Recently, my friends and I have gotten into coloring book breaks. What I mean is, instead of watching an episode on Netflix (because we all know, it is never just one episode on Netflix), we color a page in a coloring book. We each have our own coloring books and colored pencils/markers/crayons. Not to mention that it makes a good gift idea for people of all ages, if you happen to have an upcoming birthday that you might have forgotten until the last minute.

I found that coloring is fun to do with friends because you can all laugh about the pictures. Your friends can help you decide which picture to color and what color to use. It also doesn't take a ton of brain power, so you are all free to talk and chat about things while you work. It also gives everyone a sense of accomplishment to have a finished piece of art. I love looking at a finished page in my coloring books and seeing how my friends' pieces turned out, too.

Coloring a page can also be helpful if you have trouble with taking short breaks from work. You can set limits for yourself. Such as you will color this part once you finish half of your math homework, and then this other section once you've finished the rest. It is smaller pieces and you are less likely to get distracted or absorbed in something, as you would on Facebook or Netflix. And, by the end, not only will you have all of your homework done, but you will also have completed a page in your coloring book. I have been feeling more accomplished when I see that not only did I get all my work done, but I also did something for me. I wasn't just working until I dropped; I also did some coloring too.

Coloring can also be done without homework or friends. Late at night when I am stressed and exhausted and just don't have the brain power to read a book or watch something on TV before going to bed, it's nice to be able to just recline and relax as I work my way through another page in my coloring book. I don't even have to finish coloring it before I sleep; I can just set it aside whenever I'm tired, with no need to press save or find a bookmark.

There are hundreds of types and themes of coloring books out there. Just in my friend group, we have Prism Designs, Japanese Designs, Harry Potter, Dapper Animals, other animal ones I don't remember the name of, Unicorn Cartoons, Patterns, Circle Designs, and more. I know there are many YA books that have coloring books, and there is an endless variety of pattern style books. If you want to see how coloring works for you, just go to your local Walmart, Michaels, or really almost any store should have at least one, and flip through the pages. If you like a lot of the pictures, snatch it up and give coloring a try!