7 Small Changes To Try This Week

Time to make a change.

Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed

1. If you've got 3 minutes: Sprint-clean your bathroom.

Spend 3 minutes cleaning your bathroom and literally get your shit together. Get a damp (clean) cloth and wipe down the sink, throw out any toilet paper rolls, and clean the toilet bowl with a toilet brush and some bleach.

Here are some more quick bathroom cleaning tips:

7 Easy Ways To Make Your Bathroom So Much Cleaner This Week

2. If you've got 5 minutes: Try and meditate.

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I'm the first to admit that I find meditation hard. My mind doesn't settle easily and I get distracted and frustrated. But a lot of this is down to finding the right app. I really like Stop Breathe and Think which is free, has lots of variety and incentives.

Here are some more great apps to try: 18 Apps That Will Help You Chill The F*ck Out

3. If you've got 10 minutes: Get up 10 minutes early

Flo Perry / BuzzFeed

For ages, I longed to be a morning person. I'm always a-fluster when I get up, and I thought that I was destined to always be this way. But here's the thing. You don't actually have to enjoy getting up early, you just have to do it. Even though your body may be grouchy, your brain will appreciate the ten minute buffer.

This blog post is a great explainer of how one night owl accepted the dawn.

4. If you've got 15 minutes: Brush up on an old skill.

Part of the fun of re-discovering old talents is the joy of realising there's something that comes naturally to you.

It could be as straightforward as digging out an old piano piece, and seeing if your fingers remember the chords – or signing up for a language conversation class.

I've been using DuoLingo to revisit my Italian, and really like it (although it doesn't like my Irish accent sometimes).

Sometimes it's easy to let skills get rusty, or to get down in the dumps about never achieving perfection ("what's the point of learning Spanish if I can't discuss Cervantes!"), but that's not the point. You don't have to be perfect every time.

5. If you've got 20 minutes: Get moving

Ailbhe Malone

"I like walking everywhere. It clears my head and provides actual space to think and just be mentally idle that even sitting still has a hard time providing in a world overwhelmed by the constant draw of screens and a million other stimuli.

"So I walk for miles and miles every day, and I've noticed a visible change in my mental state for the better. I'm often prone to a general recurring state of overhanging sadness when left idle, and I've yet to find a way that keeps the demons so often at bay as this.

"On top of everything, it's actually useful in a very practical way, as it literally gets you to where you're going". – Rebecca Hendin

6. If you've got 30 minutes: Cook yourself a nice meal and sit at the dinner table.

"As a huge fan of food, I think there's nothing better than a lovingly prepared meal with fresh ingredients. Too often we eat on the go or grab whatever's available, then wolf it down in front of the television or, in some cases, in bed in front of a laptop.

"But make the time to cook something from scratch either for yourself or your significant other/flatmate, (probably one of those recipes you've bookmarked but never get round to actually making), set the table with nice china and a candle, and enjoy the experience. I find it's a nice way to relax." – Liz Pears

7. If you've got 30 seconds: Read this tweet.

Sincerely Tumblr @SincerelyTumblr

no pam i dont want a bagel im already going to be late have you seen my keys

06:42 PM - 13 Apr 2015