from the publishers of: Verywell, Real Simple, EatingWell, Shape, Parents, Health and Allrecipes
Have you ever felt like your time wasn’t your own? After work, household tasks, and family obligations, you may find yourself going to bed without spending any of your time on yourself. It can be easy to slip into a routine like this—always putting others before yourself—but in reality, you’re not doing anyone any favors. It’s important to fill your own cup, too, and take at least a few moments out of the day to do something that makes you feel good and less stressed. Here are 11 simple ways to improve your day in under 15 minutes.
No, you don’t have to venture into the woods to walk, but try to find somewhere with at least some greenery, like trees or shrubs—even in the city. According to Jamie Keaton Jones, PhD, a psychotherapist, exposure to greenery has been found to have multiple mental health benefits, including improving focus, lowering stress, boosting sociability, supporting emotional regulation, and improving mood. “If possible, also consider taking this walk in the morning to get morning sunlight on your face,” she says. “This can help with setting circadian rhythms, which might be helpful if you have difficulty with sleep.”
And leave your phone at home. “Mindful walking combines gentle movement with sensory awareness, which helps the nervous system shift out of stress mode,” says Chloë Bean, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “Even a short walk can lower mental overload, improve your mood, and increase clarity.”
In the age of working from home, many of us spend more time alone than ever before. As busy adults with jobs and families, it’s easy to lose connection with friends and loved ones. “Taking a few minutes to make a quick call or send a thoughtful text can facilitate reconnection and remind us of the support and love we have around us,” says Rebecca Love, PsyD, a psychologist at HeartWise Psychotherapy.
We all have certain songs or types of music that make us smile and want to dance. Make a playlist of three or four songs that energize you, and stick it on whenever you need a boost. (Just don’t forget the headphones if you’re in public.) “Putting on a feel-good song and moving around can help improve your mood and release tension and anxiety,” says Laura Todd, a therapist and the founder and owner of Early Bonds Therapy.
If you have 10 minutes, then you have time for a quick sensory reset, courtesy of your shower. “Instead of rushing through the shower on autopilot, spend a few minutes intentionally tuning into your senses: notice the temperature of the water on your skin, the sound of it hitting the floor, the scent of soap or shampoo, and the feeling of your feet on the ground,” Bean says. “If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to one sensation at a time.”
According to Bean, engaging multiple senses helps calm the nervous system and pull attention away from stress loops. “Because showering is already a part of people’s self-care routines, this turns an ordinary task into a grounding opportunity that lowers anxiety and improves mood without adding anything extra to your day,” she says.
Creative hobbies are a great way to de-stress, but unfortunately, many people don’t make time for them. But the truth is, you don’t need several hours to devote to your craft: spending even 10 or 15 minutes letting your creative juices flow can improve your day. Do whatever makes you happy, whether that’s writing, painting, gardening, or bedazzling. Don’t worry about being “good” at what you’re doing: focus on the activity itself. “We are more than the product of our workday or the role we play in our families, and we are all capable of creative play in different ways,” Love says. “Creative outlets reduce stress and facilitate healthy emotional expression.”
We all have areas of our home that are prone to clutter and stress us out. Picking one small section—like your desk, the kitchen counter, or an entryway table—to focus on allows us to knock out a project we’ve been avoiding, and then enjoy the results.
“I find it helps to clear small zones rather than cleaning the whole space, as focusing on one spot makes it easier to stay calm and actually finish,” says Vincent Halbrook, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and addiction counselling specialist with Empower Health Group of North Carolina. “Your brain also experiences less sensory overload, sparing energy to spend on the rest of the day’s tasks.”
As you scroll through your social media feeds, notice how what you are consuming makes you feel. “Unfollow anything that makes you feel bad about your body, your life, your parenting, your home,” says Linda Baggett, PhD, a psychologist at Well Woman Psychology. “This is beneficial because these things have an impact on how you feel and can increase shame, anxiety, and feeling less than, but most of the time, we are too busy to slow down and notice the impact. Unfollowing or hiding these types of accounts can drastically reduce the negative impact that social media can have.”
Journaling is a highly effective way to declutter your mind to free up cognitive capacity, Halbrook says. “Take a pen or simply write down whatever is taking up space in your head,” he explains. “Do not edit or bother with streamlining your thoughts. Externalizing mental clutter frees up cognitive resources, which helps you gain clarity on what’s actually important versus what’s just noise.”
Even if you don’t have time for anything else, you should be able to squeeze in a minute or two of deep breathing, which Love says can improve stress levels and focus. “When it comes to anxiety, our brains can’t always differentiate between a work deadline or being chased by a bear,” she explains. “Taking deep breaths reminds our autonomic nervous system that there is no actual threat to safety.” In fact, breath work is one of the few ways we can regulate the autonomic nervous system. “As we breathe deeply, heart rate slows, more oxygen gets to the brain, and we can reduce or stop an anxiety response,” Love says. “The more we practice, the stronger the neural pathway between breathing and anxiety relief becomes.”
Spending a few minutes thinking about the parts of your life that you’re grateful for can help put things in perspective—and is (literally) good for your heart. One of the most common ways to practice gratitude is to write down the things you’re thankful for in a journal at the end of each day, says Jennifer Birdsall, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and chief clinical officer at ComPsych.
“Others might prefer to visualize or verbalize things that made them happy that day before they go to bed or to actually share their gratitude to others in their lives—saying thank you, whether in-person, on the phone, via text, email, or sending a note in the mail,” she says. “Recognizing these small moments adds to your overall gratitude, health, and resilience.”
Constantly looking at our phones and other screens wreaks havoc on our attention span by overstimulating our nervous system, Halbrook says. “The best way to tackle this is to simply turn off screens and mute notifications for a brief period,” he says. “This break from sensory input allows your prefrontal cortex to recover from cognitive fatigue, and while it may feel a little awkward in the beginning, it is worth the mental clarity that ensues.”