Do you have trouble just letting yourself relax and easing away the thoughts of the day? Maybe you feel like you have too many responsibilities and not enough time to get them done. Perhaps you have invasive thoughts, or you worry so much that you can’t relax completely. If any of those things describe you, then we have some suggestions that can help you enjoy some relaxing time, whether you are at home, at work, or anywhere.
Make a Plan to Get Stuff Done
Sometimes, the best way to take time to relax is to get a few things done first. There might have been times when you have been trying to relax, but you keep thinking about all the stuff you still have to do. You are trying to watch a movie or read a book, but your mind is going to your dirty laundry and your untidy house. Those unfinished chores can manifest invasive thoughts and anxiety, so creating a plan to get them down can help.
Give yourself a list of things to do for the day, and then mark each thing off as you get it done. This will make you feel more accomplished and less anxious. You will not feel as guilty about what is undone because you have a clear idea of what you accomplished and what you have left to do. If you create a list of chores and plan to do them each day, you will get more things done and have fewer worries. Doing this extra work makes it easier to relax.
There are lots of ways you can work through your list of responsibilities, like hiring cleaners in Tampa or wherever you might live. Home cleaners can do the housework you don’t have time for. You could also hire landscaping experts to mow your lawn and buy prepared food, so you don’t have to cook. When you clear your schedule a bit, you give yourself the time to relax properly, and you also make sure there is less to worry about.
Take in a Change of Scenery
It’s easy to be distracted when you are going to the same places and seeing the same sights and people. You can feel distracted and worried because there is nothing new there for your brain to process and pay attention to. If you go someplace you’ve never been before, though, then your mind is stimulated by the new sights. You can experience something different that piques your interest and keeps your mind occupied. If you really want to go somewhere to relax, it may be helpful to visit a restaurant, museum, or vacation spot that you have never been to before. Vacationing in a new place isn’t just relaxing because you are taking time off work, but it also helps that there are new stimuli to distract your mind from its worries. This can be an excellent form of self-care for dealing with intrusive ideas.
Try a Sensory Overload
If you are really worried about something or experiencing a lot of invasive thoughts, then it can help to overstimulate your mind. Try doing multiple things at once, like reading a book while a movie is playing in the background. Your mind will be so occupied with these different activities that you will not be able to focus on your worry as easily. Your mind will be clear from invasive thoughts because it won’t have space for them.
For some people, trying to do multiple tasks can be overwhelming, so you may not want to try doing more than one thing. Just having a couple of distracting things going on around you, though, can make a big difference in your mind’s ability to flood you with fearful, invasive thoughts.
Carve Out Time
Trying to find time to relax can be difficult. If you are constantly being bombarded with messages and visits from friends or work duties, you need a chance to tune all of that out and focus on yourself. You can do that by telling people you will be unavailable for a while, even if you are just going to be at home. You can turn off your phone or at least silence it. Set your devices to “Do Not Disturb” and make that relaxing time happen.
As you plan for time to let yourself loose and chill for a while, you can also buy food that you enjoy, put on some relaxing music or a movie you love and then enjoy some time with yourself or with a loved one. You will need to think about the kinds of distractions that will interrupt your relaxation time and plan to deal with them ahead of time.
Find Relaxation at Work
Some people manage to relax even when they are working. The kind of work you do will determine what kind of relaxation technique you can do and what is even allowed by your employer. You may have to wait until your lunch break or coffee break to actually relax, but for many people, there are relaxation methods you can use practically anywhere.
Try closing your eyes for a few minutes and blocking out the world. You can put on headphones or plug your ears and deprive yourself of sensory input for a while. This doesn’t have to be a long period of time- just a couple of minutes at most. That should be long enough for the relaxation technique to be effective.
You can also hum a tune, look at pictures of your family, watch a short, funny video, or make out a list of things you want to do when you get home. All of these things distract from your work and your cares and responsibilities for a while, helping you to relax.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of ideas or solutions to all the reasons people have trouble relaxing, but hopefully, it gives you some ideas that you can use.
