Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a quick little trip up to northern Virginia for a memorial wheelchair basketball tournament for my mom's best friend's son (same one I wrote about last year) and it was so nice to visit with my family and my mom's best friend/her family. We hadn't seen them since the tournament last year so we were absolutely due for a visit with them! They are just the sweetest family (extended family too!) and I love spending time with all of them. Since I have written all about the tournament before, I included the link to that post above. I wanted to share a little bit about de-stressing today, instead of a weekend wrap up!

When I got back yesterday, I had the worst emotional combination of stress and anxiety and sadness. I was sad for having to say goodbye to everyone and then stress/anxiety about a presentation I had to work on for my clinical group at the hospital today. Do you ever get so worked up about doing something (homework, actual work, anything really) that you just stress about stressing about it? That's what I was doing yesterday. I worked myself up into a tizzy during the drive back to my apartment about prepping for my presentation and then when I got back, I was too worked up to work. Weird, I know! In order to chill myself out, I did a couple of short activities to make myself focus on what I needed to accomplish for the day. I wanted to share those things today just in case I could help anyone else!

1) Make a to-do list
In this case, I had to break apart all the different sections that I had to cover for my presentation and so I could focus on just one part at a time. I love the feeling of accomplishment after I get to cross something off the list and it helps to give me motivation to keep working.

2) Have some tea
Specifically herbal tea, and not a tea with caffeine in it. For me, too much caffeine makes me too wound and feeling even more anxious. Today I went for a lemon tea, but I would also recommend chamomile!

3) Take a shower
Kind of an cheesy, but I swear showering washes away my stress. Showers really relax me and help to clear my mind so I can really focus on the task at hand and not the hundred other things that are running through my mind (Like other homework/missing my family/the blog/dinner/laundry/etc) .

4) Call/text someone...
...who will really set you straight. For instance, I texted my friend who has all the same classes/work as I do and asked her if I really needed to be stressing about the presentation as much as I was. She promptly responded that I didn't need to worry for another second and that it was ridiculous that I was stressing. Although a little harsh, it was well appreciated and snapped me back to reality!

5) Work really hard for one hour
Then re-evaluate whether you should really be stressed about what your doing. Chances are, if you really kick ass in that hour, that you'll get a lot more done than previously expected and feel less stressed about whats left to do.

Although an annoying tip, I thought I would include it anyway as the last one...

6) Plan ahead to prevent stress!
Like I said, its an annoying tip, I know! There is always good intentions to plan ahead and get everything done so that you don't have to worry about XYZ in the future, right? In this case, I actually had got a good chunk of the work done before the weekend started, since I had known that I was going to be super busy with the tournament. I think had I just done an hour or two more of work before the weekend then I would have been way less stressed yesterday evening. Even though I could have done more, I know I still helped myself a lot by getting some done beforehand. If I hadn't, this post probably wouldn't have been able to be written last night! For the most part, I am pretty good about planning and use my planner and to-do lists to help keep me in line.

I know there are so many tips out there, but these are the ones that I have found to work best for me! What are your tips for de-stressing?

How To Survive With No Sleep

Between recruitment, nursing clinicals, and a major test this week, to say I only got a little sleep is an understatement. I have found that college is one big balancing act between doing the things you need to do with doing the things you want to do, all while trying to get the minimum amount of sleep that will keep us sane. While I was running on no sleep this week (and the past year) I have compiled a list of things that worked to keep me awake!

1. Eat something

I know there are a lot of you out there that choose to skip breakfast. DON'T DO THIS EVER (its so bad for you guys!) However, it is especially important to eat something if you haven't got a lot of sleep because food is a major energy source for your body so it might be able to give you a little power boost! On mornings that I am feel extra groggy, I usually make myself a PB&J on whole grain toast. This gives me the energy to get my morning going!

2. Mint gum

When I'm sitting in class and hardly able to keep my eyes open, I usually reach for a piece of gum to try to wake myself up a bit! The mint wakes up the mind and the chewing allows your body to focus on an action, rather than how tired you are.

3. Water

Hydration is extra important when feeling tired because dehydration will make you feel even worse. It'll make you feel more tired and give you a headache! I like to keep a reusable water bottle, like a Camelbak, with me all the time and refill it multiple times throughout the day. 

4. Walk/Stretch

While sitting down when you are tired may seem like a nice way to conserve energy, I find that it just makes me more tired. Whether I am studying or in class, I take advantage of bathroom and snack breaks to walk around to stretch my legs as I feel it gives me a little boost of energy! While it may seem counterintuitive, if you have the time to fit in a whole workout, do it...it'll give you a major energy boost!

5. Coffee or Tea

When in doubt, reach for the caffeine! I would suggest coffee or tea, because energy drinks kind of scare me! If you are able to sneak into the nearest Starbucks, I would suggest the Tazo "Awake" tea (an English Breakfast tea) or a Hazelnut Macchiato or just a boring old Pike with room!

What do you do to survive on no sleep?

Making the Most of It

Now that I am really into the groove of summer vacation, I want to share with you some advice about summer expectations. Every spring I tell myself that the summer will be the best one I've ever had and completely hype up the season for myself. As you could imagine, these expectations I had set for myself were really hard to meet. The past two summers I felt that all I did was work and when I wasn't working, I was sitting at home moping about not having a great summer. I had so many regrets that I wasn't doing more with my time. Towards the end of last summer, I started to change from being a sluggish and noncommital bore, to making the extra effort to make something useful out of my day. 

This summer I have really tried to make the most of every day I have off, and tried to be productive. I don't mean productive in a way that I get a lot of errands done or a to do list checked off, but I mean that I have made the most of my time. I go to the beach, spend quality time making amazing memories with my friends and family, read books, write blog posts, or take my dog for a walk, just to name a couple of things. I ask myself multiple times a day, "Is what I am doing right now going to make me happy when I look back on my summer?" This is my guiding summer question, and I suggest that you ask yourself the same thing!

Now you may be saying "Meghan, what about Netflix?...that doesn't seem very productive!" I have really tried to limit the amount of Netflix/TV/YouTube I watch on my days off. I let myself watch some while having my morning coffee, and somedays its really nice to have a lazy/slow morning to let myself recharge a bit (especially after working three 12 hour shifts in a row)! If I let myself be lazy in the morning, I make sure to make the afternoon/evening really productive.

On the days I work a long shift, I can't run home and go right out with my friends or John or even just stay in and read because I am usually falling asleep the second I get out of my car. So I have to make the most of my day while I am at work. I thought I would find this difficult, but I have had a stroke of luck this summer with my job. Compared to the past few summers, I really love my job and it gives me a lot of personal satisfaction. I have more confidence, feel more capable and feel like I make a difference in others' lives. When I walk into a shift with all these feelings, how could I not have a productive day?? 

To wrap up this rambling post, I challenge you to spend your time like you should spend your money...carefully and with confidence that you are doing the right thing with it! Make the most of everyday so you do not look back on your summer or your life with regret that you did not spend your time doing things that were important to you!

To sum up this post in one picture...?

What are you doing this summer to be productive?