You sit in your bed at three A.M. staring at the ceiling while your loved one sleeps quietly next to you and you list all of the things you have to do tomorrow. Between school, work, your family, and other activities you never have enough time to complete the list now rolling through your mind. So you create more lists, in attempt to figure out what is actually possible. Maybe if you cut some things out here or there you could get to the grocery store before it closes and finally make your family a homemade dinner; maybe. Then you start to wonder what your family likes remembering your daughter hates beef and your son hates chicken. It’s all such a headache and it seems like you get this headache every day. So stop. Stop thinking so much. We all know that’s easier said than done, but try.

The most important thing to realize is that when you are stressing, you are not in a normal state of mind. You may become grumpy due to fatigue or hunger. Often when we are busy we forget to eat. Maybe start reducing stress by making what you want to make for dinner or taking a day off from school to relieve your personal stresses. My favorite me time is running. My headphones make the rest of the world silent and the scenery makes the air whooshing into my lungs burn a little less. I am competitive with myself and love to beat my own record which helps me keep making time for myself. Find your stress relief and try to make time for it even if it is only ten minutes a day.

Breathe. Know that no matter what you have accomplished or have not accomplished there will be a tomorrow. Try to focus on that fact; you will have more time to finish business you feel is unfinished. If you find you procrastinate like me, give yourself deadlines, before the actual deadline. It sounds weird but false deadlines will almost always prepare you for the real deadline. Also, try to remember to congratulate yourself on what you’ve finished today if you’re anything like me you’ve accomplished quite a bit, and you do not give yourself enough credit. Know that you have done enough, that you are enough.

Acknowledge that everything will be alright in the end. You will graduate from school. Your children are cared for and happy, your spouse is not deprived. Dinner is on the table every night whether it’s takeout or homemade, homework is completed, the laundry is done, the house looks clean (most of the time). You do a lot more than you give yourself props for, so take a break every once in a while. Let your worries float into the wind like the seeds of a dandelion. Breathe in the fresh air and appreciate the world around you, reflect on your life. The things that matter so much today are just wrinkles in the big picture that is your life.