageable. My boss has this habit of making everything seem like a TOP PRIORITY, even though he knows it isn't. (Steve, I am looking at you.) And sometimes I forget that he does this, and I get even more stressed! Until I put things in the perspective of my list, and then some of that initial stress loses its bite.

3. TAKE A BREATH!
Take another.

4. Step away from the [insert thing here that is driving you crazy].
For me, this means turning off my computer screen for my entire lunch break. I can doodle, or write a letter, or read a book, but I CANNOT do anything on the computer. Not even blog. This really helps me enjoy and take advantage of that downtime.

5. Take time just for you!
Do something silly, or something serious. If it is something you love, something that makes you happy just do it for pete's sake! For me that means working out, crafting, scrapbooking, hanging out with Dude, DIY Sunday projects, and cooking. Make this stuff a priority on your list. Even if it is just "sit somewhere quiet an forget about those damn dirty dishes for a moment." Yep...I use that one a lot.

6. Ask for help. I often forget that I have an amazing support system both at work and in my personal life. And I know that if I were to tell even one person that I can't handle something or need a little help, they would definitely be happy to lend a hand. Heck, even remembering that I have this option, this luxury, is very relieving.

Today [aka the day I wrote this...] I am really struggling. And I am hyper-aware of the tiny thread that is keeping me together.

I am doing better today, thanks for asking.

later loves


p.s. this is today's real post, not that other blip that showed up earlier...my bad. Also, there were supposed to be photos, but the Internet here at work also hates me today...so...yeah. Happy Monday!

#30 Lists

I was doing quite well. Getting up early (gasp!) to work on my lists even. The first five days were a breeze, a delight.

And then I got stuck.

I don't have a list of rules to break, or weird things that make me cry. Enough real shit makes me cry, why would I need extra things?

Despite all of these "issues" I am having a lot of fun with it! So far I am very happy with how it looks, and that I haven't really felt pressured to do something everyday. Pre-making those tiny cards was a genius idea! I don't have to fill a whole page, or take (and print) any photos. I get to jot down a couple of items, or draw something if I can't think of anything to write.

This is what my first page of lists looks like. It's going straight into the Project Life binder, just as it is.

This is a good project for me right now...

Do you have any September projects on the go?

Any listers out there?

later loves

Fall is...

.....pumpkin things (granola! cookies!)

.....discovering new blogs (like Light a Candle & Smitten.....fellow Edmontonians! Whee!!)

.....scarves & boots

.....cozy socks

.....scrapbooking & crafting

.....almost over!

Edmonton gets a strange fall season. Summer lasts late into September around here, and we sometimes still experience high 20s in the first week of October! And then the leaves start to change colour and then pretty much completely change overnight. And then the photographers come out, while they can. And then it snows, and gets damn cold. Not "effin cold". Not yet. Just "damn cold." Sometimes this takes a month or so. And sometimes we get all of this happening within a week!

The day you find your first red leaf on the ground. The day you feel the first cold nip in the air, even though the sun is shining bright and golden. The day Starbucks starts serving the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and all your favourite food blogs are in full-blown pumpkin mode. The day you have to actually turn on the furnace and just cannot tough it out in scarves and sweaters and layers any more? That's the day you know fall is here!

And then it's gone before you know it! So you best take advantage of it while you can!

I like fall because of the potential. A change of seasons means, ultimately, a change in how the world looks, a change in activities, a change in perspective. I like looking at the new season like I do the new year. I make goals, or at least revised to-do lists. I feel the urge to start something, or try something new. I always want to craft more, and drink more coffee, and meet up with my friends before the craziness that is the "Holiday Season" gets going.

Does Autumn mean something special to you?

Do you have any fun fall traditions?

Do you even get an Autumn where you live?!

And speaking of crafts...wait, what?! Anyhoo, I tried to make this fabulous painted leaves garland thingy to hang on my mantle and satisfy goal #2 from this post here. I got the idea from this post here and trusted in the awesomeness that is Alisa Burke that I could not go wrong with this. Yeah...the leaves looked so beautiful right after I painted them. And then one day later they had pretty much all dried out and curled up on themselves. And now they look like...well...like the dead leaves that they are!

But I just can't bring myself to take it down!

later loves