Monthly Archives: June 2024

75 Ways to De-Stress and Relax

In today’s fast-paced world, finding time to unwind and de-stress is crucial for maintaining overall well-being.  Relaxation enhances productivity by fostering fresh ideas and renewed energy when you return to your work. Whether you’re looking for quick activities or immersive experiences.  So explore and find what works best for you. Remember, the order doesn’t matter; the goal is to experience a little relaxation in your life.

De-stress viewing this Lake with trees

1. Color or draw: Engage in art therapy with adult coloring books or sketching.

  1. Practice deep breathing:Take slow, deep breaths to calm your mind and body.
  2. Meditate:Find a quiet space, close your eyes, and focus on your breath or a mantra.
  3. Take a nature walk:Enjoy the outdoors and soak in the sights and sounds of nature.
  4. Practice yoga:Stretch and relax your muscles with gentle yoga poses.
  5. Try progressive muscle relaxation:Tense and then relax each muscle group in your body.
  6. Take a hot bath:Add Epsom salts or essential oils for added relaxation.
  7. Read a book:Escape into a good book and let your mind wander.
  8. Write in a journal:Write down your thoughts and feelings to clear your mind.
  9. Practice gratitude:List things you’re grateful for to shift your focus to the positive.
  10. Watch a movie:Choose a feel-good movie or comedy to lift your spirits.
  11. Do a puzzle:Engage your mind with a crossword, Sudoku, or jigsaw puzzle.
  12. Cook a comforting meal:Prepare a meal that you enjoy eating.
  13. Bake something:Try your hand at baking cookies, bread, or a cake.
  14. Have a picnic:Pack a meal and enjoy it outdoors with friends or alone.
  15. Drink herbal tea:Enjoy the calming effects of chamomile, lavender, or peppermint tea.
  16. Practice mindfulness:Be present in the moment and observe your thoughts without judgment.
  17.  Listen to calming music:Create a playlist of soothing tunes or nature sounds to unwind.
  18. Listen to a podcast:Find a podcast on a topic you enjoy and listen attentively.
  19. Dance:Put on your favorite music and dance like nobody’s watching.
  20. Try aromatherapy:Use essential oils like lavender or eucalyptus to relax your senses.
  21. Get a massage:Treat yourself to a professional massage or ask a loved one for a shoulder rub.
  22. Do Tai Chi:Practice gentle movements to promote relaxation and balance.
  23. Watch the sunset:Find a scenic spot and take in the beauty of the setting sun.
  24. Visit a museum:Explore art, history, or science exhibits at a local museum.
  25. Go for a swim:Take a dip in a pool or natural body of water for a refreshing experience.
  26. Pet an animal:Spend time with pets or visit an animal shelter for therapeutic cuddles.
  27. Listen to soothing sounds:Use apps or websites with calming sounds like rain or ocean waves.
  28. Do gardening:Plant flowers, herbs, or vegetables to connect with nature.
  29. Try acupuncture:Explore this traditional Chinese therapy for relaxation and stress relief.
  30. Volunteer:Help others in need and experience the joy of giving back.
  31. Play with children:Engage in playful activities with kids to lighten your mood.
  32. Stretch:Do gentle stretches to release tension and improve flexibility.
  33. Watch funny videos:Laugh out loud at funny clips or comedy sketches online.
  34. Take a nap:Rest for a short while to recharge your energy levels.
  35. Clean up your space:Clean and organize your surroundings for a sense of calm.
  36. Practice self-care:Take a relaxing bath, do a face mask, or pamper yourself in other ways.
  37. Attend a concert:Enjoy live music performances for an uplifting experience.
  38. Go for a bike ride:Explore your neighborhood or a scenic trail on two wheels.
  39. Visit a botanical garden:Wander through lush gardens and enjoy the beauty of plants.
  40. Reflect on art:Visit art galleries or view art online to stimulate your creativity.
  41. Do a digital detox:Take a break from screens and social media to reduce mental clutter.
  42. Write a letter:Connect with someone through a heartfelt letter or note.
  43. Visit a spa:Treat yourself to a spa day with massages, facials, or other treatments.
  44. Play a musical instrument:Make music to relax and express yourself creatively.
  45. Practice laughter yoga:Join a laughter yoga session or laugh on your own to boost your mood.
  46. Do breathing exercises:Try different breathing techniques like box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing.
  47. Explore a new hobby:Learn something new that interests you, like painting, knitting, or photography.
  48. Listen to guided relaxation:Use apps or recordings for guided imagery or relaxation exercises.
  49. Reflect on nature:Sit quietly outdoors and observe the natural world around you.
  50. Take a scenic drive:Explore new landscapes and enjoy the journey.
  51. Build something:Engage in DIY projects or assemble furniture for a sense of accomplishment.
  52. Practice Feng Shui:Arrange your space to promote harmony and positive energy flow.
  53. Attend a workshop:Learn mindfulness, stress management, or other wellness techniques.
  54. Play board games:Have fun and socialize with friends or family over board games.
  55. Attend a meditation retreat:Immerse yourself in a peaceful environment dedicated to mindfulness.
  56. Create a vision board:Visualize your goals and aspirations through images and words.
  57. Watch wildlife:Observe birds, squirrels, or other wildlife in their natural habitat.
  58. Visit a farmer’s market:Explore fresh produce and local goods in a vibrant atmosphere.
  59. Do a DIY spa day:Create homemade beauty treatments like scrubs or masks.
  60. Watch a theater play:Attend a live performance for entertainment and culture.
  61. Reflect on spirituality:Pray, meditate, or attend churchservices for spiritual nourishment.
  62. Try forest bathing:Immerse yourself in nature to reduce stress and enhance well-being.
  63. Watch educational videos:Learn something new or explore topics of interest on video platforms.
  64. Go sailing or boating:Enjoy the tranquility of being on the water.
  65. Explore a new cuisine:Try cooking or dining out for a culinary adventure.
  66. Visit historical sites:Learn about history and culture while exploring ancient landmarks.
  67. Take a pottery class:Get hands-on with clay and unleash your creativity.
  68. Do a community clean-up:Volunteer to beautify your neighborhood or local park.
  69. Attend a comedy show:Laugh out loud at stand-up comedy or improv performances.
  70. Visit a bookstore:Browse books, relax with a coffee, and indulge in reading.
  71. Explore virtual reality:Experience immersive virtual environments for entertainment and relaxation.
  72. Try watercolor painting:Experiment with colors and create your own works of art.
  73. Practice time management:Organize tasks and prioritize to reduce stress from daily responsibilities.
  74. Reflect on accomplishments:Celebrate your achievements and acknowledge your progress.

Here are 75 activities offering a diverse range of options to help you unwind, de-stress, and promote overall well-being. Incorporate them into your routine to create moments of relaxation and rejuvenation in your daily life.

Coloring Can Reduce Stress

Hello. I hope you are having a good day so far. I was sitting here thinking of how coloring in coloring books has helped me lower my stress level. I thought it would be good to share them with you.

Rocky Lake with cliff

  • Choosing colors to color with generates a creative thought process.
  • Coloring allows you to put everything else aside and focus in the now.Now a days that is called “mindfulness.”
  • Coloring can relax you, giving you the kind of benefits like you get when you are meditating.
  • Coloring is also a relaxing bedtime activity that won’t disturb your level of melatonin, preventing a good quality of sleep like electronics do. It is a much better choice late in the evening than being on the phone or computer.

So you see, you don’t have to be a professional artist to color your favorite coloring page or coloring book. If you’re looking for a way to unwind after a stressful day, coloring will more than likely help you. Pick any picture you like and color it any way you want to color it.

Express Gratitude in All Seasons


Feeling more grateful for the people and the things in your life is a great way to practice taking care of yourself. This is a lot more helpful for your health and wellness than you can imagine. It will help you feel more positive, help others feel better about themselves, and help you to understand all of the amazing things that you have in your life to be grateful for.

