1. Wash + change your bedsheets.
2. Wake up early to watch the sunrise.
3. Text your friend “I’m in the neighborhood, wanna meet up?” the next time you’re in a friend’s neighborhood.
4. Get even just one tiny bouquet of fresh flowers — doesn’t have to be fancy! You don’t have to have a vase either; throw it in a mason jar or water glass. Put it on a windowsill or in the bathroom next to the sink.
5. Bake a large batch of something sweet and deliver some of it to friends. Doesn’t have to be elaborate. Keep it simple, a boxed cake or the cookie recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips.
6. Text a loved one you’ve been thinking about.
7. Ask a friend or partner to tell you about something they’re looking forward to.
8. Make a list of small things you’re looking forward to.
9. Go to the library.
10. Eat you favorite fruit outside.
11. If you must look at social media, ask your followers for a book recommendation.
12. Go on a walk in a park.
13. Pretend to be a tourist in your own community and go to a museum/park/sightseeing destination you’ve never been to.
14. Make a list of your five favorite albums of all time and then listen to them in succession while going about your day.
15. Or, you know, literally just listen to your favorite song if that sounds like too much effort.
16. Hang that piece of wall art you’ve been meaning to hang.
17. Tie-dye a stained shirt. (Do you know how many clothes I’ve salvaged with this method?!)
18. Candy citrus peels. It’s so easy and a great way to use the entire part of a citrus fruit.
19. Do a Sporcle quiz about a topic you love.
20. Go through your books and donate some to the library.
21. Buy a new plant.
22. Or do the free version and ask a plant friend for some cuttings for propagation.
23. Set aside intentional time in the day to read or journal.
24. Do a bunch of research on an extremely specific topic, just in the interest of gaining new knowledge.
25. Pull one tarot card and let it guide you for the rest of the day.
26. Ask a friend to tell you about a dream they recently had.
27. Read a queer short story.
28. Do a simmer pot.
29. Open a window for a little fresh air (weather dependent, obviously).
30. Rewatch a favorite movie scene. Just a scene! The smallest time commitment!
31. Add lemon or lime or mint or cucumber or ginger to your water. Just infuse your water with something, why not! I had orange and rosemary infused water recently, and it made my whole day.
32. Press and dry leaves.
33. Re-read a favorite book from childhood.
This is just so good, I feel better already just reading through the list 💗
🥰🫶🏽
Thank you for this, I changed my sheets and drank a cucumber&lime water and I’m about to get into bed feeling better about the day than I did before <3
#14 is gonna completely change my relationship to sunday “chore” day
As someone who is volunteering at a library: please do not donate books to a library, without first asking them if they need any. Usually they cannot use them, and all libraries i know have a massive struggle with people leaving their old books with them, and they have to somehow dispose of them.
Very very good point! Seeking out little free libraries (littlefreelibrary dot org has a worldwide map of registered locations) or other kinds of take a book/leave a book set ups (at cafes, community centres, the shared space of apartment complexes, via friends) is probably a better way to do this. And if you do find (or set up yourself!) local little free libraries, taking a walk to the local little free library is another small thing that is delightful to do.
“Rewatch a favorite movie scene. Just a scene! The smallest time commitment!”
i rewatched the part of ’empire records’ when she performs sugarhigh on the roof and it was transcendent but now i think i will rewatch the whole movie most likely
Omg, thank you! This truly is achievable and made me feel better just reading it even. But why this is somehow sexy that you have been able to come up with this good list of small doable things??
I love this!!