How Survive Thinking Too Hard

Some of us have a very unfortunate affliction.  We have a hard time shutting off our brains when it comes time to relax. We could have miles of perfect beach with warm inviting waves just waiting for us, and we would still be running calculations through our minds.

Not good.

There must be real down time in our weeks or we’ll end up in the looney bin next to theoretical physicists who tried to tie ‘the force’ to string theory.

Here’s my (far from exhaustive and slightly silly) list of ways to make your brain stop spinning!

• Take a bubble bath and bring along some bath toys. It’s hard to stress out with a rubber ducky grinning at you.
• Go to the park and swing on the swings. You may not want to go very high, but it’s the giddy feeling in the pit of your stomach that counts.
• Grab a friend, pop lots of popcorn and watch a ridiculous movie. It’s hard to stay serious when you’re trying not to laugh so hard you snort munchies through your nose when your buddy makes a rude comment about your favorite cartoon character.  Your.  *eye roll*
• Go for a picnic. Even if it’s just in the living room pillow fort.
• Have a friend over, then make and eat chocolate chip cookie dough. Face it, we’re always lucky to have even half the batch make it into the oven anyway. Just admit it this time, leave out the leavening and eggs, and revel in the naughtiness.
• Go for a drive, just to drive. With the cost of gasoline these days this one has been relegated to the teenagers who are just so thrilled to have that freedom that they don’t care it’s costing them ten dollars. So, budget the money and go for a relaxing spin. Take a drive in the country. Tour your old neighborhood. Whatever. Just have fun with it!
• Dance around like an idiot. This one has always worked for me in the past. It’s hard to think straight when you’re flipping your hair all over the room as you blast your favorite band. It’s also a great way to trick yourself into a great cardio workout.  😉 
• Take a nap. This one never gets old. There are times when we have spun our minds (and bodies) so tight that the only thing to do is to give in and actually rest. Just grab your favorite teddy bear, your cat, or you significant other and zonk out for a while.
• Go for a walk. No. Not a power walk. Not for actual exercise. This one is just to help you notice the sunshine, blue sky, and perhaps some of those wonderful endorphins that come out to play when you move around enough.
• Read a fun book. I know, you’re reading this one to review, that one for work, and that one for self-improvement. Where is your down-time reading? You know, the fun one with pirates or unicorns or space ships (or if you’re lucky, all three).
• Play a game. Be it chutes and ladders, hop scotch, or Battle Mech, playing a game can be very absorbing. Let yourself be drawn into the fun of the dice rolling, the intricate hops, or heh, sniping at a Marauder and an Annihilator while hopping up and down behind a hill.

Face it, you don’t have to give in to your mind taking over and not letting you pay attention to anything but your current project. There is hope. And thankfully, cheap ways to distract yourself from thinking way too hard.

Good luck!

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Just to help speed up the process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB3hPXf-StY

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