It has been about one month since I’ve started this blog and I’ve learned a lot since: it was a lot more work than I thought it would be. There were lots of new things to grasp and even more to pick up along the way. It’s just another extra thing to tack on to my day: something I could squeeze in the wee hours of my brief spare time.

And a month in, I can say this: I feel like I can’t do it.

It’s not the blog though: this site is just the tip of the iceberg, the straw that may break the camel’s back. This might be just me talking but I’ll say this: I’m no slouch. By nature I’m a workaholic. Even in play, my choices, subconscious or not, are usually centered around thinking, improving, and strategizing. Some days I enjoy sitting back with something easy and mindless (friends make this especially easy), but if I’m left to my own devices, I’m tinkering with something somewhere. The only carrot on the stick I need: progression.

Which is why writing has been a good partner to me.

As I get older though and I’m reaching what is solidly considered adulthood, I find it harder to keep my enthusiasm and my energy back to where it used to be. Prioritizing is even more important than ever. With two jobs, a side project, a budding relationship, a grasp on the full responsibilities of life with the far off future feeling awfully near — I feel like if I were to have a mental breakdown, it would probably be overdue and well deserved. The funny thing is, it never quite feels like I’m stressed out. Only when I realize I’m about to snap at something that wouldn’t usually bother me or I’m craving a bowl of ice cream is when I realize I’m pretty stressed out.

And I really wish I had a good answer to that because it has been happening more often during the last year than I care to admit.

I’m not great on stress relief (my pastimes aren’t relaxing at all), but there are a few things that do work for me: solid sleep, regular exercise, and a good diet. Unfortunately, each one of those things are really easy to forget or allow to get away from me.

But this blog post wasn’t just about ranting my frustrations away. Complaining is for wimps. So in order to get closer to my goals, I plan to take baby steps. And to keep myself accountable, I plan on three concrete mini-goals to keep me at least somewhat in line.

1. Get ready for bed starting at 10PM

It takes time for me to  power down before sleep. If I make sure I get ready by then, then whenever I manage to drift off will be extra sleep for me. I wake at 6:45AM every weekday without fail; though I wish I could do this 7 days in a row, 5 is as much as I can do without needing to repay the inevitable sleep debt I will accrue.

2. Eat a whole piece of fruit and two servings of vegetables daily.

Bonus: yogurt replacing some caloric intake of one of my meals.

I don’t eat completely healthy but I note that I feel much, much better when I do than when I don’t. It also helps me keep my daily calories in check: maintaining my weight is important to me considering how hard I’ve worked to keep it off.

3. Get some sort of physical activity done two times weekly minimum. Aim for 3 to 5 sessions.

The hardest part of a gym routine for me was always getting started. I used to be a gym rat until life and injuries knocked me out of my routine. It’s always a scheduling issue for me too: I’m a morning exerciser but my work schedule generally doesn’t allow me the luxury. Still, I try to squeeze in at least a half hour of jogging or yoga to keep myself going and to keep me nimble.

I by no means am a life guru and I still have much to learn about what really is the healthiest way to live. Considering the choices I’ve made in life though, I know I don’t have an easy way out: there’s no real way to drop everything I’ve built up to now and run. I hope someday I can have a less stressful life in the future, but for now I’d be content in managing myself so that I’m happier living most days than not.

Since I’m so lousy at figuring things out for myself, I’m turning it over to the peanut gallery. Have any other tips for me? What gets you out of your mental pinch? Share it with me in the comments below!