Tag: stress

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The Writing Life: Vicissitudes

The writing life has its ups and downs. As I was closing up shop yesterday, my editor, Gari Strawn of strawnediting.com, noted, “It’s been a week of a day.”

Amen, sister! Yesterday felt like Thwart Day. Whatever could go wrong, did.

First, I discovered that Google Docs can’t be trusted. Editorial changes we’d made to a book I’m doctoring did not necessarily take (as detailed today on my writing blog, Chazzwrites.com.)

But the hijinx didn’t end there. Besides getting a new word processing platform together for the editorial team’s collaboration, my internet connectivity became sketchy. (See that, right there? That’s what you call foreshadowing, partner.)

Working furiously to meet a deadline, other projects I thought I was going to get to faster had to be pushed further back. Not happy about that, but to pay the bills, the writing life often has to be about short-term and long-term.

My son’s PC crapped out on him so I consulted (AKA did the heavy looking on as he poked through the machine’s innards). I nodded sagely as he diagnosed the need for a new power supply.

Which got me thinking, when was the last time I did a full manual backup of my computers?

Backup

I once belonged to a writing group where some odd questions were often posed. Most memorable: “Who here writes with a quill pen?” Settle down, d’Artagnan. Write or type, but don’t be so precious and extra.

My son’s computer issues spurred me to be more proactive about the health of my desktop and laptop. Both are climbing into the age where they are antiques. It was past time to protect them better. I’d used Sophos before. This time, I installed AVG tuneup on both machines and eliminated many gigabytes of duplicate and useless files. Then I did a full backup, updates and virus scan. The process took some time, but it was inexpensive. It felt good to clean up my babies. My living does depend on their health, after all.

Finding balance

The writing life isn’t just about tickling brains, sly jokes, and meteoric wordplay. Because my brain navigates a meatwagon through the world, I’m also trying to find balance for my health. Despite some all-nighters recently (because of looming deadlines and tech glitches I couldn’t plan for) I try to stop work by 9 pm. After that, my brain is too overstimulated and I’ll be up for the night. Though the day had been an example of Murphy’s Law, I made time to go on a long walk with She Who Must Be Obeyed. Sometimes that’s the only time we have for long talks, as well.

I’ve gone back to vegan eating. There’s a long theory about the relationship between ingestion, temperature, and sleep, but the short answer is, for me, more vegan = less insomnia. Since I’ve gone vegan, my energy is up and I’m not schlumping around like a wounded animal quite as much.

I even made time to give myself a haircut last night. I shave it tight on the sides. Any tighter and I’d look like I have mange. It’s kind of a Peaky Blinders vibe.

Despite yesterday’s frustrations, it turned out better by the end. I’m more calm than I might otherwise be. Thwart Day was tough, but I was determined to make today better.

Then the internet totally crapped out on us this morning.

Thor…damn…it.

And so … we begin again. When I mention my frustrations to a friend, he always comes back with how much harder he has it. I’m not sure whether he’s bragging or complaining, but he’s not wrong. There are vicissitudes, but the writing life is still pretty sweet compared to all my other options.

Breathe. Repeat. Continue.

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Managing Pandemic Stress

Do The Thing SMALLER
To order: mybook.to/DoTheThing

Someone once asked me what my books were about. 

“What? You mean…all of them?”

“Yeah. Like, is there a central theme to all your work?”

That put me back on my heels for a moment, but I came up with something. It’s this:

Whether I’m writing science fiction, apocalyptic novels, or crime thrillers, it’s always about the drama of closing the space between how things are and how they ought to be.

This, my friends, is why fiction is better than non-fiction. Fiction has to make more sense than reality. Looking around, much of our new reality fails to make sense. The entire world is under quarantine and the economy is unplugged. Mismanagement abounds. Some policy failures seem indistinguishable from actively trying to kill the disenfranchised. Nope, not kidding. If you count yourself among the disadvantaged, you feel that punch in your heart, head, and guts.

Okay, okay! We get it, Rob! Things are bad. What’s your point?

My dad will turn 94 this year. He often says, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” I understand his culture shock, but our existential dread is not unique. The difference now is that more people face existential dread of the same thing simultaneously.

