Do a Purge
Clearing your space clears your mind. When you trash old receipts, magazines, coffee cups, and other clutter you don’t want or need, the dead weight of stress is lifted. It’s like what happens in a forest after a fire—sunlight streams in and new shoots break through the soil. If an overhaul is overwhelming, toss one thing daily. Bye-bye, dead weight!

Go with the Flow
One of the best ways to beat stress is to achieve “flow”—that highly focused state of consciousness where you’re fully engaged in a creative activity. Lucky for you, creativity is your default mode. Simply do what you do best, whether it’s doodling, taking pictures, writing poems, playing guitar, or tweaking recipes. You’ll break the chain of stressful thoughts—even if that’s what you’re crooning or blogging about—and reignite your Creative spark.

Embrace the Challenge
Instead of getting frustrated by obstacles, see them as a chance to put your skills to work. Where others see a wall, you see a doorway. By approaching your problem or challenge in an imaginative or innovative way, you’ll re-define the issues and come up with breakthrough solutions. Creativity 1, stress, 0.