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Life can be challenging, filled with lots of to-dos, and just generally overwhelming. It’s important for you, as a parent, but more importantly as an individual, to remember to take time to yourself to unwind from life. It helps you remember who you are in a world when you have so many others to take care of and worry about. Decompressing from the daily grind is key to living with balance. Let’s talk a bit about ways to help you unwind after a busy day.
Unwind by Sketching/Drawing
Who’s artsy? Anyone? I’ll claim craftsy, but artsy is a bit of a stretch. Facebook, however, thinks that I can do art. I kept getting these suggested posts and one of the DIY pages I follow kept showing these incredible videos of oil pastels. So I thought, what the heck, let me check out Amazon and see prices for getting me started. When my box of goodies was delivered, I was excited.
I had flagged a few how-to videos and off I went.
Here are the supplies I used (note that I use affiliate links below):
- Masking Tape
- Glass Marking Pencils h
- Oil Pastel Set (good beginners set) or Better Set (though a little pricy)
- Paper
- Graphite Sketching Pencils
It was really relaxing and I turned my mind off from the chaos of the day. When I was done, I was not only proud of what I had drawn, but my mind felt clearer. In turn, the stress of the day blended away with each blending of color. Being all artsy actually helped me fall asleep quicker, too. That’s one big bonus for this insomniac.
Unwind with Relaxation
Relaxation is always fun, it helps with stress release, and just unwinding in general. At the end of the day, sometimes it’s just a good idea to turn on some soft music, light a few scented candles, put on a good face mask and chill out. Now, while I enjoy this, it doesn’t always turn my brain off, and the idle time trying to relax sometimes sends my brain into a deep thought session that doesn’t always provide the decompression I’m looking for. If you’re good with turning the world off, jump on the relaxation band wagon and try out a face mask.
I tried out this facemask from Target the other night and I loved it, it didn’t get fantastic reviews, but I really enjoyed it. Que Bella
Now, as some reviewers have said, you may get a little red after, but it goes away, and I was using it before bed, so the redness didn’t bother me. I also get red after almost every facemask I’ve used, so that wasn’t a surprise or a big deal to me. My skin felt amazing after the mask and my favorite part by far was the coconut cream eye mask.
Pro Tip for the coconut cream eye cream: If you have these handy little plastic jars on hand, you can store the excessive amount of cream that comes in the pouch and you should have enough for a month.
Get the Blood Flowing
One of my newest favorite ways to unwind is to walk. My husband and I have started walking together in the evenings. Need to include the kiddos? No worries, grab the stroller, get them geared up for their bike, and take them, too!
We choose to walk just the two of us. It gives us a chance to chat and just be together. If you’re anything like our family, there is very little alone time for the parents. Sometimes it feels like we’re just roommates who pass each other on occasion during the evening. This is definitely helping with our communication.
Walking is good for you, too. Healthy benefits and enjoyable are always a great combo.
Don’t like to walk? Try biking. Have a pool? Go swimming. Work out at the gym or simply YouTube some workout videos. There are endless options of videos to help you for free get that blood flowing and help you unwind after your busy day. Search for things like yoga, HIIT (if you’re looking for high intensity), or body weight workouts.
As one of my favorite people tells me, you do you. Find something to get active that you like and works for you. If you don’t enjoy it, chances are you’ll have a tough time continuing with it.
Bonus Tip for those with little ones: Have a dance party with your kids. My son and I have one a couple nights a week. I’ll start dancing around and he tries to copy me, after a couple songs he starts breaking out his own moves. It’s so much fun and everyone wins: exercise, bonding time with your kiddo, and you’re “shaking off” your day.
Whatever it is that you decide to go with to help you unwind after a busy day, just remember to relax. You’re doing this for you, to help yourself find balance and simply unwind. Relax!! You got this.
Feeling burned out? Head over to this post to help you avoid and/or manage burn out.
