The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is upon us and taking the time to relax between your holiday chores – shopping, tree, decorating, concerts, wrapping, baking, mailing, etc., etc. – is the key to maintaining your sanity, let alone your energy.

There are myriad methods of relaxation – too many to mention here – but I will mention of few of mine. After thinking about the various ways I try to relax between deadlines and the holiday season, I wondered what method I enjoy most and what method truly relaxes me.

Watching television is an escape and is probably how I spend most of my time away from working, eating and sleeping. Relaxing? Sometimes, but I tend to watch a lot of sports, tense dramas, or mindless sitcoms. Plus, being hard of hearing, I don't always get to turn up the volume as it drives my wife nuts, so I can't relax trying to hear what's coming out of the boob tube.

Reading fiction is another way I try to relax. Horror and mysteries are my favorites, but after reading and editing newspaper articles all day, I haven't made reading a “go-to” activity of late. Last winter, I polished off four Stephen King novels and I will probably pick up his newest ones when the hustle and bustle slows down and traveling out at night becomes treacherous. Sitting in a comfortable chair and opening a book is relaxing – after about 100 pages, I tend to nod off – but when I am reading a novel, I tend to stay up way past my usual bedtime.

Exercising? Not a habit, I am sorry to say. I do like working in the yard, taking the dog for a walk, or going for a walk alone. But my physical ailments – sore back, trick knee, and shoulder bursitis – make it easy for me to say no. I used to get the “runner's high” as a teen and 20-something, but those days are long gone.

About the only other thing I do in order to relax – and it seems to work best – is listen to music. Having been born in the late-50s, I have had the pleasure to enjoy the new music of five decades (as well as some of music my Mom and Dad listened to). Rock 'n roll, baby. In the car, in the house (when my wife is still working, I crank it!), wherever I can listen.

On Tuesday, I tuned in the Music Choice channels on cable TV (don't own a stereo anymore and never have caught on to listening to music from a hand-held device – other than a transistor radio) and began pondering once again about what decade of music I have enjoyed most, while “flipping through” the various channels. I think, in order of preference, I enjoy listening to '70s music the most, followed closely by the '60s and in third place, the '80s. From the 1990s on, I have had a hard time finding songs I enjoy listening to. There are some, but not the amount of great music from the '60s and '70s.

So listening to music is something I could do all day – as long as there was variety – to relax.

What do you do to relax?