The name of the game, at least for the foreseeable future, is stress management.
Ever heard of active relaxation? Oh, how I love a good oxymoron, but I think this is exactly what I need to be doing. I will report back.
Other things currently saving my sanity:
I'm so thankful to live in a nice neighbourhood with quiet streets, ringed by a coastal bush track. That first glimpse of the sea whenever I head for the trail gets me right to my happy place.
I've been on a playlist making binge lately (Guilty pleasures! Rock ballads!) and I'm not even sorry. My commute is basically measured in songs, as are my runs.
I'm devouring advice columns at pace. Cheryl Strayed, Mark Manson, Captain Awkward, Ask Polly. If you know of any more along those lines....
After so many months of not being able to face other humans outside of work, half the time now it feels like there's nothing I need more than social contact. Bless the friends who know that life gets away from us sometimes, and pick up right where we left off, be it text, email, or in person. And amazing coworkers and bosses - seriously.
Possibly the best thing I've ever done. A chronicle of the highlights, the lowlights, the spending and earning. Blogging taught me to negotiate and made me some true friends.
Outside perspectives are so valuable when you've lost all sense of orientation. I know none of you can possibly know everything, and so I take them for what they're worth, but the insights that even readers I'd never known existed until recently have offered have been amazing. I do not exaggerate when I say that comments and emails have honestly made me cry in a good way.