If you’ve ever waited by the phone for test results from a doctor, you recognize this awful sensation. If you’re feeling bored, unproductive, overstimulated, under-stimulated, sad, angry or depressed, you’re not alone. The poor or differently-abled often feel trapped and frustrated, much like this. Many people feel as you do and this is not new to them. Even under normal circumstances, many have difficulty leaving their homes and moving about freely for a variety of reasons. Want to take a ride just to get out of the house? Okay. Lots of people can’t afford cars. A ride on a bus, if there is public transport, can be dangerous.

My point is not that you shouldn’t complain.

Vent if you need to do so. Your feelings are valid. Your broken toe doesn’t feel better because someone else gets their leg amputated. I spread my sympathy around everywhere without holding back.

I want to make a more subtle point:


For all of us, each day dealing with COVID-19 is one more straw atop the camel’s back (and that poor camel’s knees are trembling). For me, it’s the helplessness that gets to me. If you aren’t classified as an essential worker, your job in the pandemic is to do nothing but stay home. Doing nothing is very much akin to helplessness. I want it fixed. I want to fix it. I want people to survive and thrive. I’m sure you do, too. For most of us, we are playing a waiting game. Failing to wait can be deadly, so this is a game we don’t want to lose. The stakes are high and, like you, I’m feeling that nervy pain daily.

So it’s time to revisit something from Do the Thing.

In stressful situations, we’re biologically programmed to flee, fight or freeze. Those could be more useful responses when our species was hunted by evil clowns riding Bengal tigers through primordial jungles.* That’s probably less helpful here.

To better cope with our stress, we want choices, not automatic and autonomic responses.

Here are your choices using 3A Stress Management

In any stressful situation, you choose from the Alter/Avoid/Accept Triad. 

  1. Alter: Change the frame and circumstance if and where you can. Make isolation more pleasant. Find helpful, happy and healthy distractions.

    And ask for support.

  2. Avoid: Get away from threats to your physical and mental health where possible (i.e. masks, physical distancing, isolation, etc.)

    And ask for support.

  3. Accept: Don’t try to control that which is beyond your control.

    And ask for support.

    I hope you find 3A stress management helpful. This is me, still trying to close the distance between an Ought and an Is, even in non-fiction. If you’re searching for more stress management ideas, check out Do the Thing.

Much love and be well!

Rob

* What? Nobody ever told you about the evil clowns riding Bengal tigers through primordial jungles? Jeez. Read a science book, will ya?!

Mental note: Silly jokes can help, too.

cropped-Photo-Credit-to-David-Redding.jpg

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Your limit for today

I just left the following message with a friend. Then I thought I should share it here, as well.

Good evening. This is your mental health and morale officer checking in. This is to remind you that your limit on the number of times you can scream at someone today is five. As the situation evolves, that number may be reevaluated and adjusted upward. For today, your number is five.*

Cry all you want as necessary so the steam pressure doesn’t blow a gasket.

Much love to you all and have a good day.

*Please note: Less screaming is better.

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Overload: How to deal with stress, burnout and all kinds of trouble.

Overload. Overload. OVERLOAD!

This month has been a roller coaster as I got my daughter off to university and dealt with unexpected financial issues. When I say, “overload,” we’re talking sleepless nights, endless evaluation and reiteration. Rent for my business had to be renegotiated and that back and forth still isn’t finalized after weeks. 

How is this relevant to the podcast? In this episode, we dive into:

  1. a fun story,
  2. recognizing overload and burnout, and
  3. dealing with the physical symptoms of mental stress.

Want plenty more strategies to deal with overload?

Get the book full of stress-busting tips: 

Want to support the podcast?

Please toss this podcast (and my books!) a five-star review wherever you get ’em. I need the money and attention.

Click the BECOME A PATRON link at AllThatChazz.com to get lots of nifty rewards. Special thanks to patron of the arts, reader and listener, RF Kacy for his contribution. Cheers, mate!

Happy Distractions

Every time I publish a podcast, I like to curate cool stuff to help you distract yourself where appropriate. (Yes, I mean don’t watch porn while you drink and drive.) This week, when you need a little stress relief, I suggest you check out Atypical on Netflix.

After binge watching Preacher, I was on the lookout for something to help me cool my jets. Atypical is great! It’s about a teenager on the spectrum who is trying to enter the dating world. It’s sweet and funny. I also love the family dynamics.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is annoying in just the right way and Michael Rappaporte is the fumbling dad who wears his heart on his sleeve. There are a few quick, funny and memorable lines between those two that tell you everything you need to know about the strains in their marriage. Atypical is killer. Watch it when you can.

