Tips for Reducing Stress

I made it through finals and the semester!!

Basically, I want to shout it from the rooftops and post annoying Facebook statuses and maybe even a picture or two on Instagram, but I'll refrain. This semester was the absolute craziest. I went into it thinking that it would a piece of cake, but somehow I ended up being busier than ever and personal time became non-existent except for on Saturday and Sunday evenings. I had a few meltdowns, I stopped cooking meals (I can't tell you how many quesadillas and PB&J sandwiches I've had over the last 3 1/2 months! Disgusting, right?), and too many times I ran out of clean clothes. Some weeks I was only home for 8-9 hours a day and that includes eating, sleeping, getting ready for the day, and trying to clean for a minute or two.

Besides the end of the semester making her presence known, December is always a stressful month for me. Church parties to attend, friend parties to attend, work parties to attend, treats to make for those parties, gifts to purchase, crowds at the stores, less sunshine, cold weather, etc. I'm sure I'm not the only one that completely stresses out around this time of year, so I want to share some tips to reduce stress that Ben shared with me recently while I was freaking out about finals. (His program directors emailed this out to all of the grad students...guess PhD's are stressful or something?? ;))

1. Have more fun, both individually and with friends.
2. Take care of your body. Eat better, get more sleep, and exercise.
3. Organize and prioritize your time.
4. Learn to say "no."
5. Adjust your perspective. Is "X" a crisis? Am I being a perfectionist?
6. Relaxation training.
7. Get more support.

I'm committing myself to eating less quesadillas, getting more sleep, saying "no" more often, and working on not being a perfectionist. :)

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