Relieving Stress

After Friday's live melt-down, I stepped up and took control. I prioritized the things that I needed to get done and I just started doing them. I needed quizzes for every class on Friday so I wrote, printed, and copied them all at one time. Boom, done!!! I needed permissions for the video I want to film, so I walked out and talked to my principal and then emailed the president. Boom, done! While the students were taking the quizzes I graded and entered them in the grade book so I don't fall even further behind in my grading. Boom, done! When I came home from school on Friday, I immediately started working on the wrist wraps. Got them done and delivered to the box just in case. Boom, done! On Saturday, I reviewed the article I needed to summarize and made a few notes while I was proctoring. Came home yesterday and wrote 2 pages. Submitted it last night. Boom, done!! Ended up going to the paint party just for a chance to relax. Honestly though, I couldn't really relax and didn't have that great a time. I made a painting that isn't very good just because I couldn't relax and be creative. Oh well, at least I got out for a couple of hours and my mind wasn't focused on what I should be doing. I did come home and clean up the kitchen which had been a complete mess, so that was good. Today on my agenda is cleaning house, planning out the video, and reading/annotating some articles. I'm supposed to go to Crossfit this morning but quite honestly I don't think I feel like it. I think I would rather stay here and get things done so my mind is clear. I have a ton of laundry to do and this desk is still a freaking disaster. I don't have to go to Crossfit until 10am so I'll see what happens. What I do know is that I feel so much better and not so stressed out I can't think.

So now the question is, how to avoid this in the future? I think I need to change a couple of things. First, don't be such a procrastinator. Instead of putting things off, either sit down and do them or set a time to do them. If I have a plan, I generally stick to it. Which leads to the second thing, have a plan for the day/hour/week/whatever. Whatever time period I have, have a plan. Even if that plan is to take a nap, have a freaking plan. Third, do not put on relaxing clothes until it is time to relax. Many times I come home after school, go swimming, then put on my nightgown. After that I'm pretty much done. I think it is a psychological thing. Once my nightgown is on, mentally I am done for the day. Yesterday I wore shorts and a shirt to proctor. After that I went to Costco. When I came home I didn't change because I knew I was going out later. I did lay down and take a short nap, but once I woke up I was wide awake. Then I did some stuff and left for my thing. When I came home at 8pm, I stayed in my shorts and was pretty productive. That is when I cleaned the kitchen at 9pm. So I think I need to stay dressed. No nightgown until I'm ready to go to bed, or at least completely done for the night and plan on sitting on the couch watching TV. Fourth, and final, how about now has to become my motto. I am a procrastinator but I know I can overcome it if I stay on top of it. So HOW ABOUT NOW is what I say all the time. Unless it is truly something that can wait to later, or if it is on my plan for later. I also need to face some things. I have some things that I have been avoiding and that creates stress. I just need to face up to them and deal with it. How about now? Okay, I'll do that today.

So I feel better and my mind is not so clogged with stuff. Nice. Since Hubby is still sleeping, I'm going to start by facing some of that stuff I need to face.