| Relax with intent. Relax with the sole purpose of relaxing. Meditation would be the extreme case, I think. No scrolling, no consuming media. Do something that involves little mental or physical capacity, but provides some holisitic benefit. Things that make you feel good on the whole. In summary, do something where the point is to do it in order to relax, and not for any other point at all. Remove all mental load of stress about outcomes and instead immerse yourself in the present moment of relaxation. Some methods that seem to work for myself and others are a good walk or a journaling session. A physical notebook to write in can be a bit more holistic than typing an entry into a keyboard. It can be hard to start, I just start with "captains log", then a date, and then my stream of thoughts. Playing with small manipulatives can be good fun as well. Lego, K'nex, etc. I hear some people like painting models. Playing an instrument is also fantastic. Guitar is absurdly simple to learn the basics of (a servicable one can be had at a pawn shop or amazon for reasonably cheap), and then it's just a matter of grabbing some sheet music and practicing. If you let go of how good you actually sound, and instead assign value to the act of practicing, it is a great way to refresh. Another great way is to read. A good book and a cup of tea is a very relaxing experience. I'll note that this should be pleasure reading, and not technical reading. |