What do you do for stress relief?

[anythingtwice]

I play rugby, so I get to run and hit people! We just started practicing again and it feels soooo gooood, especially since I was knocked out by an injury halfway through last season. At home, I play with my kitties and my dog, and read anything that's not related to class. And sleep. So far I've only had one breakdown, and that was before rugby started up again! Yay!

[Genomic Repairman]

I'm part of a group of grad students that formed a co-ed paintball team and we play once a month or every other month in all day tournaments. However we come back with horrible bruises on the Monday after tournaments but its fun to get away from the lab, drink beer, and bullshit for a while.

[BionicKris]

Read completely brainless novels. I go through about a dozen per week.

Wow! You're going through a PhD program in the sciences and you have time to read about 12 brainless novels a week? What school are you at and how do it get in! I can only hope to have that much time to read.

[liszt85]

Wow! You're going through a PhD program in the sciences and you have time to read about 12 brainless novels a week? What school are you at and how do it get in! I can only hope to have that much time to read.

She said "go through".. you know what that means, that's what we sometimes do for classes when we have too much on our plates. We "go through" papers assigned for the week so that we get the gist of things..

[jlee306]

Read completely brainless novels. I go through about a dozen per week.

How do you have time for that? I would love to be able to do that! I save all my fun reading for Christmas and Summer breaks! I know if I bought a fun book, I would no put it down when it came time to do work.

[jlee306]

I am a long distance runner, I get out there and just run and run and run! It's great for clearing my mind, gives me energy to do more school work, and is great exercise. I also do some of the exercise classes the school provides for free to the students such as "fat burner cycle," "hard core abs," and "stretch and tone." Fun stuff!

[NorthernStar]

I chain smoke.

[Medievalmaniac]

I jog or swim. I play with my daughters. But, sadly, the most relaxing thing I do, and my favorite stress relief, is...more reading in medieval subjects, or more research for my projects, or more writing. That's not a joke, I actually am that pathetic, or blessed, dependent upon your view of it - I am one of the people out there who doesn't just have the job - I AM the job. It's my work, my hobby, my passion, and my first love, all rolled into one. Which is why not getting into a funded program sucks so much - I just really want to do the work, because it's not just my work, it's also my fun, and if I'm not doing it in some aspect - I honestly don't feel like I have anything I want to do!

[wahineilikea]

Yoga, reading People and US in the checkout line, going to a live show and dancing like a madwoman, hanging out with people who aren't in grad school (extremely important!!!) surfing, and of course, orgasms don't hurt AT ALL.

[liszt85]

orgasms don't hurt AT ALL.

Hey, what do you do for stress relief?

I do (get) orgasms.

Nice. Your boyfriend must be really encouraging and supportive of your research work.

[UnlikelyGrad]

How do you have time for that? I would love to be able to do that! I save all my fun reading for Christmas and Summer breaks! I know if I bought a fun book, I would no put it down when it came time to do work.

I read fast, about 200 pages an hour (or about 1 brainless novel/hour). I commute by bus; that's at least half of my brainless novels right there. I frequently read myself to sleep, too. And I always read while I eat breakfast and lunch.

Very little potentially productive time is sacrificed for reading.

[jlee306]

I read fast, about 200 pages an hour (or about 1 brainless novel/hour). I commute by bus; that's at least half of my brainless novels right there. I frequently read myself to sleep, too. And I always read while I eat breakfast and lunch.

Very little potentially productive time is sacrificed for reading.

WOW! That is a lot of pages in an hour!! That is awesome! I remember timing myself way back in jr. high to see how fast I could read and it was about 10 pages in a novel per 30 minutes....sad and slow, I know! I really do not think I have improved that much even as someone who will be starting grad school in the fall. Although, when I find I book I love, I will not put it down until I am through with it...even if that means I read straight from the morning I bought it til 3 a.m. the next morning. This, I suppose, is the reason I only allow myself to read for fun on my school breaks.

[Roll Right]

I make so many typos in my posts. It drives me nuts.

[lovethequestions]

I've started taking Saturdays off. The whole day. I end up sleeping 12-14 hours of it, usually, but having a whole day to cook things (which is a big stress relief for me) and watch "How I Met Your Mother" and take walks is so much better for me than trying to do even 3-4 hours of work on Saturday and 4-6 hours on Sunday.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

World of Warcraft (seriously)

[Squawker]

"Anyway, I'm married, so I take my wife to the ballet, out to movies, restaurants, etc. We are going to a party in a few hours from now."

I want a husband who takes me to the ballet! Ah well, good thing there will be no time for that in my future then, since it looks unlikely anyway.

I haven't read a novel for pleasure since I started college. Actually that's a lie, I read one that someone lent to me (so I was then obligated to read it) but I don't know if that even counts because it was written by a professor in my field and was pretty much just about all the stuff I study. In high school I read novels all the time, even to the point of being "that weird girl who sits by herself reading at break time." No more, sadly. I read all day for my coursework, so the idea of sitting down with yet another book during my rare blips of free time just doesn't really jive with my lifestyle. I fantasize about being one of those old retired guys in their smoking jackets who sit around drinking whisky and reading presidential memoirs. Someday!

I do work out a lot though, after 20 years of only working out when forced to do so in P.E. classes. I also cook a lot, which takes up a considerable part of my day.