Stress Less

I'm not stressed. Really, I'm not.

My middle Dear Son and I were busy Sunday afternoon lying to each other. He's trying to get an assistantship while pursuing his doctorate while he is teaching at the University of Memphis trying to finish his master's. No stress there.

And I am finishing my second book while the first one, "Because I Said So: Life in The Mom Zone," is being readied to hit bookstore shelves in a few months. And that's not my day job. There, the duties are stacked a little higher than they were a month ago, or two months ago. I love the job. There's just more to love now.

OK, we're both stressing. But I am working on that. Here are my tips:

• Admit that you are too blessed to be stressed. By the way, all the things he and I are stressing about are blessings. Good things can still stress you out.
• Just be. This morning, before walking out the door but after writing for about an hour, I did the corpse pose for a few minutes. Which is yoga talk for laying down. I just breathed for a while. Try it sometime.
• Take good care of yourself. Stressful times can make you eat the worst things. We do still get takeout pizza some nights, but I try to serve it up with a salad of leafy greens, and I brought fruit with me to work. And hydrate.
• Move. At least a little. I am starting my days these days with jumping jacks, pushups and squats. If I don't find time to walk or run, at least I did those.
• Ditch the all-or-nothing mentality. I have been so guilty of wanting to be gung-ho on something only to stumble a little and give the whole thing up. Fifty jacks is not the same as a five-mile run, but at least it is something. I didn't hit my writing goal, but I progressed and I feel good about what I did write.
• And as I told the Dear Son, this has come to pass. These challenges did not come to stay. He will know what his next move is within the next couple of months, most likely, and by then, my first book, "Because I Said So: Life in The Mom Zone," will be on shelves. 
• Make time for those you love. This weekend, I had wanted to write about 3,000 words. I only got in about half that many, but I enjoyed time with family and friends. Which keeps me relaxed. Which makes me ...
• More productive. According to the book I am reading right now, "Psycho Cybernetics 2000," which like so many books of the 1990s contains "2000" in the title, you are your most productive in a relaxed state. Stress makes your mind and body tense up.

Now go take a deep breath, relax and be awesome!