If your 9 to 5 job is anything like mine, it can be quite stressful at times, but even if you’re a full-time writer you may occasionally find yourself overwhelmed by all the tasks on your plate.
With all the writing, editing, social content creation, marketing, ledger keeping, production issues regarding covers, audio, and so forth, there sometimes aren’t enough hours in the day.

5 Great Ways to Keep Calm and Keep Writing

1. Keep Your Eyes on the Finish Line
   Focus on the goal and just work on one thing at a time to reach that goal. Multitasking is a great skill to have, but there are times when you need to chop out all distractions and focus on your deadlines.
   Put away all the other manuscripts, turn off the ringer on your phone, lock yourself in your office and focus on that one thing that must be done right now.
   
2. Keep Breathing
   Slow, deep breathing improves oxygen saturation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces anxiety. If you start to feel overwhelmed, take a minute to close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths.
   Slowly breathe in through your nose for the count of four, feeling your lungs and chest expand. Then exhale out your nose for another slow count of four.
   
3. Keep Laughing
   They say that laughter is the best medicine. Studies have shown that laughter reduces the amount of stress hormones in your body and increases the feel-good endorphins. Laughter has also been proven to connect people.
   If you’re having a stressful day at work, sharing a funny meme or story might help reduce that stress a little.
   For writers, reading a funny story might work. If you’re feeling especially creative, try working a funny moment into your manuscript so you can offer your reader a good laugh too!
   
4. Keep Realistic Expectations
   Set realistic expectations for yourself. Be aware of how much you are actually capable of writing within any given time and don’t expect to best those records.
   Also, be aware of writer’s block and give yourself some slack if you’re having difficulty coming up with the right words. If you often struggle with writer’s block, give yourself extra time to reach your goals.
   The important thing is to own your truth and not expect more than you know you can realistically produce.
   
5. Keep Communications Open (talk and listen)
   Research shows that a quick ten-minute chat on a light-hearted or social topic can boost executive function, the type of mental agility which helps us solve problems.
   A great work strategy might be to take a quick break once an hour to answer a quick chat or share a joke with a friend.
   Just make sure that you keep these breaks short and sweet, so you don’t cut into your deadline goals and cause yourself additional stress.

_{CelesteHall.com}