Lunch
Lunch, lunch, lunch. You arrive without fail everyday!
Lunchtime
Today’s lunch included a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, served with grape tomatoes and carrot slices.
BBQ Pulled Chicken
BBQ a day later is oh-so-good!
Now, about today…
I wish I could sugarcoat things on the blog, but to be 100 percent honest, today has been a bit of a mess. Ever since I sat down at my desk this morning, things have been go-go-go and extremely stressful at work. I’m trying to stay positive and remember that there’s sunshine after every storm. Let’s just get through the day! 😀
Before accepting my current job, I worked as the marketing manager for a large company. It was a job that left me feeling unbelievably stressed. I had no work/life balance and work was always on my mind. I actually took a significant pay cut to accept my current job and have never looked back.
I know that stress in any job is natural and today’s stresses will absolve and improve, but I found myself falling back on my go-to stress relieving method that I would use nearly every day at my old job about halfway through the morning.
My stress-relieving method of choice? Getting lost in music.
In my previous job, when I was handed a bazillion different tasks to complete in an unreasonable timeframe, I would make a list, tackle each task one by one and turn on happy music.
It was hard to feel too stressed when the music from “Mama Mia!” or “Legally Blonde: The Musical” was blaring in my ears!
After listening to my favorite Pandora station for a good hour and plugging away at today’s tasks, I felt much better.
I am anxiously awaiting this evening’s walk with Ryan and Sadie. Simply strolling in the sunlight sounds absolutely perfect right now!
Question of the Afternoon
- What are your tips for relieving stress?
- Is there a lot of stress in your life right now?
Aside from music, my number one trick for alleviating stress is to ask myself this question: “Will this matter in a week? In a month? In a year?” Most of the time the answer is no and it’s not worth wasting time worrying about it… especially since worry does nothing to improve a situation. (Actions do!)
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Cheer up, Julie! You can do it!
Julie,
You are I must be on the same wavelength! I am SO stressed that I actually had to LEAVE today! I am a graduate student getting my degree in counseling out in Illinois, and also work at the college I attend in the advising/dean’s office on TOP of going to graduate school. Needless to say…I am in that building 12 hours a day sometimes. Today was RARE because I slept in and did not get my workout in, my blender BROKE (tear…but I may get a Vitamix now…), my pants button came off, and my entire lunch went bad because I didn’t put it in the fridge (another brain fart)…so I came home, plan on working from my couch and pressing the re-do button!
Your meals are always so healthy, you have all my admiration! Tell me you eat a little chocolate all the same…
Well, I see what you mean concerning stress!
I’m an English teacher in France and I work in a tough school. I’ve learned, after some time, to put things into perspective and to protect myself. But what helps me is sport (I run a lot), dancing, cooking, reading girl magazines, painting etc. Doing thinks that I enjoy and thinking of something else. It’s a hard job, putting barriers between your job life and yourself but it’s worth it!
I work a stressful job in TV and also commute 3-4 hours a day- which really gets me! I try to walk for around an hour on my way home, I find nothing relaxes me more!
oh that is QUITE the commute! i love your walking routine. that sounds like the perfect destressor.
I know exactly how you feel! I also used to have an incredibly stressful job with no work/life balance, and I too chose to take a big pay cut for a job where I could actually have a life. It was so worth it! When things do get stressful though, I either plug in my headphones and listen to the Jack Johnson station on Pandora, or I do a little office meditation. My manager is a big believer in meditation to relieve stress, and he gave me the book “8 Minute Meditation” – it’s basically just 8 minutes of slow breathing in a quiet room. If things get crazy, I go into a breakout room by myself and do my breathing for 8 minutes. I come back refreshed and calm every time! I highly recommend the book 🙂
I deal with stress by reading. I just escape into another world and when I come back to my reality I feel calmer and am able to deal with it.
