It's gonna be Mental!

I can not even being to tell you how tired I am. I am barely able to even make sentences. It's weird though, I'm not physically tired. In fact, I'm hitting my step counts everyday and I'm going going going with high energy (though I do need to cut back on the Dr. Pepper!) and a smile. I have a wonderful family, a studly husband, a job I love. And yet, the past week and a half I find myself sitting on the edge of my bed at trying to figure out what I was doing. Just yesterday I walked the hallways 4 times on a mission, only to return to the bench outside my office completely unaware of what the mission was (My bladder let me know after the 4th that I'd better hurry haha!). My only conclusion last night as I stared at my Christmas tree was this: I'm mentally exhausted.

I know a lot of you can relate to this feeling. Whether it's from your job or life is just knocking you plumb in the mouth, mental exhaustion is a real real thing. Our brains are so fascinating and complex, but they too get stretched to the max and need a break. In the last couple weeks, I've found myself making small mental errors in my job that I would not normally make, but I know it's because I'm brain tired. I even found myself just today sitting at my desk starring across at a couple of boys thinking "why are they in here again?!"

The trick to the tired brain is in what we do in the small moments of down time, and unfortunately that means we need to power down. I found this great article in one of my RSS feeds on what to do when you get mentally exhausted. Check it out...seriously. You'll thank me.

A couple of things that I do to power down:
1. Listen to music.
2. Walk my sweet pups
3. I put my phone on silent while I watch my favorite movie. This forces me to only focus on one thing at a time.
4. I don't take myself seriously very often. I tell jokes a lot. (much to the groans of my family and coworkers). I mean who doesn't love a great "there are two muffins in an oven" joke?!
5. I am practicing the art of being present.
6. I go to bed. No phone, no lights, sometimes the tv in the background, but mostly just quiet. It can be so soothing for the brain.

As many of our lives revolve around holidays this time of year, I encourage you to find those small moments and power down. That way your brain can rest, and you can continue to be the Jedi you were destined to be, or the Wookie take your pick. Super excited for the new Star Wars by the way, and 'it's gonna be mental!'