"Do it! You'll regret it if you don't!"

She proceeded to tell me about how she does roller derby - how cool! I've never met someone who does roller derby. She proceed to tell me how it's sometimes that kind of intense competition and physical exertion that is really needed and deserved after a long, rough day of nothing working correctly at lab.  Sometimes you just need that intensity. That distraction.

So - what's your stress reliever? What's your distraction?

How do you unwind? What do you do to take your mind off of things?

If you don't have something, find it! STAT!  I have a friend who also just started the program and she was in a really intense lab this summer, and every time I talk to her she is so burned out.  She keeps intending to go workout, join a climbing wall, take yoga classes, etc. But, everything always falls to the wayside because she has so much to do at lab.

I totally understand that sometimes the urgencies of the day must take priority over your "me" time.  That's okay. But, don't make this a habit. Make it a rare occasion when you have to skip your other, non-school activities.  These things are going to be your opportunity to feel human again.

I fit my "me time" into my life in multiple ways.  I exercise in some way 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes (see my Daily HIIT post), journal, read, blog, and keep up-to-date on my "Life handbook" (I'll talk about this soon).  I highly recommend joining a sports team, if you're into that. This activity gives me so much--exercise, a mental break, and a chance to make new friends. I did end up registering for that soccer league, so I spend a couple hours every Tuesday and Thursday evening playing.  Some of you might be thinking, "Oh my gosh, a couple hours! I don't have time for that!"  Well, I would ask you, how much time do you spend on facebook, internet surfing, procrastinating, etc.  We all spend vastly too much time doing that, so why not channel some of that time toward something productive, and healthy?

So, what should you do? How should you spend your de-stressing time?  Well, I'm a huge proponent of playing a sport or doing something active - running, walking, biking, hiking, hitting the gym, swimming canoeing, etc.  Why? Because, it essentially kills two birds with one stone--exercising and de-stressing!  You could also try journaling, painting, reading FOR FUN, playing an instrument, listening to music, hanging out with friends, etc.  Maybe you and a friend schedule 30 minutes a day to meet up at a local coffee shop and catch up for just a bit.  Whatever you decide to do is great, just take some time for yourself!

The moral of the story is, that every student - graduate student, medical student, or other - should find something that serves as your stress reliever!   Find that thing now, and schedule in some time into each and every day to do that thing.  Even if it's only 30 minutes.  Give yourself a chance to take a break.  Actively engage your brain in that thing, and that will make you less likely to drift off and think about all your pressing engagements.

We all deserve a break and I hope you take the time to schedule that thing into your life!

Until next time,


Other useful articles:
http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2013/03/19/tips-for-beating-burnout-as-a-working-grad-student
http://chronicle.com/article/What-I-Learned-About-Surviving/131247/
http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/08/02/work-less-to-work-better-my-experiments-with-shutdown-routines/