…week, month, year! You get the picture. Lots of people ask me what I do to de-stress. How I unwind. Sometimes I don’t accomplish it, but thats because I think you just need to have a good cry or rant to your Hubby & Bestie. Recently I have been feeling a little overloaded and it really made me think of how I can be more mindful again, less busy in my mind and these are the things I do. Hopefully it’s helpful to someone to like me: a working Mum of 2, with pets and a Husband who is just always on the go! 

Go out for a walk

The simplest of things. Mostly this is the easiest task for someone. Get out and get some fresh air. If the kids are part of the stress, then try and walk without them. If the kids are with you, give them a task – tell them they have to search for a checklist of items. Or get them to run and touch different things you see en route. It’ll be fun for them and give you time in-between instructions to process what is running around in your brain and park it. Some people say exercise is great for de-stressing, but I find I am far too exhausted by the end of the day to do anything too strenuous. But if you feel like a run, DO IT! 

Create a to do list

Not only because these a to-do list is fun, if you have the right stationery – they are really handy. I love them for 2 reasons:

  1. Your brain can only cope with a certain amount of things flying around it. Offloading these things onto a to-do list frees up your brain. Makes you feel less frustrated and you can then focus more on de-stressing with a walk! 
  2. Getting things organised is a great way to de-stress. You can relax a little more knowing that you have captured everything you need to do and you’re not scrambling to remember everything. I struggle with this all the time! 

If you do not want to use a traditional pad and pen to write your list, then use Trello. I use this too – for my blog and work tasks. I find it extremely useful and you can share boards with people too – so you can do this for your kids if they are old enough. 

Complete a puzzle

As silly as this may sound, sometimes I get frustrated because I haven’t achieved something. This might be a teeny thing like not doing enough steps that day or a bigger thing “I’ve upset someone” or something like that. If I am feeling like this I find it helps to finish a Suduko puzzle. Strange as it sounds, its something you can control and you CAN complete – therefore it de-stresses me. Any puzzle will do, even the kiddies one! 

Read a book

I love reading. The only problem is, with some books I want to read and read until I finish the story and that is not always possible with my life. Set yourself goals – a chapter a night. I read in the bath or when the children are having computer/TV time (when they are quiet).

Let the kids have fun 

Sometimes to de-stress all it takes is to just let the kiddies do what they want to do. That might be play on the trampoline, on their tablets, zoom cars along the playroom floor until they are all safely hidden under the units. They don’t want to walk the dogs all the time, or go on excursions – at the moment they just seem completely exhausted. So, I am trying my best to let them have rest time as much as we have family adventures. 

Have a little boogie

If any of you watch Grey’s Anatomy, from the start, you will be familiar with the dancing it out therapy! I put on my favourite song or album and I sing along and dance. I did this at the weekend with the Dangerous album, one of my faves, and the kiddies danced around with me – it was fun. It made us all smile. 

Do you have any fun ideas to help de-stress for a busy Mum, or Dad for that matter. I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below or on social media: @mummyconstant. 

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