In case you missed last week’s post, you can check out part one here. I loved getting to write this post and share some of the things that have made my life easier and more stress-free! Let me know what you thought of this post in the comments.

~Get a quiet moment.

Sometimes, I just need some quiet. It’s noisy at work, and I can be pretty sensitive of the environment. Loud noises and chaos for extended periods of time can really make me go crazy. When I feel the stress or tightness in my shoulders starting to build, I’ll either go in the bathroom and take deep breaths, recenter my gaze on the Lord and just relax for a few minutes. Or I’ve taken to going outside for a quick walk down the alley and back. It takes me maybe 10 minutes tops, but getting me outside in the sunshine and wind and moving is so therapeutic for me. I’ve even gone out in 20* weather with it snowing just to get some fresh air and clear my head. 

~Soft Lighting

When I come home at night, sometimes the bright lights are just too much. I bought these two twinkle lights from Amazon and now have them in my room. They are bright enough to read by, but they are a soft yellow, ambient light instead of the harsh glare of the fixtures. I love them so much and they go a long way to making me feel relaxed. Plus, it’s just easier on my eyes. 

~Gentle Music. 

My current cubicle is right beneath not only the speaker used to page the offices, but also one of the music speakers. I sweat it pumps tunes right into my office. The rough part is that it is mostly music that drives me nuts. Classic hard rock and modern pop that annoys me so much. I try to ignore it, but as a result, my go to in the music department while driving, reading, writing etc has been instrumental music of a very chill nature. I have so many albums on rotation and I’ve found so many lovely artists on Spotify. I would highly recommend Tony Anderson, Marcus Warner, One Hundred Years, Jordan Critz, and Airplanes. I have fallen asleep too many times from listening to this kind of music while reading, so I have to say, it is quite effective. LOL! 

~Scheduled time to rest or be creative. 

I live in a house with a lot of people, and while they are older now and not as rambunctious and crazy as they used to be, I still share a room with two other people, so alone time can be invaluable. I recently started going someplace quiet on Wednesday nights to just be by myself. Generally the idea is to write, but last week, I ended up journaling first and next thing I knew, I had spent 2 hours journaling, praying and writing a poem. And I don’t feel like that was a waste. Obviously, my mind and spirit needed the time to connect with the Lord and I cherished that time. Making time in your schedule and prioritizing a few hours here and there to be creative, seek the Lord, and spend time alone with Him is highly recommended. 

~Aromatherapy.

I don’t mean anything crazy here, but it is scientifically proven that certain scents can really induce some calmness to your crazy life. Not just the scent, but if you always smell, say, lavender, for example, when you are choosing to be at rest, after a while, even when you aren’t resting, that smell will trigger that area of your brain and instantly calm you down. My favorite is anything lavender scented, but you can do some research and discover some other scents that calm you down. I would highly recommend using a diffuser. You can find a few inexpensive ones like these on amazon. 

There you have it! Some of my self care/stress relief tips! I would highly recommend finding a few of these things that you can do to help keep a little extra peace and joy in your life! It’s the little things! 

What are some things you do to relax or calm down?

Blessings,