Cutting the grass
It was mentioned in this section that the top two sources of feeling disorganized (stressed in my book) are a messy house or an unkempt yard. I believe this completely as I always feel a lot better after I finish cutting and trimming my yard, it's clean and organized and it makes me happy. I know that it's going to keep growing and I know that I'll have to cut it again but the feeling of accomplishment and calm after cutting the grass is a good one. This same sense of accomplishment is hard to achieve with other ongoing tasks because, I believe, there is not the same sensory reward at the completion of any other task. If you can't visualize a fresh cut lawn and the smell that goes with it then I feel sorry for you. Do you reward yourself for completing ongoing tasks at work or at home and if so, what do you do?
Nathan
Pat yourself on the back when your students respond well to the lesson you prepared and led today. Not only did it look good on paper, but the students performed well. It is also rewarding to see them perform in the workplace.
I find that the yard is a good place to unwind. I have almost two Acers to mow and I have both a rider and a push mower. On high stress weeks I find the push mower more relaxing because I get excursive and time to think. The riding mower is nice for weekends where my wife doesn't work and we can spend time together unwinding.
Good point. I seldom stop and "smell the grass" that I just cut. I'm pretty hard on myself and it has been adding alot of stress this year. This is something that I will work on this coming year.
Srey, It's healthy to enjoy the fruits of our labor and pat ourselves on the back every now and then. Why not start now?
Dr. Melissa Read
