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Whenever I hear the word frazzled I think of Ms. Frizzle. So, lets all us frazzled people get on the magic school bus and be frazzled together! I think Ms. Frizzle is a perfect example of what to do when frazzled. So, here's some ideas/tips from Ms. Frizzle and I.

1. Outfit is everything! Ms. Frizzle is known for her awesome outfits that coordinate with every adventure she goes on. Whenever I have a really stressful situation coming up, I always wear something silly. Yep, silly. This works for many reasons. First, I know not to take myself too seriously. Being too serious all the time is no fun, and doesn't help when you're already stressed. Second, people will usually point out whatever it is that you're wearing and will take you out of the moment for a second, and getting out of the moment is important! During rush at work, I always try to wear some sort of crazy pants, shoes or jewelry. Without fail whenever I am about to have a meltdown, a customer will say, hey, I love your crazy pants, or your socks don't match, is that a dinosaur?! And that moment I get taken away from the stress, laugh at myself, and say why yes, yes it is! 

If you don't want to outright silly, there's other things you can do. If you usually wear tennis shoes, switch it up and wear flats. During stressful moments slip your shoes off and just feel that breeze on your feet for a moment. Switch up your underwear, your bra, wear a funny undershirt that no one else will see. Switching something up clothes wise during stressful situations helps! It gives you something else to focus on, and feel a little special in an otherwise sucky situation. 

2. Stick it to the man! Deep down inside there's a part of us that wants to rebel. And Ms. Frizzle is such a rebel what with all her unauthorized field trips with no permission slips! Why else would the rebel show up in all media? There's just something so, tantalizing about rebellion. At least in my opinion. In stressful situations, I always find some way to rebel, in the smallest way possible. Nothing too big that will get me into trouble, but just enough where I can feel like I've won in some small way. On standardized tests, I'll always throw something unexpected in there, that still relates to the topic. I have fun thinking of a way to rebel and get those creative juices flowing. At work it's usually trying to find something that fits the dress code completely but is still weird. I'll walk in the exit, bring candy, refuse to laugh, show up extra extra early, braid my hair like a little kid, make your paper two sentences short of the requirement. If you can switch the way you look at something as a small act of rebellion, it helps lighten it. 

3. Focus on the little things. No, do not focus on the little things of the situation. Focus on other little things. On a hard day, I got extraordinarily excited about pulling the cable on the bus for my stop. I'd never done that before. On a morning where I was running extremely late for a crazy crazy day, I got excited that Lucky Charms just happened to be the easiest thing to grab, so of course I had to eat them! At work I finally got to meet the IT director of one of the schools who is our least favorite and stressful customer, but I'd never seen him before and I got excited about finally putting a name to a face. Finding little things to be excited about ALWAYS helps, and usually lightens the mood of those around you, which in turn can help you! Ms. Frizzle usually makes herself and the class itty bitty so they can see the itty bitty things of life that you'd never see otherwise. She's always looking for the little beauties. 

If steps 1-3 don't help, then

4. Cry- releasing those emotions always feels better. And even Ms. Frizzle cries. In the form of a raindrop falling from the sky as she demonstrates the water cycle. 

5. Make a list of what is in your control and out of your control- Just like you need to decide the independent and dependent variables in a science experiment, making this list really helps give you perspective. There are things you'll never have control over, and coming to terms with this will take awhile. But, seeing what you do have control over is empowering and helpful. Once you identify what you have control over, make plans of how to deal with those things and those things only. 

6. Realize you're only human. And you bleed when you fall down. You can't get everything done all the time. I'm sorry but it's true. Ms. Frizzle doesn't try to explain friction, and dinosaurs, and photosynthesis all in the same day. It's just not possible! Even with her shrink ray, she knows her limits.  Find yours. 

7. Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy. Some of the best advice I've ever had. I especially love the getting messy part. There's just something freeing about letting it go and getting mud on your feet. 

8. Sing. Screaming is not always the best idea, especially in a public place where people might think you are in danger. But singing is usually socially acceptable. Whenever I am in a panic in the car, where I have a lot of panic for some reason, I sing and sing and sing. Sometimes I even try to implement the advice the coaches on the Voice give to their team to improve my car singing. Ms. Frizzle sings all the time, she sings random phrases, hums, everything can be a song for her.

9. Nerd out. Relate everything to your favorite character from a book or tv. Ask, what would ____ do? Or, this is just like the time when ____ did this and hey, they're alright! Try to make all your weird advice relate to Ms. Frizzle. There's something about knowing another person went through this, or the challenge of relating things to that person that is satisfying.

Being frazzled is part of life and it really stinks. I realize that there a lot more conventional ways to deal with being frazzled as well, but these are ways I've found that help me that other's might not generally think of. Speaking of being frazzled, I finally finished finals so I will be back on the blog now :)