At work–I just leave my office and go for a walk after I’m done with a task that needs to be done rightthisminute. I’m out of there…
Totally having one of those days too! I also love to just put on some music and plug away. Otherwise, if possible, I take a 10 minute break to walk outside to Starbucks to get some air and an iced green tea. That instantly calms me down and helps me recharge! 🙂
Totally having one of those days too! I also love to just put on some music and plug away. Otherwise, if possible, I take a 10 minute break to walk outside to Starbucks to get some air and an iced green tea. That instantly calms me down and helps me recharge! 🙂
Music is my stress relief, too. When I have too much going on, sometimes I turn on music, lie on the bed and just relax. I also love your last paragraph! Right now I’m not under a lot of stress, but my stress-handling might be put on a test in about a month when my big exams start.
Sorry to hear about your stressful day! I totally understand..I am beyond stressed lately! My husband is deploying next week, our first deployment and we got only a weeks notice :/ There is so much to do to get things ready before he leaves along with the overwhelming emotions that have come along with it.
Taking the day minute by minute OR second by second when I get truly overwhelmed & LOTS of music are helping. Also, trying to remember that no matter what, somewhere someone is having the worst day of their life, and I need to keep my problems in perspective helps too.
OMG- I love Legally Blonde the Musical! Did you watch the Search for the next Elle Woods that was on a few years ago? I loved it! I want to see that one on Broadway so badly!
My job has extremely stressful days. Whenever this happens I take a walk on my lunch break. Even if I only have 10 minutes, fresh air and few songs on my ipod and I feel myself coming back down to earth a bit. It’s the only thing I’ve found that works.
PS: I have tried peanut butter fingers from my emergency peanut butter jar I keep in my desk, but with the frequency of stressful days I have I had to find some other way to cope 🙂
Ugh…stress sucks!
I love jamming to music, too — I blast it as loud as I can an even dance a little in my seat!
I’ve learned to take walks during my lunch break…even short ones help. Then there are a few go-to websites that always make me laugh.
In the end, I just remind myself that tomorrow is another day. And if tomorrow looks just as bleak, I take a serious calculation of what can GO in my life.
Sounds like we need another dinner chat! 🙂
Walks, talks with friends and THIS book! I carry this book and read the highlights I made in it whenever I get stressed!
http://scatterbrainjane.com/2011/04/09/pay-it-forward-giveaway/
Hope your day is getting better!!!
I just left a VERY stressful job with no work/life balance so I can totally identify with you on how that feels. It was a very negative environment & everyone would throw one another under the bus to get ahead. I made the decision to walk away without having another job lined up – it was that bad. So now being unemployed adds another kind of stress – but luckily my husband was very supportive and I had also saved up a good bit of $$ so we are ok financially. I just don’t want to drain my savings.
I find that doing something that needs my full attention is a good stress reliever.. for me that is playing the piano. I am not very good, so I need to read the music and remember where to put my hands so my mind is so busy with that stuff that it doesn’t have a chance to wander to the things that are bothering me.
Definitely appreciate reading this post. It’s so easy to tell yourself that you are overwhelmed and stressed out but DOING something about it is what helps.
I’m a Pandora fan too, and I love browsing foodie blogs when I need a break from schoolwork 🙂
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Nina @ SLO Foodie
Oh I understand the stress of a marketing manager since I am one! One word for you….woof. haha
My stress relief (like for many others) is cooking- the act of chopping is therapeutic 😉 , running or going for a long walk. I have not been sleeping because of work stress and it is totally not worth it.
Deep breaths 🙂 My mantra on stressful days….smile, breathe deep and go slowly.
my heart goes out to you! working as a marketing manager is NO JOKE! 🙂
Your last sentence ‘especially since worry does nothing to improve a situation. (Actions do!)’ is what I really need to remind myself more. I always get into this cycle of thinking that stress will motivate me to take action, but it doesn’t usually work that way. Instead of worrying about something, I need to just do it. Thanks for putting my thoughts into words!
When I have a super long to do list, I try to remind myself that it WILL all get done. I just have to trust myself. And at the end of a long stressful day, I like to just relax at home or go for a long walk or motorcycle ride if it’s nice out.
me too! as a worrier, i tell myself that A LOT.
