Tool Belt of a Stressed Writer/Mama/Marketer

I’m just going to be real honest here today. I’m stressed out.

Big. Time.

I’m writing my second novel. I love the process, the words, the characters, the story. But even great jobs are stressful.

I’m 6 months into my first (and last) year home schooling. I love my kids. I wouldn’t trade them for all of Scrooge McDuck’s gold coins. But sometimes it’s stressful.

I’m marketing Paint Chips (pre-order the paperback! It’s only $10.11 on Barnes and Noble right now!!!). Marketing is VERY stressful.

I know. I know. We all have stress. And it’s all about how we deal with it, right?

Well, I have a De-Stress Tool Box. It’s full of different things this writer/mama/marketer uses to ease the stress. You wanna see what’s in it?

*GOOD MUSIC: Nothing sets my mood quite like music. When I’m stressed, Nirvana isn’t going to help. When I’m stressed, I need something soothing. Last week, I downloaded Ryan Apple’s album “Go”. It’s all beautiful classical guitar. It’s so good for unwinding my high-strung self. AND I know that what I paid for the music is doing good in the world. Ryan is giving away all the money he makes on this album to support G.O. Ministries, a mission in the Dominican Republic and Haiti (it happens to be the organization I did my internship with).

Give Ryan’s music a listen. Download it. You will LOVE it.

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*EXERCISE: My daughter and I spend 15-30 minutes doing our little workout. I do squats while holding my boys (one at a time…I’m not Andre the Giant). Dance with all three of them. Get myself moving. It really works the nervous energy away. Even a few minutes throughout the day helps me!

*SUPPORT: I have good friends. Great family. A SUPERB hubby. They let me talk. That sure takes the burden off a bit.

*PRAYER: Yesterday, I was in the middle of writing a tough scene in my novel in progress. I asked God to help me through it. The prayer wasn’t an effort to get him to make the writing easy. It wasn’t to say, “Hey! Remember me? I’m right here!”. No. The prayer was a way to be reminded that I’m doing this for His glory. I relaxed, knowing that my writing/mama-duties/marketing is for Him.

So, tell me. What helps you de-stress? I’m always open to new suggestions!