13 Little Things You Can Do In 60 Minutes To Turn Your Whole Day Around
It's never too late to make a bad day into a good one.
mixetto | Canva Just because your day started poorly, doesn’t mean you can’t do something simple to turn the day around.
Don’t fall under the idea that you need to stuff your day with a hundred things for it to be a great day.
If you did one worthwhile thing, had fun, or simply were grateful, it will have been worth it.
So here are 13 things you can do in 60 minutes to turn your whole day around:
1. Learn a tiny topic in-depth
Pick something you’ve always wanted to know more about but never had time for.
Spend an hour or three going deep on the topic.
The Sahara desert.
The Napoleonic wars.
Poached eggs.
Aristotle.
There’s a lot you can learn in even an hour of focus.
This will turn your day around because you’re actively gaining knowledge, which is an asset.
Photo: Oladimeji Ajegbile/Pexels
2. Message five to ten people
This could be for growing your business and reaching out to new prospects.
But it could also be to take your attention off yourself for a change and make others feel better.
3. Create expressive art.
Humans were designed to create.
You’re miserable because you've spent all day consuming or doom-scrolling.
Create something without concern for the consequences.
An oil painting.
Some baked-dough figurines.
Write some bad erotic fiction.
Now you’re alive again.
4. Go to the gym and lift heavy things.
Get sweaty.
Release some toxins while boosting feel-good chemicals.
You can’t help but experience a raised mood quickly.
5. Act as if you're having a great day
Spend the rest of your day as though the first part had been the best of your life.
How would you behave if you were on a high?
Well, guess what? You will be high when you choose to act like it.
Photo: Jessika Arraes/Pexels
6. Go ham on a punching bag
Get a punching bag or a pillow and go to town on that poor thing.
Do this with a cheeky glint in your eye. This isn’t about being all-out cynically violent; this is a fun and aggressive release.
7. Write
Write about something that worries you.
Be open and real. Get emotional.
Share it, but have no expectations about how the article does.
Just enjoy this process.
RELATED: The 8 Reasons You're In A Bad Mood 5 Hours A Week, According To Research
8. Take a sauna
Ideally, combine this with cold water immersion, like a cold shower or ice bath.
This is a kind of shock therapy that studies show improves mood but also other things like immunity.
9. Do hill sprints
These are hard, and that’s why I included them here.
High-intensity exercise like this (or running up and down stairs) will rarely excite you initially.
But once you’re done you will feel monumental.
Photo: Kirill Lazarev/Pexels
10. Laugh hysterically for 5 minutes.
You can start by fake laughing.
The laughter will raise your frequency even if you aren’t initially ‘happy.’
Laughter will boost your mood.
RELATED: The Easiest Instant Mood Booster, According To Research
11. Go on a hike or walk in the woods.
Touch leaves. Be in nature.
Make like a naturalist, document the flora and fauna, and go into this with an empty mind and see what shows up.
Plan your year.
12. Go big and go exciting.
Brainstorm ideas on what you’d love to do, even if you had no fear.
Making new commitments to bold things is enlivening.
13. Read for fun.
Many people read in the context of: ‘they should read.’
They make it a high-pressure activity and the fun is drained.
Instead, approach a solid hour of reading as something to enjoy, and you will be lifted.
Photo: RDNE Stock project/Pexels
RELATED: 13 Tiny Things Pretty Much Anyone Can Do To Improve Their Emotional Health
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient.