Frankie Says Relax

Stress is becoming more apparent in daily lives than ever before, especially around this time of year. Longer working hours, approaching deadlines and exams and social pressures are consistently putting us under pressure. Since graduating and starting a business stress has been more noticeable in my day to day life. As a result of this I have taken it upon myself to look at the best ways to help de-stress and relax during this festive period:

I read a post by Zanna Van Dijk who is a fitness inspiration of and took on board some of here thoughts and have given them ago myself and made them a little more suited to my lifestyle.

Relaxation should be part of your routine

For people who know me, I am someone that can’t do something at 10mph its always go go go. I have recently found myself feeling more tired and having a lack of energy. I have now realised that adding in a spot of relaxation to my day could help me feel a lot better. I recently read an article that suggests taking as little as 10 minutes per day to meditate, can help you control stress, decrease anxiety and also help to improve cardiovascular health. As a result of this I feel refreshed and I can work and train more effectively. 

Something that has be recommended that I haven’t yet tried is adult colouring books. Bringing out the inner child, grabbing some pencils and pens and sitting down and doing some colouring in. It makes you concentrate the mind on something else which is easy and relaxing to complete allowing you to forget about your daily stress. I think it is definitely worth the try.

Disconnect and get outdoors

In this day and age everyone has some form of technology attached to them, whether that’s a smart phone tablet or laptop. Taking timeout from social media and endlessly scrolling down news feeds can help us “connect” with those people around and also the surrounding environments. As a surfer my favourite place is the beach and its somewhere I can go to forget about all my worries. Whether its going in the water for a surf or simply taking my new puppy for walk across the sand it, clears my head completely and the fact that you can’t get any signal let alone 3G makes it even better!

Socialise

So many people these days are working until 9 or 10 in the evening, coming home and literally going straight to bed ready to wake up at 6am the following morning. Taking some time out to catch up with friends in person over a drink, meal or walk and NOT social media gives a much more positive aspect to your day. As it is almost Christmas a lot of my school friends are now coming back from University for the holidays and its the perfect time to catch up after being away from each other since summer. So schedule in a meal sit down and have a good laugh to chill yourself out! and make sure you avoid talking about work!

Jess x