Sometimes it’s freaky how much we are on the same page.. my job requires a little bit of travel. The odd time I’m away for a night, or a few days for work. Well, lately I’ve been spending a LOT of time on the road. In fact, I’ve been away from home since April 1st. The worst part is, I had no notice and have been living in a hotel with none of my “things.” I’ve had to buy work clothes everynight (they’re paid for..but still) and have been eating out every meal (which I get sick of quick.) I’m on “flood watch” in a community and, since we don’t know when it’ll get better/worse” I basicaly find out I’m heading home at 8 o’clock at night. Of course, I haven’t been. So I’m checking out of the hotel, driving around with my work stuff getting stories all day, feeding the stories on a very tight deadline and then getting the call to stay again and checking in to the hotel again and repeating every day. I’ve felt very stressed lately. Working out is usually how I relieve my stress; however, since I don’t have any of my “stuff” I just picked up a Walmart swim suit and started hitting the pool late at night, which is helping. I should try music– that usually helps. I’ll have to see what this city has for radio stations since I don’t have my computer with me. Thanks for posting this Julie ..back to work (and another 14 hour day.. eeek!)
Oh my gosh so crazy that you posted this, I felt like it was totally meant for me :o) . I am so sorry to hear about your stressful day I completely understand!! I am incredibly stressed out in life right now. My husband is a realtor and things have been going great in our area even when the market turned bad but recently within the past month or so many deals have been falling through, and he is our primary money maka!! We have 4 children + 2 dogs, and right now we are barely making it. I work too but my paycheck doesn’t cover everything so we are super tight and seriously considering making some big changes!! It’s a scary stressful time right now but we are a team and we can make it through anything!! To deal with my stress I like workout and cook/bake. I can completely zone out while workin it out or cookin/bakin up a storm and it takes my mind off what’s going on around me. Just today I made homemade cinnamon rolls and pizza dough so we could have homemade pizzas for dinner tonight.
I hope things get better for you!!
aw, sherry, i feel for you! it sounds like you and your husband are a great unit though and will overcome any obstacles. best of luck to your family!
Where do I start? Seems like today is stress filled for a lot of us. I started off just about flying off the handle this morning. Sometimes I catch myself before that happens and can prevent it, usually by asking myself will acting on my anger and frustration really help in the end. My work/life balance is out of whack right now so I understand where it’s coming from and being more mindful helps.
Deep breaths, going for a run and being more forgiving of myself are all helpful. It’s always a relief to hear that you’re not the only one too! Strength and relief in numbers. 🙂
I definitely hear you. My post today is titled…how do you eat an elephant. The answer is one bite at a time. The last 3 weeks of the semester are so unbelievably stressful. I can’t wait for my summer vacation.
Watch this video, trust me it’ll put you in a good mood 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ
Listen to Hanson’s new song, Give a Little. It’s awesome; I’ve had it on repeat for a week. AND I included it in last thursday’s blog post. Trust me, you won’t regret it… even if it is by Hanson.
(Why no, I do not have any shame).
My aunt always used to ask me those same questions! “Will it matter 5 years from now?” I used to get so angry when she would ask me that, but now I ask those same questions to other people when they’re stressed!
Really puts things in perspective!
I am right there with you on the stress factors! Im in college and i have 5 exams and 3 quizzes in the next two weeks!
I’m sorry to hear your stressed, but I totally agree with you in how you have to think that this won’t matter in a short period. Keep your head up girl, it will all work out 🙂
p.s. Music is amazing at stress relieving!
Yes we have stress — Jason lost his job last week so things are stressful and kind of crazy. Honestly I just focus on my breathing — in and out. Deep breaths really help me and I do them quite a bit at work when I’m feeling overwhelmed.
This is an awesome post! This entire year has been unbelievably stressful and overwhelming. From both of my parents dealing with potentially having cancer (only one has it and it’s very treatable), work boredom (because that can be stressful in and of itself), putting our condo up for sale (making sure it’s always clean, finding somewhere to go when they show it to potential buyers), going back to school for fun, and then trying to find a place to live once the condo does sell – I definitely feel overwhelmed A LOT.
