De-stressing

When your day backs up like an airport runway on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the best thing you can do is to "take yourself out of the moment, if only for a second," says Catherine Alcorn, an air-traffic controller at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, in Alaska. "I splash or spritz water on my face," she says. When you really feel harried, take a deep breath. Yes, it's a cliche, but it works, says Cheryl Koopman, an associate research professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. "Deep breathing helps slow the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

Firing up a grill

The secret to getting your grill on is a chimney starter, says Bobby Flay, a New York chef and the author of Bobby Flay's Grilling for Life (Scribner, $22, www.barnesandnoble.com). (The 11-inch tube, which is placed in the center of the grill, sells for $15 to $40 at hardware stores and the Barbecue Store; www.barbecue-store.com.) With the chimney starter and these three steps, Flay says, you'll save as much as 20 minutes, and you won't need to use lighter fluid.
1. Stuff the bottom of the chimney starter with newspaper.
2. Fill the chimney canister to the top with coals, then place it on the grill gate or on a flat heatproof surface.
3. Light the paper through the holes at the bottom of the chimney. When the coals are ready, lift the chimney and dump them into the grill.