You know that feeling when you are on vacation, you are able to take your time, prioritize play and not think about your to do list? What about the fresh, clean, happiness that comes with a deep cleaned home? These calm moments, these feelings of hitting your personal reset button are essential to your self-care and mental health, but what can you do in the in between when you don’t have the budget for a week off of work or the time for a full deep clean? Let’s get creative to think through ways to hit your reset button throughout the day and achieve little “pick me ups” to increase feelings of calm, happiness and a fresh start in just a few minutes. Below is a list to get you started, but I bet you can add to the list and find your own self-care moments to reset your mood:
- Take 5 slow, deep, breaths
- Use aromatherapy lotions or oils to brighten the mood in your space
- Do 5 minutes of stretches or a few of your favorite yoga poses
- Listen to your favorite song and don’t forget to sing along or dance!
- Text a friend or share a funny meme
- Follow an inspirational blog, Instagram or twitter feed and spend a few minutes browsing
- Daydream about the wonderful dinner you plan to make or eat that night
- Clean the space around you for a few minutes to reduce clutter
- Eat a favorite snack or drink a favorite beverage. Take time to slowly enjoy this treat
- Close your eyes and picture yourself in a favorite vacation space
- Do a mindfulness exercise like this one
- Find a favorite app such as calm or headspace to help you practice mindfulness and relaxation
- Get up and move! This could be a short walk outside or even just moving from your desk to get a drink of water or shift to a different task. Changing focus can help reset your mind and mood
Taking time to take care of yourself throughout the day is not only important, it can be fun! Don’t get bogged down in feeling like you have to do it perfectly or as if it will take a lot of time or money. It is possible to reset in just a few minutes throughout the day and many of these ideas are free. When we break out of our routines and give ourselves a moment to think, breath, and reflect, we end up being more productive and increasing enjoyment in our work. Challenge yourself this week to do a small reset each day and explore creative ways to add new resets to your list.