I do yoga daily. I almost have to in order to get through this year! 🙂 You’re absolutely right, though. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂
Music is definitely my favorite stress escape, but I get extreme satisfaction from striking a line through items on a list. I love the relief of having one more thing done. Something else that works for me is thinking back on a time when I was really stressed and how good it felt once to be done!
music definitely helps!!! hope you’re feeling better soon! 😀
When I’m stressed, I like lists. Lots of lists. Little lists and big lists. it lays it all out in front of me and makes everything seem more manageable.
1stly, let me just say I am so glad I found you! I think I stumbled upon you from LoveVeggiesYoga (my other favorite blog!) so I’m definitely glad that happened 🙂 2ndly, I love that you have a Vizsla; that’s the kind of pup I plan to get when we get our first doggy! 🙂
Anyways …
1) What are your tips for relieving stress? I agree with you for sure that music is so soothing. I have a few “go-to” songs that really just ease my mind and help fade my anxiety/stress (i.e., “Fix You” by Coldplay … something about that jam just makes me know everything’s going to be okay!) I hope tomorrow is a better day for you!!! 🙂
2) Is there a lot of stress in your life right now? YES! I moved to Omaha (from Chicago) a few months ago so not only am I adjusting to a new environment, new job (after 5 months of job-hunting) as well as wedding planning for my out-of-state wedding (it’ll be in Ohio, my hometown). I’ve got a lot going on … I try to remind myself how blessed I am and not let little things get to me! I know everything will work out in the end 🙂
if you like coldplay’s version of “fix you,” you HAVE to listen to straight no chaser’s version of the song. you will LOVE it!!!
I’d choose necklace #1!
I am super stressed today too! I try to get organized and tackle my To Do list one at a time to keep a handle on it.
I’m currently in my last month of graduate school, and between 2 jobs and being the President of the Graduate Business Students, I feel like I’m running around with a chicken with my head cut off! Not to mention my boyfriend and I are having a difference of opinion on which direction our lives should go, and its difficult when there is a rift between your partner and best friend, so some days the stress is so bad I feel like I should just give up and stay in bed.
In order to deal with this stress I do a couple different things- and none of them include staying in bed all day. First- fake smiling. Fake it til you make it!! My other peice of advice is work out until your body hurts worse than your brain!! And lastly- a page from the mother’s guilt trip book “there’s starving children in Africa that definitely have it worse than you” -which was always followed by “so eat your vegetables!”
If none of that works… red wine… lots of red wine…
I second the red wine!!
1) When I get stressed I try and make a list of things to accomplish. I also use this 10 10 10 rule and think about is this going to matter in 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days…and on and on? And if not…I try to relax! 🙂
2) I have quite a bit of stress in my life right now just because finals are quickly approaching and the semester is coming to an end so I have a bunch of papers due and all that fun jazz 😐 lol
Thanks for you de-stress tips! MAJOR stress in my life right now. I graduated with my M.A. Degree in December, and am currently still looking for a job. Also my husband, a Mechanical Engineer, is currently working 3 hours away and we unfortunately only see each other on weekends. This has been going on for almost a year. And to top it off, today when I was at a coffee shop working on some job stuff my car was completely dead when I went to leave. Had to get it towed and supposedly its a major electrical issue. Not fun to deal with when the hubs is out of town. Major stress today!!
I do the same thing. I always feel that if I get the stress out of my head and on to a piece of paper I feel so much better. Visually seeing the tasks rather than bouncing back and forth in my head is huge relief.
I think Stressed Out should be my middle name! I’m only joking (sort of haha) but honestly, life of a PhD graduate student definitely gets me down some days.
On days when I feel like my head is going to explode because I have so much to do I write a list and then after I check one off I get up from my desk or lab bench and walk around for a couple minutes. I am a huge believer in little walks to clear my mind!
