When you’re stressed out, it’s important to take care of yourself. Whether you’re looking for something fun to do or just want to unwind, these 11 self care activities are sure to help. All of them are under 5 minutes which makes them perfect if your schedule is crazy.
Of course, you can take more than 5 minutes with many of these self care ideas but in just 5 minutes, you’ll be able to complete all of them.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, it’s easy to forget about taking care of yourself. But there are many things you can do in less than five minutes to relax and feel better.
Simple and Quick Self Care that Will Change your Day Instantly
- Spend 5 minutes outside and try out Earthing. Earthing has been used by many for thousands of years and if you haven’t heard of it, it’s time to try. Earthing is very easy – go outside, and stand barefoot or lay in the grass. Spend 5 minutes (uninterrupted) reconnecting with Mother Earth. While 5 minutes may seem to go by fast, Earthing boasts many benefits – better sleep, improved mood, lower inflammation, and reduced stress.
- Listen to your favorite song. Music can be an effective stress reliever because it provides a distraction from every day worries. Try listening to relaxing music when you need to calm down. Sing it out loud, dance it out – whatever floats your boat. Multiple studies have been conducted and it’s not surprising that music can help release endorphins that will improve our sense of well-being.
- Call a friend. Okay, so this will probably extend past 5 minutes but if you tell your friend that you just have 5 minutes and you want to connect, I’m sure they won’t be mad! Staying close to your friends and establishing strong bonds have been shown to have positive effects on the longevity of your life. Who doesn’t feel good after talking to a friend?
- Pick up a pen and paper and doodle. Yes, we said it – get to doodling. If you’re an artist this will be easy, if you’re not the best at drawing, there’s still no excuse b/c this is doodling. Start with a flower, maybe a tree, or anything that will make you happy. Doodling can be used to lower cortisol and create a relaxing mood.
- Try EFT Tapping. There are so many amazing benefits to tapping: reduced anxiety, improved mood, and better mental health are just a few to highlight.
- Practice some Self Love Affirmations. We have a full list of affirmations that you can easily read off and repeat. If you want to get deep into the research side of positive affirmations, we enjoyed this article.
Self Care List Continued
7. Gua Sha. Gua Sha is an Ancient Chinese healing method that focuses on helping increase blood flow to your skin while creating a lifting effect. Here’s a great tutorial from Wilding – we are not a partner but we love their tools!
8. Stretch. When is the last time you started your day by stretching or had a stretch break in the middle of the day? Stretching is so beneficial to the body and often, we do not even stretch once a week.
9. Write your body a Love Note. We often do not appreciate our bodies enough and this is your time! Our body does so much for us – what are you thankful for? When is the last time you said thank you? This is not only an act of self care but also a great act of self love.
10. Set your timer and go through a Gratitude Dump. We love a good gratitude dump because it gives you an opportunity to write out all the things you’re grateful for. Set a timer for 5 minutes and go as long as you can. Here’s a free printable Gratitude Dump PDF!
11. Send a friend a venmo for Coffee. Your friend will be so excited about the surprise and it will brighten your day to know that you’ve brightened theirs!
Other Self Care Ideas that We Think You’ll Absolutely Love
If you have more than 5 minutes to devote to some self care time, we have some other awesome ideas to share! One of our favorites is a self care jar. A self care is an easy to make activity – grab a jar, write our some ideas, put them in the jar, and when you’re ready for some self care, grab an idea.
Here’s a list of 111 other ideas that you can add to your self care jar.
If you’re looking for something different than a self care jar, we’d also suggest trying this Wellness Wednesday Self Care Edition Bingo!
This is so fun and easy – print it out or screen shot it on the phone and cross out the different activities until you hit BINGO!
Final Thoughts
We hope that you like our ideas of self care in 5 minutes or less!
If there are other wonderful ideas that you’d like us to write about or that you want to add, feel free to comment below.
As always, thanks for stopping by Tru&Well. We love that you stopped by and we appreciate your support!
xx,
T&W