Hello, hello!  By the time this post gets published, America will have a new president (or at least be in the final stages of deciding).  If you’re anything like me, you didn’t like any of the candidates and you’re beyond tired of hearing about them and seeing their faces splashed all over your social media sites.  But today, and for the foreseeable future, you’ll only have to deal with one of them.  That means for the rest of the week (until something else distracts everyone), your social media will be full of the winner’s supporters bragging and the loser’s supporters complaining (because there’s no such thing as a graceful win or loss in this election).  So, how are we, the ones with nothing important to say on the matter, supposed to survive until the next big thing comes along to distract everyone?  Here are three handy tips to help you keep your sanity.

 1. Snuggle up with Netflix or your DVR/TiVo or a book, etc.  I’m not going to tell you to avoid social media altogether, but make sure you temper your exposure with healthy doses of entertainment.  Netflix has the advantage of avoiding all things annoying simply by clicking play.  Or just read a book if you prefer something besides screen time.  If you want to watch TV or the news, do yourself a favor and record it, that way you can skip through the things you want to avoid while keeping up with everything else.  You can do the same with a newspaper or magazine.  There are ways to stay informed without being over-exposed to certain things.

 2. Do all the things!  You know that stuff you’re supposed to be doing when you’re scrolling through Facebook?  Now is the perfect time to do all of it.  Do the laundry.  Clean the kitchen.  Catch up on your NaNo writing.  You can be productive and avoid the post-election uproar all at once.  Truth be told, I’m actually avoiding the last of the pre-election voter smugness (I’m happy you’re happy you voted, don’t get me wrong, but some people take it too far when they think it makes them and their candidate of choice superior) by writing this post.

3. Surround yourself with cute animals.  There’s never a wrong time to look at cute little animals.  If you’re into cat videos, the Internet is rife with them.  Dogs are everywhere too.  You can find bats and birds and even adorable snakes.  It’s all just a search away.  Who can stay annoyed when looking at those kawaii wittle faces.  Even I get happy when faced with the cuteness of doom.

 I’m sure there are other ways to maintain your sanity over the next few days, but this is what I will be doing.  Do you have any plans or tips for avoiding the insanity of it all?  I suppose being a recluse is the most helpful thing during these times.  Stay safe and sane.

See you next week.