Journal with pen

Use Your Journal

One way you can express gratitude during the whole season is by writing about your emotions in your journal. This is a simple method because you are likely to use your journal every day anyway.

You only have to write a sentence or two in your daily journal entry about the things that you are thankful for, or you can have a goal to list 3 or more people or things you want to express thankfulness for.

Another good idea is to start a gratitude journal, where the whole journal is used just for thankfulness and gratitude.

Use Your Planner

If you are not a fan of journaling, you could use your daily planner. If you have a daily planner to help keep track of your schedule, to-do lists, and daily goals, this is another simple play to practice gratitude each day. It generally works good in a daily entry. If there are blank pages for extra notes, write down one thing you feel grateful for each day. This will allow you to be more positive and thankful for the good things you have going on in your life, as opposed to just thinking about the not so great things.

Try Gratitude Prayers

Another option is to write down prayers for the use of gratitude, and read them each day. This is a good way to feel more positive, and really show that through your entire day. Write them on sticky notes and post them in several places where you see them through the day.

Tell Someone

If you find yourself feeling gratitude toward someone who has been a good influence, or who you look up to? Take time to tell them. This is the best way to express gratitude about a person by telling them. It makes them feel great as well as making you feel great because you made someone’s day.

Check out this great “Gratitude Journal“

Gratitude Coloring Journal

Journal – 10 Important Reasons to Keep One

Do you keep a journal? A trail of memories, one so precious it follows behind you reminding you of who you were yesterday. Just like a picture, a memory frozen in time at times can guide your steps. Keeping a journal entails a picture drawn so vividly with your thoughts and words. It is thinking aloud, projecting the conversations in our head in an organized manner to map our path forward.

picture with hand writing in journal

Keeping a journal creates an opportunity for one to channel their inner selves, to converse with oneself, and get a clear picture of what is within. It allows you a chance to get to know more about yourself. Just like when we get to have dates with people we are trying to get to know, it can be equated to going on a date with yourself.

Wrapping the different facets that make you who you are. It is a collection of your ideas, and to record anything of importance you wish to get back to at a later day. Day after day we find our perception of life, our thoughts, and even our beliefs evolving and we need to keep these on the record as they show us how much we have grown.

Journaling can help you keep track of your decisions.

A journal is a tool to keep track of the important decisions that you make and serves as a reminder of why you made them in the first place. It allows you to lay down your goals in a clear and organized way. When goals are not written down, they forfeit their importance. To realize your goals, you need to keep track. For a goal to be realized there needs to be a plan put in place.  It allows you to make step by step plans to reach your goal.

You can ensure accountability and make it possible to go back and re-evaluate the progress of your goals concerning the plan detailed in your journal. Having a written plan of the path to your goals also allows one to be able to re-strategize.

It makes it fairly easy to sort through your thoughts.  It also allows you to understand your coping mechanisms. It allows you to improve mental clarity and focus by emptying your mind as you are writing down your thoughts. This gives you a better insight of how things are supposed to be.

Growth and progress cannot be seen when there is nothing to compare them to and journals facilitate that growth. The person you are has been molded together from your life’s experiences.

A journal is a way to document your experiences, the hurts, mistakes, joys, and lessons that have brought us to be where we are. Being able to go back and get a reference from your past experiences when your memory fails you is priceless. You get to refer to past lessons to give you an idea of how to handle the situations at hand.

It enhances your organizational skills. They are structured in a way where things are written in order. This in turn can help you to plan and structure your day, your week, your entire life. Knowing when to do what, in turn it can help you escape the fangs of procrastination. You get to structure your life into a clear vision on paper making it easier to follow through.

It is more beneficial to brainstorm when you are recording the thoughts flowing through your mind. When you keep a constant journal you rarely go through instances where you lose an idea to the wind because the very moment it crosses your mind you will write it down that same day before it becomes a fade in your mind. They expand your mind and keep you creative and innovative as every moment of writing down your thoughts gives you time on your own to discover your mind.

A journal can be a therapy tool. It is therapeutic. It can serve as a way to heal oneself from different kinds of trauma. It allows you to be free, to open up about your feelings, to embrace those feelings, and get to understand them.

