On days when I’m dealing with too much sensory overload, caffeine isn’t jiving well with my body, or it seems like schoolwork is causing the slow decay of my mental health, I turn to three specific things that I love––three things that generally keep me distracted for a while, or at least until things seem to calm down a bit.

1. Making collages

Flipping through and tearing out magazine clippings is one of the most physically satisfying things for me. I don’t always have a theme in mind––sometimes I just block things together, judging by color or tonal similarities, or just what calms me aesthetically. I usually shoot for “Time” or “National Geographic” magazines - those give me the most appealing and colorful landscape photos to work with.

I’m not a visual artist, and I’d rarely ever consider showing off the finished products, but I have an entire cardboard box filled with collages that sum up moods from my middle school, high school, and college years. Some scream “angsty teenager,” while others remind me of happier and less chaotic times. I like to smooth the surfaces with modge podge, adding glossy finishes to each image I glue down. Sometimes the glue looks uneven and sloppy, but I’m okay with that. It’s the process that ultimately helps transform me mentally.

2. Cooking

I’m still a beginner, but I get wayyy too enthusiastic from whipping up the simplest things. I like being in the kitchen because it’s a way to break up the day; it’s kind of a form of productive procrastination. For the most part, I like to improvise based on what we have in the fridge. Yes, a lot of the time I shop for specific items ahead of time, but on busy weeknights, I kind of just wing it.

There’s an element of anticipation with cooking that really excites me. Either the food is going to turn out pretty well, or it’s going to suck...I look forward to that unpredictable end result. Lately, my easy and quick go-to recipes have been different variations of rice bowls, veggie quesadillas, and chili recipes. Nothing’s perfect, and I’m okay with that––I just like the fact that by the end, no matter how good it tastes, I’ve created something.

3. Writing lists

Whether it’s keeping track of my goals for the week, or writing out reasons for gratitude and smaller moments of happiness, making lists is definitely a calming activity for me. I’m not referring to pros and cons lists, or charts to help me weigh out major life decisions, but just little ways to organize my thoughts as they come to me.

One of my major fears is forgetting milestones and experiences throughout my life, so in some ways, creating lists allows me to map out events, passions, relationships, and certain emotional phases. I’m also kind of a pen freak, and I like to color coordinate with my gel pens. I carry a notebook with me everywhere I go, so whenever I need a distraction or outlet for my words, I’m prepared. Sometimes I even keep specific listing journals, sort of like bullet journals, in order to add a level of consistency to my writing.

After I’ve spent so much time pouring my ideas out onto the page, it’s also nice to go back and reference my lists as reminders––they become tools to help me relax.