As we head into the holidays, a joyous time that can also be stressful due to the sheer amount of stuff that needs doing, I’m finding my own stress level ramping up. And it’s got me thinking.
Are we addicted to stress?
Here’s where I’m coming from. I’m a writer with a day job. That means that (like most of you, no doubt) I always have multiple projects and to-dos on the go, and a certain amount of stress is unavoidable. But I’m also a worrier with some compulsive tendencies. I’m always setting myself extra projects, or goals I can’t meet, and then stressing out when I inevitably fail.
For example, last month I had a goal of 50 hours of editing on my novel-in-progress — my own version of NaNoWriMo. I only hit 28 hours. Which is way short, but it’s also a pace that I’d be happy with during any month but NaNo. But I spent all month stressing and trying to push myself to work harder and pushing back because I need a fair amount of downtime for mental health and no amount of pushing can change that.
This month I have Turtleduck Press’s next novel in my inbox to edit (in my capacity as Chief Editor, Esq.), plus I need to write the next installment of my serial story, plus it’s Christmas. So what do I do? The moment December hits, I embark on a top-secret time-consuming Christmas project that has to be finished practically before I started in order to maybe arrive before Christmas.
And when I don’t have anything better to stress about, I fixate on my TBR shelf or its overflow form, the TBR list. Because heaven forbid I should be, y’know, relaxed.
Does any of this sound familiar?
There’s a silver lining: my expectations for the holidays are fairly low. I don’t bake a million things or decorate to the nines, I’ve mostly quit sending cards, and for once I’ve got most of my shopping done already. Which means I can spend the holidays relaxing and enjoying my friends and family.
At least that’s the plan.
(And that top-secret project? It’s done, at least from my end. Now all I have to do is wait. Um, yay?)
How do you cope with stress and/or the holidays?