This post was written by BIA contributor Chelsea Becker

March was a crazy month for me! Between being 9 months pregnant, buying our first home (and moving), and planning a maternity leave, it was a lot. And what was unique about this season of busy was that SO much of it was out of my control. Bankers and loans and due dates and clients and all things that made me practice a lot of patience. I starting making mental notes of ways I was doing this (mainly to share with my husband as he has a short fuse) and wanted to share them with you, too!

1. Wait to respond. If at all possible, take a breather and count to 10 before responding to someone (if you’re face to face). If you get an annoying or frustrating email/text, try to sleep on it – or at least wait an hour.
2. For every frustration, list something you’re grateful for. Example: The person in front of you in line is taking foreverrrr. Think about how grateful you are for being able to easily afford whatever it is you’re buying. For the shoes you’re wearing. For the healthy legs standing there, etc. Keep going and it’ll bring things into perspective real quick.
3. Ask yourself, “will this matter a week from now? a year?” Probably not.
4. Start your day with clarity. Whether I take morning me-time or not is night and date to the mental state I’m in that day. Even taking a couple minutes to do this breathing technique or taking 20 to do some self-care sets me up for such a calmer mind – one that lasts all day. On the days that I skip clarity in the morning, I notice I’m on edge all day and a lot more likely to snap.
5. Don’t distract yourself while waiting. This might sound counterintuitive, but I’ve found it to work (I even wrote more about it here). Instead of constantly keeping our minds busy and giving them instant satisfaction aka teaching our minds to need an answer instantly, train it to wait. By grabbing your phone or whatever, you’re simply clogging your head with more information and none of it will actually make you more chilled out. Instead, get it used to being bored and being patient.

Anything to add to the list?