stress

I am poor at managing my stress. I have been working on it for almost two years since I had been getting tension headaches after having Sophie. I thought my headaches were from the posture I held while carrying a baby. Although that was a portion of the problem, the real problem was stress. I would catch myself tensing my jaw even while doing something that was supposed to be relaxing (like coloring or doing my nails). I am still constantly reminding myself to put my shoulders down because they’re almost always up by my ears. I have a great life, being a stay at home mom, having time to be creative and explore new places with my family, but I still get tension headaches.

This move has brought on a whole new level of stress and I’ve had to work overtime on managing my pain. To some, it may seem like I’m pushing aside moving tasks because I’m lazy or procrastinating. In reality, I know my limits and am trying to be proactive about my stress rather than waiting until I’m snapping at my family because of the pain.

Here are my top 5 tips to keeping your move less stressful:

1. Schedule mini-trips to explore your new (or current) town. This is my number one tip, especially if you have children. You should schedule in several days of fun, starting with the packing period all the way through the unpacking period. At least twice per week I took Sophie somewhere fun for an afternoon. We had water park and park fun when we were at the IL house and we’ve now visited the zoo, several museums and the fair here in our IN house. You don’t have to do expensive trips, like museums even. Try going to a splash pad at a park or take a bike ride on a new trail. Visit your library for an activity day or friends and family. We brought our own snacks to a baseball game one evening for family fun.

Once you move into your new home, you’ll feel even more busy and rushed than before. It’s the perfect time to do a day trip to a lake or amusement park so you have no way of working on the house. I was not looking forward to the trip we’d scheduled this past weekend knowing that we’ll be gone for several weekends coming up. The trip to the lake was exactly what each of us needed.

2. Set a bedtime alarm. I heard this tip on Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier and have been loving the concept. Although a morning alarm is very important, so is a night alarm. If you’re working hard at unpacking/organizing/painting or any of the other active jobs associated with moving to a new home, your brain can forget to notice the time. You’ll have a much easier time winding down, having a restful sleep and having an easier morning if you set a bedtime alarm. This doesn’t have to mean going to sleep, but at least getting into bed and turning off devices. Let your brain and body slow down before hitting the pillow.

3. Do yoga or meditation every day. I can honestly say that I am the worst at practicing yoga and meditation. Either I completely forget or have some kind of excuse as to why I can’t take 5-20 minutes practicing these tasks that help me so much. When I stayed at my sister’s we did yoga a few nights one week before bed to unwind. It was amazing. It helped to clear my mind of the 1300 things running through my head and gave attention to my poor body that I’d ran ragged. You may not choose to spend 30-60 minutes working out during your move but you should, at very minimum, get an app to help you do yoga or meditation. I use the free Take a Break app at the beginning of Sophie’s nap for 5-15 minutes to release the pent up stress from the morning’s activities and get my head straight for the power-work I’ll do during her nap. If you don’t have little ones that nap, as soon as you wake up or before bed are great times to use this app.

4. Cook one meal per day. This is one thing we didn’t do and I have regretted. I was in the mindset that I had so much other work in planning/packing that I didn’t want to spend time meal planning, cooking and cleaning dishes, so we ate out a lot. 1. This was not good for our bank account. 2. (Most importantly) this was not good for our bodies. When you’re mind and body are stressed from moving, you need to fuel it with healthy foods so it may perform well. Our bodies were not performing well because of the food we ate which resulted in both of us getting sick. We also gained weight because eating unhealthy and not making exercise our priority caught up with us. Taking time to show your family and your body love by cooking a healthy meal will go a long way during your move.

5. Pamper yourself. This is my favorite stress-reducing tip. Take time to pamper yourself, whether that’s getting a massage or facial at a salon or just doing your own nails and taking a bubble bath at home. Perhaps just taking time for yourself to run outside or see a movie alone is your definition of pampering. There’s no doubt, that if you’re reading this article, you’ve been working really hard during this stressful time. You need to take care of yourself before you’re able to successfully take care of others. Sometimes you just need to put blinders on to the boxes towering around you and do something for yourself. Once you do, you’ll be happier and more energized to knock out your to-do list.

I’ve also made this cute infographic if you’re interested in pinning for your next move!

What have you learned with your previous moves? Has anything in particular worked for helping you to not cry for a week straight or yell at your dog to stop licking you? I can admit that I am less than pleasant when I’m stressed, which is why I must pay a lot of attention to these 5 tips above.