Man, I'm stressed! No doubt most of you are also under the same stress, but it feels like everything is hitting me at once these days. I've nearly doubled the amount of work that I have to do these days, which is both good and bad. Good in that it gives me more money, but bad because I have less time to write. My children are hitting their teenage years, which means all of the fun and thrills that come from three small people finding their voices, their attitudes, and their facial expressions (you know the one!). Of course, that hasn't stopped me from trying to make progress in my writing life. The rough draft of Book 2 of the Last Bucelarii series is already written, which means it's back to editing Book 1 to get it ready to publish. Looking over the comments of my beta readers, I basically have to rewrite the ENTIRE second half of the book. Oh boy! We've all got stress, but how you handle it determines how long it takes for you to go totally crazy. Here's what helps me to handle my stress:
- TV shows -- Once I'm done with work and everything is settled, there's nothing like a good TV show to take the edge off a long day. Thank the gods Brooklyn Nine Nine is coming out again!
- Reading -- My reading is spread out into a book I read while running on the treadmill, another I listen to while lifting weights, and a psychology textbook I'm studying.
- Beach -- Thank the gods we have the beach nice and close! It's wonderful to just sit and watch the waves.
- Exercise -- My 1 PM date with the gym is one of the few things keeping me sane. If I didn't have the workout to take my mind off things, I'd go nuts.
- Sleep -- There is nothing better than a 20-minute power nap to help you forget about all of the stressful things in your day.
- Writing -- At the end of the day, while my writing may be a source of stress, it's still one of the best things I can do to relax. With a bit of awesome music, a coffee (or chocolate milk--yes, I love chocolate milk!), and a pair of noise-canceling headphones, it's the only way to stay sane.