Stuck in survival mode?

If you have kids, a career, and you make a ton of decisions for your family, then you likely feel overwhelmed a lot — especially if you’re not getting enough help from your partner.

Being stuck in “survival mode” for a while can leave you feeling so overwhelmed and exhausted that you barely have the energy to keep your head above water.

You know that if you had more time and energy, you could sleep more, exercise more, and take more time for yourself and then you’d feel a heck of a lot better.

Unfortunately, you don’t have that time and space, so you do what you can and hope that eventually your partner will step up and give you some breathing room.

But the truth is that you don’t have to wait for partner’s help to break this vicious cycle -- you can give yourself breathing room by caring for yourself in small but meaningful ways.

These small acts won’t replace a full night’s sleep, but they can give you enough energy to look at your schedule and book a spin class, or plan an afternoon where your family can watch your kids — so you can take a real break.

So here are 15 easy ways to ground yourself that take less than 15 minutes. You don’t have to leave your house for any of them and as a bonus, most of them can be done while you’re hiding from your kids in the bathroom.

1. Meditate

2. Take deep breaths

3. Draw a picture

4. Listen to music

5. Listen to an audio book

6. Read a book chapter

7. Watch a YouTube video

8. Stretch

9. Do bodyweight exercises

10. Savor a snack (maybe chocolate?)

11. Drink water

12. Play a phone game (maybe Marvel Snap?)

13. Close your eyes in bed or a chair

14. Work on a project around the house that you’re excited about

15. Call a friend or loved one to say hi

Try one or two and let me know how it feels.

-Matt