Take a Page Out of My Book

Settling into a good book is my biggest tip for friendstypical saucy romance where everyone gets with
enduring stress. It is rare to see people who aresomeone in the end and they all live happily ever
feeling stressed reading for pleasure in Westernafter (or something to that effect).
society and perhaps part of the reason is thatIn all the stress that has been going on around me I
reading takes focus and an environment free ofhave found that this novel, until yesterday when I
distractions. Taking the time to focus on just onecompleted reading it, served as my retreat from the
thing allows you to unwind over other issues thatworld. My half hour blocks of escape to read a few
may be simmering away in your head so a book is anchapters brought some sanity back to my daily life.
easy choice - because there is something forSome days I didn't read and others I found that I
everybody out there!had five of six of these reading sessions across the
So, take a page out of my book or, actually, anyday - my level of reading reflected, by and large,
book for that matter. In fact, let's not stop at ahow much stress I was feeling and I used it to bring
book why not just take some time to do something,my stress down to reasonable levels.
anything that you love to do no matter how muchI took the chance to escape into my novel as they
else needs to be done around your home, for yourarose - when the children were having naps or 'quiet
friends or for your family. Many people find that handtime' or after they had been put to bed. Normally, I
crafts, once learned, have the same calming effectwould rationalize that this time should be used
as well as gardening and scrubbing the shower baseproductively to get things off my to-do list, to lower
until it shines. Just go with whatever requires intensemy stress by getting things done. It is strange that,
focus for at least 30 minutes and see how you feel.when you hit the extremes though, you discover
I have just one magazine that I buy each month. It ishow futile this is. There will always be more to do on
Notebook: magazine. It is the magazine withyour list each day and if you always put off the time
everything the modern woman really needs in termsto reduce your stress, you will always be stressed. If
of events, fashion, recipes, and interesting reading -that stress is at an unhealthy level then the one thing
all without the celebrity gossip rubbish that you seemyou should really be doing is undertaking activities to
to find everywhere else. One of the issues fromreduce it rather than feeding it by running around like
earlier this year included a free novel as well. It wasa headless chook!
the type of book I generally don't get into - yourSo, instead, take a page out of my book...