While I am building the next thing that will CHANGE THE WORLD, I am also holding down a day job (please, no quiturjob speeches/zuckerberg stories). The effort I am on is-- challenged (that's PC-ese for effed up). I challenge myself every day to make a positive difference, find ways to create value and efficiency (because they go together), and commit to being positively impactful. My job challenges me too. 19 months into an effort and 100s of emails and slide decks to identify and resolve licensing issues later, I get a new email that says, effectively, that all of the license issues resolved over the last 19 months were a lie. This, on the day before determining the fielding schedule. Licenses for the OS, I might add. THE OS!!!! You know, that thing that you HAVE TO HAVE or none of the other licensed stuff presents an issue. I would like to just keep swimming - away -- but now is not the time. I would like to blow a gasket to relieve my upset. But that would be unprofessional and ultimately, ineffective. And once I got started I probably wouldn't stop until hours later. After polishing off some top shelf tequila. At a place where I could dance. With myself. or Billy Idol. If he still drinks and dances.

So, I ping my buddy on IM with this:

how's my hair look? i'm having a HATE MOMENT at work and i think i am also having a bad hair day which just makes the HATE MOMENT that much more intense, so i need feedback, now

We don't have cameras on our computers. But I hit send anyway. Because, even though I know he's probably briefing the boss in a conference room and forgot to change his status to (I'M BRIEFING DON'T PING ME) it makes me laugh out loud. Which is, ultimately, the best stress reliever.

So what do you do?

Laughter is a good way to relieve stress.

Believe it or not, collecting stress-reducing anecdotes and techniques is a hobby of mine.

I've put the best ones I've found so far in this stash: http://pandawhale.com/ifindkarma/stress

31 ways to de-stress: http://pandawhale.com/convo/609/31-ways-to-de-stress

I highlighted my favorite of those techniques.

I also like the 60-second meditation: http://pandawhale.com/convo/1124/60-second-meditation

James kills me - there's always a naked girl worked in somewhere :O) I tried conventional meditation a few times - sitting in a quiet place, eyes closed, breathing slowly and all that. I succeeded once in reaching that "state of mindfulness" and got hit with a "vision" - ERMA BOMBECK's name in big floating glittery letters. WTF?? I gave up on that approach but deep breathing/quiet time is something I factor in to most days. I found that I get that same sense of release/mindfulness when I am working out. It's like moving meditation. Some of my most creative/productive thinking comes in the middle of an AMAZING rockstar fantasy air guitar solo on level 14. Some of my most resolute peacefulness has come after an hour of yoga.

Deep breathing, working out, playing video games, practicing yoga: Each of these activities can exercise your moment of Zen.