Knowing that I was too stressed, my dad brought out the old charcoal set and told me I need to loosen up with some sketches not pertaining to current projects. This was done with charcoal, brushes, and smudge-sticks. The paper is actually from a Piccadilly sketchbook with woodless paper that I would highly recommend. It has a wonderful smoothness and accepts drawing mediums well.
Also check out this video with Casey Baugh!