On the other hand, is your life full of too many distractions? I talked about that, too. Here’s the link to that podcast episode! Click here.

The Obligatory Disclaimer:
I’m a writer and a massage therapist. Don’t take health advice from a podcast. The All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. I do this to help, not harm. Use at own risk. Do your own research. Beware of alligators. Your mother dresses you funny!

Cheers!

~ Chazz

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Motivation: Don’t work so hard at the wrong things.

Motivation: What’s Yours? What works?

A comment about motivation being “all that matters” really got me going this week. It didn’t motivate me. It irritated me. Worse, it was in the first line of a self-help book. I suspect there are many self-help books out there that intimidate or try to shame people into fulfilling their dreams. 

I wrote a self-help book and I want to dispel a couple of ideas that are potentially dangerous. My book is called Do the Thing! It’s filled with tricks and tips to manage time and pain, cut stress and boost energy. Toward the end of the book, I include a surprise which I will boil down to the rich creamy point here: motivation is not everything. Work is not everything. To succeed, you need much more than motivation and someone hanging over your shoulder shouting at you to work harder. You need to work smarter, acquire skills, build alliances and take time off to recharge.

You see the symptoms of the rush to greatness everywhere. People are pushing so hard and trying to do too much. I see the problem on Facebook a lot. Idealized versions of our lives are on display there.

Meanwhile, a startling number of people think they’re the only ones who are working hard. They don’t want to support loafers. They don’t want their tax money going to undeserving people. I wish more people who got social assistance actually could goof off. Instead, their working as many hours at Walmart as they can. The “sharing economy” is really the “gig economy” and it seems everyone has to have a side hustle to get by.

I was reminded of this listening to one of my podcast recommendations this week. The 5 A.M. Miracle mastermind Jeff Sanders has a health scare. He’s a motivated, active and healthy guy who got a wake up call recently. A trip to the hospital in an ambulance reminded him that all work and no play makes Jack a dead boy. Listen to Mr. Sanders’ podcast here.

The other podcast recommendation I have for you this week comes from The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe interviewed journalist and documentarian Sebastian Junger. He talks about the dangers of affluence and the importance of movement and being social. (That’s where I got some of the ideas for this episode.) Go to the source at this link.

Key Question: What’s your motivation?

Is you dream to find fulfilling work? To control your time? To travel? To make enough money at what you love that you’ll still have time with your family and friends? (Don’t tell me you want to win the lottery. We all want that but, aside from buying a ticket, there’s nothing you can do to make that happen.)

Fear, anger and spite can get you going, but what will keep you motivated for the long-term? What inspires aspiration in you? What legacy do you want to leave? Are you working for security in retirement, putting off all fun until you’re old? 

I’ll tell you what motivates me. It used to be fear of failure. Once you fail enough, that’s not as scary as you might think. In fact, if I’m not careful, I could fall into resignation on that score. No, what motivates me now is that I don’t want to fear bills. I don’t want to fear for my health. I want to get paid for what I’m good at and do what I enjoy. I’m tired of being fearful. What motivates me as an entrepreneur and as an artist isn’t bravery. It’s becoming successful enough that I can do things for my family and not live in fear of the next VISA bill. 

I’m working on it. Despite that major tax bill I’ve complained about on the podcast, (Hear about that here,) I’m taking some time off from a couple of my side gigs so I can focus on writing and publishing books. That’s my long-term plan so I can retire from manual labor, anyway. That’s why I need to concentrate my energy on it. 

I hope this topic has stimulated your thinking. What motivates you? Are you doing what you need to be doing? Are you getting enough sleep and recharging with rest and information?

Let me know what motivates you in the comments at AllThatChazz.com.

Want to support this podcast by helping out with bandwidth costs? There are rewards for doing so! To earn stunning kickbacks for your generosity, click the Become a Patron link at AllThatChazz.com.

Here’s the direct link to my Patreon page.

Special thanks to RF Kacy for helping out with bandwidth costs.

~ Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist whose focus is stress management and rehabilitation from injury. His clinic link is MassageTherapyScience.com.

Best known for This Plague of Days, he is a writer of SFF, horror, crime thrillers and some non-fiction. His blog about writing is ChazzWrites.com and his author site for readers (with links to all his books) is AllThatChazz.com.

