Yesterday I made a long list of small actions I could complete in 5 minutes or less. I picked one and did it. Then I picked another. Choosing one small step helped me overcome my lethargy and general state of being overwhelmed. It snowballed and I ended up having the best day.

My list of <5 minute actions:

Drink a glass of water
Eat protein
Make bed
Brush teeth
Take a quick shower
Put on clean clothes
Fix hair (even if just brushed and up)
Put on bare-minimum makeup
Put in a load of laundry
Empty dishwasher
Dirty dishes in dishwasher

Send a “hello, I care about you” text to a friend
Get fresh air (bonus points for walking outside, but if it’s cold and rainy just wrap up in blanket and stand on porch)
Listen to a favorite song up loud
Dance if you feel like it
Return a text or email
Read a Psalm

Vacuum or sweep a floor
Doodle, knit a row, play a song, something creative
Plan a dinner menu
Pick a *small* surface and clean and organize (or just straighten clutter into neat stacks)
Read a poem
Jumping jacks, toe touches, or whatever you can do to stretch or move your body

Make a pot of coffee or tea
Wipe down bathroom surfaces
Switch laundry
Find 8 things to pick up and put away
Do a lesson or two on Duolingo (or any learning app or brain puzzle)
Wipe down kitchen counters

I considered this an a la carte menu and gave myself permission to pick one thing with no pressure to complete a certain number of steps. But it is astounding how many actions I was able to take in such a short amount of time.

We can do this—five minutes at a time.

What 5 minute actions would you add to the list?

Some things I added to the list multiple times (drink water, eat protein, move/stretch my body, dirty dishes out of sink).

If something would normally take more than 5 minutes, I just did what I could in the timeframe then gave myself permission to walk away.