A Short Reminder to Breathe

I had a plan for today’s blog post. Over Saturday, I was going to use Amazon’s The Boys as my reward for editing Strange Cosmology – edit a couple scenes, watch an episode, and then repeat the process. However, I found two flaws in this plan. One was that I hated the first episode with a frothing passion that left me with zero desire to watch more. The other was that I couldn’t relax properly to take breaks – it felt like I was wasting time I should be spending on being productive.

In hindsight, my stress levels may have colored my opinion of the show.

I’ve talked before about how important self care is when you’re busy. Right now…I’m definitely busy. I’ve got another nine scenes to start editing for Strange Cosmology, and another seven scenes that need some extra attention. Those need to be done by Thursday so Friday and Saturday I can work directly with my editor on some scenes that need a major overhaul. That has to be done by the end of Saturday so I can get the new draft back to my editor by the deadline for one last round of copy-edits before publication. On top of that I have work obligations at my job, friend and familial commitments, and at some point in that I’d like to also allow myself some time to breathe. 

Current mood: Spider-Man dodging flying razor blades in a burning building.

I’d also really like to get a good night’s sleep at some point.

With those goals in mind, I decided to add one more point to my self-care tips from earlier:

Prioritize your tasks

Look at what’s on your to do list and decide what is “must do,” what is “should do”, and what is “like to do.” Keep in mind that taking time to rest and breathe and take care of yourself is absolutely a “must do” at all times. And sometimes, you have to decide what you’re going to change to make low effort so you can free up time for other things. For example…my blog posts normally run about 1500-2000 words. Today, it’s going to end after the next sentence. I’m giving myself leave to make today’s a short post reminding myself, and everyone who sees it, that it’s important to take care of yourself.

Enjoy my favorite sleeping kitty picture. He looks so relaxed. We should all try to be like Loki.

What do you do to take care of yourself when feeling overwhelmed? Let me know in the comments below, I could always use more advice! And don’t forget to get you free copy of Rumors – and be ready for when Strange Cosmology comes out.