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Sensory Deprivation

Sensory deprivation tanks and more


If you have ever wanted to float on your back in the Dead Sea or get out of gravity and become an astronaut, you’re going to love today’s podcast. Sensory deprivation tanks are slowly growing in popularity again. If you can get to one, or if you are Joe Rogan and are lucky enough to have one in your basement, it might help you with stress, sleep disorders or even chronic pain.

On today’s podcast I discuss my experience using sensory deprivation tanks. I also want to say little bit about stress relief, vegging out and watching old movies. Finally, I have an update on the latest addition to the SleepCycle app.

Sorry for the delay releasing this ep of the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. Between some issues with technology and broadband costs, I could not publish a podcast last week. To contribute to this podcast, please click the “Become a patron” button at AllThatChazz.com. There are various rewards for sponsorship from free books to advertising.

Catch Phrase Contest

This podcast is still desperately in need of a catchphrase to finish the show. Send me your suggestions at expartepress@gmail.com. The winner will get a free paperback copy of Do the Thing!

Here is the obligatory disclaimer:

Do not take medical advice from a podcast. If you need medical attention or if you are not sure whether you need medical attention, get medical attention.

The obligatory come on:

On this podcast I discuss a variety of topics related to reducing pain and stress while better managing time and energy. For more on these topics, I suggest you pick up my book Do the Thing, available on Amazon in paperback or e-book. Do the thing and start managing your life better right away. It is the last stress busting book you will ever need.

Life management skills.
Do the Thing! Get your copy today.

~ Robert Chazz Chute is primarily a science fiction writer. He also writes crime thrillers, urban fantasy and some nonfiction. From May 4 to May 6 you can pick up his time travel novel, Wallflower, for free on Amazon.

 

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Vacations: Problems, Solutions and More Questions to Consider

Is it time for your next vacation? What if you can’t afford a vacation. Pop quiz, hotshot! What do you do? What do you do? (I love me a very dated reference from the movie Speed. Such a dumb, fun movie! Also, it was the last time Jeff Daniels was badass in a physical way.)

Sorry for the delay in releasing this podcast. After updating my software, my computer is screwing up in a huge way! Onward!

On this week’s show, we consider your alternatives to a tropical vacation. Staycations are, of course, an option for many. But maybe you can’t afford that, either. When tax season rolls around, I’m cranky for just that reason: I have to work harder to make sure I can pay the government’s bill on time.

Here’s the vacation information we cover on this show:

  1. Cheaper alternatives (camping, staycations and day trips.)
  2. Enjoying what you’ve got (be a tourist in your own town.)
  3. Don’t vacate and save the stress.
  4. Vacating might mean more work and more stress. Make your work more pleasant instead.
  5. Get a new job, retire into part-time work, seek fulfillment or wait for a universal minimum wage.

Finally I discuss the value of work and The Dirty Jobs conundrum. (Host of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe, is the name that escaped me as I was recording this podcast. Sorry to Mike and his fans.) There’s the work we have to do, the work we want to do and the work in between the extremes. It’s a lot to cover in 15 minutes or less!

Catch phrase Contest

This podcast needs a catch phrase. Got a suggestion for the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast? Snd your suggestions my way at expartepress@gmail.com. If I choose yours to end the show each week, you’ll get bragging rights, a shout out and I’ll send you a paperback of my time travel novel, Wallflower, or a hard copy of Do the Thing! Your choice!

Want more Reward Choices?

Check out my Patreon page to see all the rewards that sponsorship gets you! Just click the Become a Patron button at AllThatChazz.com and see what you can get for being cool.

Not everybody has the money to give money so please leave a review wherever you picked up this podcast! Cheers!

The Obligatory Disclaimer

I wrote Do the Thing! for anyone interested in better managing their time, pain, stress and energy. I podcast each week for the same reason. However, don’t take medical advice from a podcast. For that, you need in person help from a professional. If you’re in doubt as to whether you require assistance in person, ask your doctor in person. No podcast can replace a proper professional health consultation. So there.

Do the Thing! is Robert’s book about many facets of better life management. It’s packed with tons of helpful ideas and points to ponder on the toilet. Available in ebook and paperback. 

A former journalist, Robert Chazz Chute is a manual therapist with 24 years experience helping people ease stress and rehabilitate pain issues. He’s also the author of many books of fiction. Check out his sci-fi, crime thrillers and apocalyptic epics at AllThatChazz.com.