Ways To Get Into The Coloring Mindset

The art of coloring is one of the most effective, creative, low-maintenance, and fun way to relieve stress. If you found yourself here, then chances are you are looking for a fun way to reduce stress or need to learn more about adult coloring. With adult coloring, you won't need the adrenaline rush as you would with bungee jumping or skydiving; all you need is a coloring book, the right coloring equipment, and you are ready to go.

Don't expect to get the hang of coloring or shut off your "inner critic" with the first few pages. Some level of patience and practice is needed to enable the body, especially your brain, to start giving in and relaxing. This article outlines a few tips on how to get started in adult coloring as a way to relieve stress. It will give you pointers on what to do if coloring doesn't seem to be your "thing."

1Remember Why You Got Into Coloring

Unless this is what you do for a living, most of the pieces you'll create during your free time will only be for personal gain and fulfillment. This means you won't have to be particularly worried if the page has a few spots or if the color goes outside the lines. Such worries don't apply when doing something, like coloring, for fun. That said, coloring is all about working on a piece with the sole purpose of soothing the mind and nothing more.

As mentioned earlier, many people choose to color as a way to have fun and decompress after a hard day at work; the only way to enjoy this is if you stick to the original plan, which is to have fun. You should enjoy each coloring session, not from the beautiful art you have created but from the sense of contentment and peace you feel afterward. Don’t judge yourself on the quality of the art. Experts recommend taking your time coloring through all the pages; although the process may be slow and repetitive, it is designed to be just that. The gradual nature of coloring is what helps reduce mental strain, thus enabling you to achieve more and lets the stress melt away as you go deeper into the coloring sessions.

2Identify Your Stressors

Identify factors that cause you to be stressed out before taking on coloring. Singling out the reasons why you need to de-stress is the only way that coloring or any other form of therapy will help you achieve the desired goal. Be sure to identify persistent factors that make you feel stressed out. You might want to sort these issues first before taking in any form of therapy; otherwise, you will only be running away from them. It is after addressing these issues that you can take on measures to help your brain relax.

Facing issues that hurt your life head-on is one of the best ways to deal with such problems. Although coloring may be an excellent way to fight stress, persistent issues will always come back, making your life even more miserable. Seeking traditional ways to handle such issues, such as counseling, can come in handy when looking for a way to fight stress and depression.

3Make Coloring A Part Of Your Routine

Once the stressing factors have been eliminated, you can then make coloring a regular part of your routine. Coloring helps relieve pressure from your brain by enabling you to focus on the task at hand. Most people attest to feeling happier after having a coloring session. Be sure to create enough time for all your coloring sessions to ensure it helps combat stress and anxiety throughout the week.

Allocate at least 30 minutes of your time to coloring alone. For many people, coloring a few hours or minutes before bedtime helps them relax and find sleep easily. Since coloring helps improve your mental alertness and concentration, you might want to schedule the coloring sessions to early morning hours. This means you have to wake up early enough to make time for coloring at least one page. You could take advantage of public transport by using the time used to commute to work on some of the pages.

4Organize Your Coloring Space

Designate a specific room or space where you will have the coloring sessions. The room/space needs to be comfortable and quiet enough to create the perfect environment for coloring. It would be advisable to avoid high-traffic areas and areas at home where you work. The bedroom might be the ideal place to do it; create some space in the bedroom or do it on the floor or on the bed. Be sure to bring your favorite drink as you color your stresses out.

If the bedroom doesn’t seem like the ideal place for unwinding and coloring, you may as well use what you have; this could be the study room or home office. You will need to create a serene environment in the room for this to work. One way to do this is by decluttering and ensuring the room is well organized. Identify a spot where you can set up the coloring apparatus with ease; an orderly, quiet, and comfortable room is all you need to start. The tranquility provided enables one to focus on coloring, blocking out noises and other distractors.

5Color With No Worries

Try not to be a perfectionist when coloring. Although this might be an excellent trait for your job, it can be a mood killer and makes it almost impossible to get the satisfaction you need from the pieces you will be working on. You don’t necessarily have to be a perfectionist to enjoy coloring – most artists aren’t. Coloring should be viewed as a fun challenge that triggers increased focus and concentration when working on a piece. It is with the improved concentration that the brain can "zone out" from distractors, thus making the session a success.

Learn to love your coloring tools. This includes pencils, books, apps, and preferred designs. Let go of all your worries and let the mind wander all around the coloring page; this gives you the freedom to decide what color or tone to use and how to apply it. If you love expressing yourself through artistic means, coloring will create a great avenue to do just that. You'll need to be open-minded to enjoy the whole experience and learn things you probably did not know about art or coloring.