Here are 16 better ways to spend bits of time to bring bits of
joy into an ordinary day:
1. LISTEN TO A FAVORITE SONG.
Yes, you’ll need to
use your headphones, but jamming out to Katy Perry for three minutes and 30
seconds will probably leave you feeling more energized than deleting marketing
emails for a similar quantity of time.
2. READ A LITTLE BIT
Want to read more?
You don’t need free hours to make it happen. DailyLit.com sends bite sized
chunks of classics to your inbox, but you can also just keep a regular book in
your desk drawer and read it, one page at a time. Books of poetry are good for
this. You’re in and out (unless it’s The Wasteland).
3.
TEXT YOUR PARTNER OR YOUR CHILDREN
Tell them you’re
thinking about them. Text a friend to ask her about her day. Call, if you think
the person might be available.
4. WRITE IN A JOURNAL
Jotting down a
sentence here and there on specific moments of awesomeness can help you
remember that your life is, in fact, awesome.
5. WRITE A REAL LETTER
Keep some note cards
and stationery around and write a note to someone whose birthday is coming up,
or a friend or colleague who did something intriguing. There’s no need to write
more than three or four sentences, and you can definitely do that in five
minutes. A random thank you note to someone who isn’t expecting one could
actually make someone’s day.
6. STRETCH
Assume some other
posture than the usual one of your rear in the chair, and breathe deeply.
7. LIFT SOME WEIGHTS
Do some push-ups or
sit-ups if you’re not self-conscious (or you’ve got a door). But even if the
whole office is staring at you, you can suck in your stomach or absentmindedly
do a bicep curl with a paper weight.
8. STUDY YOUR CALENDAR
What can you get rid
of? In five minutes, you may be able to buy yourself hours by . As a corollary,
what do you not see that should be on there?
9.
BRAINSTORM PERSONAL PRIORITIES FOR NEXT WEEK
We’re pretty good
about setting work priorities, but personal ones tend to get short shrift. In
five minutes, you could decide that next week you’ll go to the library, watch a
favorite movie with your kids, and make your famous banana bread recipe on the
weekend. Don’t go overboard--you don’t want to stress yourself out--but
planning in a few fun anchor events gives you something to look forward to.
10.
MAKE A GUEST LIST FOR AN INTRIGUING DINNER PARTY
Who would be
fascinating to have in a room together? Do they know each other? If not, make a
note to introduce them as soon as possible.
11.
POP OUTSIDE AND TAKE SOME PHOTOS WITH YOUR IPHONE
Take several shots
of the same object to experiment with angles and lighting. You may cause your
brain to think in whole new ways, but even if not, the fresh air will perk you
up.
12. SAY HELLO TO SOMEONE
Not someone buried
in work at his desk, trying to ignore the world, but someone wandering around
the halls, grabbing coffee. Who knows, maybe you know this person by his email
address, but have never actually met him in person! Nurturing social ties is incredibly
productive--and key to human happiness.
13.
SCROLL THROUGH YOUR PHOTOS ON YOUR PHONE
If you’re like me,
they go back a ways, and can trigger all kinds of happy memories. Indeed, this
post took much longer than expected to write because I just scrolled back to
some August shots of my kids playing at the beach.
14. COLOR
Bring crayons from
home, or take some from a restaurant’s kid meal stash, and create your own
coloring book. It’s a quick way to zone out and decompress, even if you don’t
put your masterpiece on the fridge. If you have a more elaborate array of
office supplies, you can try making a collage with pictures from magazines and
some rubber cement. If anyone asks, you can call it your vision board.
15. WATCH A KHAN ACADEMY VIDEO
Economics. Calculus. Art history--what’s not
to like? For a more silent way to acquire random knowledge, read Wikipedia’s featured article of the day.
16. CLOSE YOUR EYES
Fun fact: A recent
survey from the BlueJeans Network (a video conferencing service) found that 6%
of people admit to having fallen asleep while on a conference call. While
that’s not recommended, a tiny cat nap could be just the jolt you need to get
through the rest of the day.
Please add your favorite ways to use
bits of time for bits of joy in the comments.
Source: fastcompany.com