It allows you to be vulnerable even without having to share your thoughts when you find it uncomfortable or having witnesses during those moments of vulnerability. You allow yourself to delve deeper into your relationship with your feelings and reactions, in turn, it can help you be more in control of how you react to situations. One could even work on their temper by resorting to writing down why they are angry and why they feel that way.

Our minds are not computers so we tend to forget stuff, journals serve to improve our memory ad to keep us self-aware. When you feel like you need a boost of inspiration and motivation getting back to your journal always gives you a good dose to push you forward.

Not only do you improve your mental health by decreasing stress but you also get to perfect your writing skill from the constant writing. Be intentional about keeping a it and watch yourself grow every day you self-reflect.

It can help you keep your life organized.

Gratitude Coloring Journal

Go here to look at a great gratitude journal that can help you to change your outlook on life, and when you change your outlook on life and your mindset; the way you think about things, magical things start to happen.

Click here to learn more about “My Gratitude Journal”

Coloring Books to the Rescue!

Both children and adults are drawn to coloring books. I believe it is because of the enjoyment of the creativity. And although coloring books are trending now, they have a history of being around for hundreds of years.

Forest

And believe it or not, coloring may be the most fun and affordable solution you’ve been looking for, that will also give you the benefit of reducing stress in your daily life.

Do it Your Way
I have found that one of the best ways for me to submerge my mind is to pick up a few crayons or coloring pencils and dive into the pages of a coloring book. No rules. Just coloring any way I want to color, with no judgments.

Color inside the lines, or go outside the lines. You can make anything look the way YOU want it. It is just you simply having fun.

It All Begins
You see, when we are children, we have curious minds that are always eager to learn all we can. To a child, even the simplest thing becomes an adventure. They soon find that coloring in itself is a great adventure.

In the adventure of coloring, you will find that you can easily get lost in the process. And, when you return back to reality, your stress will be far far away.

Just For You
Coloring is a just an all around wonderful way to tap into the authentic happiness that lives (mostly buried) deep inside of everyone.

I believe that after thiry minutes or so of not thinking about everything you have to do, and just enjoy something you want to do will make a huge difference in your body’s stress level.

Make the Time
So remember to take some time for yourself. Just taking a few minutes for yourself can change the quality of your life, and the lives of those around you.

Coloring will start to be something that you look forward to on a regular basis. Coloring can instantly take your focus away from your problems, leaving you in a state of relaxation.

Convenient and Cheap
And another good thing about coloring is that it is easily transported in a great bag to be done just about anywhere you like. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, your color page and crayons… and enjoy!

Look at my latest Coloring Books on my Product Page

De-Stress with Coloring

Art, & Activities for Adults & Kids

Relax.

Spend time together with a coloring book and communicating with your children.

Have a fun time getting closer to the your friends.

Or grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some alone time coloring and meditating.

It will be a great experience.     Ahhh! 

Coloring Book Fun and Therapy

In the past, coloring in coloring books has always been an activity that we associated with children. But as I have grown older and replaced my crayons for an ink pen, it turns out that coloring can actually be beneficial for everyone including adults and children by reducing their stress levels.

Research has shown that coloring tends to generate wellness by stimulating brain areas that is related to creativity. It shows that during the process while you are coloring, two cerebral hemispheres are being activated which involves logic and creativity.

The relaxation that coloring provides lowers the activity in a part of our brain that is involved in controlling emotions which are affected by stress.

It tends to lower stress simply because when we are focusing on coloring, we are placing less focus on our worries. It also is known to take you back to your own childhood when memories show that you lived carefree with hardly any stress.

Therefore it has been revealed that coloring helps to improve your mood, reduce stress and boost your creativity.

Coloring is a fun and engaging way to develop your creativity, your concentration and motor skills while forgetting daily stress.

You can have hours of fun and relaxation with coloring pages.  It helps to keep your spirits up and your mind occupied while staying in during quarantine or in self isolation.  So, get out your crayons, and colored pencils and add color to your life today.