Well, here it is. Election Day 2020. The biggest election of our lives, if you care to believe some of the hype. We all know that voting is important. Every election in the past has been and so will our future elections. This year, however, has certainly seemed a lot more tense and stress-filled.

As polling places on the east coast start closing later this evening, it's likely we'll see fairly inconclusive numbers coming in. When you finally turn off the TV coverage and go to bed tonight, the predicted winner could easily change by tomorrow morning, or even later this week if it comes down to a handful of swing states with jacked-up voter deadlines and counting delays (I'm talking to you, Pennsylvania).

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I'll probably watch a few hours of election coverage tonight but depending on how things go, I might need to take some mental health breaks during the next 24 - 48 hours. Here are a few ways to take your mind off the election results.

Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
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1. Book a fake vacation.  Log on to Trip Advisor and fantasize about a vacation you may have put off this year, thanks to COVID. I can spend hours browsing through restaurant reviews, searching area attractions, skimming hotel photos and reading reviews from other travelers. If if you can't afford a trip or are unsure about travel with the pandemic, it's still pretty fun to book an imaginary trip, all the way up to the "click here to purchase" page.

Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
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2. Play with your pet. You know who doesn't give a rats ass who wins the Presidency? Your dog. He already has free health care, free food, free lodging and lots of free time and his life will change 0% no matter who is in office. Instead of yelling at the TV during election results, get up and take your dog for a walk. You'll both feel better.

Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
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3. Have lunch with a friend. Here's an idea... instead of reading every comment on a political Facebook post and jumping into the middle of useless arguments, try putting down your phone for a few minutes and grabbing lunch with a friend you haven't seen in a while. Make a deal to talk about everything except politics.

Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
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4. Start on your Christmas list. Amazon is taking a play from the glorious Christmas catalogs of pre-internet days, by sending out a book-like catalog of their top holiday toys this year. I actually thought it was a kids' book when it arrived in a pile of campaign flyers a week or two ago. Christmas is coming no matter who wins in the election and now is great time to get ahead of the game.

Google Earth
Google Earth
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5. Take a virtual cruise on Google Earth. Maybe I'm just a dork, but when I was a kid I loved looking at maps or an atlas and Google Earth takes that experience to an entirely more awesome level. Want to spend a few hours cruising the Oregon coast? No problem. Or, how about exploring all of the Hawaiian islands, virtually? Absolutely. Except for remote areas, nearly every location you'd like to see has Street Views which are even more interesting. I like cruising Google Earth while playing those YouTube loops of ocean surf in the background on another browser tab.

This election cycle has been pretty stressful and at the end of the day we are all Americans. Let's remember that while the elections chips fall this week.

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