When I was an intern at the hospital my preceptor gave me some great advice: after super long days on the floor, go home and take a long, hot shower and then eat some chocolate
I still do this even though I’ve now swapped my scrubs for a lab coat!
aw, i love that! and now i want some chocolate.
Stress used to be my constant companion! I’ve learned how to control it (not yet get rid of it!).
I make sure that somewhere in my workouts I make time to stretch. It relaxes my body.
I always make sure to have at least a few minutes to rest (which I used to thought mean laying down while still doing a billion things!). As in sit/lay and read, write, or just do nothing for a few minutes. That relaxes my mind.
Oh, I am not a fan of stress! A bit of pressure to get me moving is welcomed but stress just doesn’t really allow me to function.
I first experienced stress when i was doing my finals..i had SO many to do and didnt get to complete studying by the time exams hit. i was hoping to die..it was that bad
my stress reliever = PRAYING. i pray and pray and pray. i pour my heart out to God, (& I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that with a human being). Its SO comforting knowing that God is here for us & all we have to do is ask Him. Truth be told..anything stressful/painful brings me closer to God 🙂
correction: first experienced *REALLY REALLY BAD* stress
Stress describes what I deal with at my job. I have to deal with someone who makes it seem like they don’t want me there. Maybe when you’re related to a lot of people at the company might have something to do with it, but this person gives attitude to a lot of people. They just don’t talk about it.
As for what relaxes me (ha!) I love bubble baths. Reminds me of when I was little and had Mr. Bubble. Loved that stuff. Now I love my Philosophy bubble bath. For Christmas I received two of the chocolate scents. Heavenly! Especially for someone else who has a major sweet tooth.
Oh my gosh!
This is exactly the post I needed to read today.
I am going through one of the most stressful times in my life ever and I am learning rather quickly that actions are going to help me rather than worrying about everything, exercise is definitely on my list for later today for stress relief! 🙂
You’re awesome Julie!
Great post!! I’ll be honest – my life is relatively stress free right now. Just writing this makes me nervous…. eeee! But it’s true! My biggest stress relievers are my family, my puppers, staying on top of things at work, not working too many hours, getting in my workouts and doing things I love – like seeing friends/family, cooking, reading, etc.!
Oh girl – I am the queen of stress! And admittedly, I don’t always handle it well 🙂 Sometimes, I’ll eat my way through stress/to avoid stress. That doesn’t help.
But, I always find a good run helps me relieve a little bit of stress, as well as a walk with some good music.
I completely understand where you’re coming from. I work at a PR Agency and I feel like 90 percent of the office is always stressed. I hope your work stress lessens quickly so that you can focus on all of the amazing things in your life. Good luck!
It helps me to take a deep breath and Pray! It always helps me relax and realize this is not the most important thing, just a daily stress/annoyance 🙂
I just say, “it always works out.” Which it always tends to! Having less stress lets me accomplish so much more!
its official, i NEED to make your bbq pulled chicken. it sounds sooo delicious, every time you have it.
i go for a run or take a nap to relieve stress. as a phd student, i’m constantly stressed, and i honestly can’t remember the last time i wasn’t stressed. its hard, but i know the end result will be worth it, so i persevere.
I can relate to the whole work thing…it’s hard to separate work from life, especially since so much of our day is spent at work!
For me, things that help relieve stress are running/working out, cleaning, focusing on something else like making lists to help myself feel organized in other areas, or taking a hot bath.
Life is kinda stressful right now with planning a wedding, working full-time, and a couple of other things. I try to remind myself that one day my life will be different due to other things (different job, having kids, getting older, etc.) so I try to remind myself to enjoy where I’m at because one day I might look back and wish I was this age and at this place in life again.
Music is good for your soul 🙂 So many times at work, I plug in my headphones, turn on Pandora (favorite stations for stressful days are Colbie Caillat, Michael Buble and Adele) and get lost in my work and miraculously, stress is eliminated and I seem to be a ton more productive!
Hang in there! These kind of days pass but provide a good opportunity for channeling stress in a healthy way!