Ways To Perk Up Your Day

40 Simple Ways To Perk Up Your Day

We all have those days – when the rain drizzles and the hours drag and our mood seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of ‘blah.’ Because it isn’t always within our means to embark on a sunny vacation that eases the everyday blues, here are forty simple ways to un-funk your mood on a dreary day and get yourself smiling again.

1. Do something nice for someone anonymously. Pay for a stranger’s coffee or leave someone a kind note.

2. Take an hour to get a little more dressed up than usual and feel an extra boost of confidence facing the day.

3. Take an hour out of your day to drink tea and read a good book or watch a movie.

4. Write someone you love a letter telling them how much you appreciate them.

5. Have a long, hard workout that leaves you feeling tired and satisfied.

6. Call a friend and ask them to tell you about something good that’s happened to them recently.

7. Call your mom (or someone else you care for) just to say “I love you.”

8. Splurge on something you’ve been thinking about buying for a while. You probably deserve it.

9. Turn off your phone and computer for an hour to give yourself a break from the never-ending onslaught of communication.

10. Watch thirty minutes of something funny on Youtube or TV.

11. Make a list of all your greatest accomplishments so far.

12. Reach out to a friend whom you miss and make plans to meet up later in the week.

13. Take a half-hour walk in nature and reap the psychological benefits.

14. Plan a small trip or “staycation” within the next month so that you have something to look forward to.

15. Dedicate fifteen or twenty minutes to cleaning up your home or workspace. Less physical clutter often translates to less mental clutter.

16. Pick that one thing you’ve been putting off and just do it. You’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off your chest.

17. Call a close loved one and unashamedly ask them to disclose what they love most about you.

18. Lock yourself in a room and have a fifteen-minute solo dance party in your underwear.

19. Look through pictures of happier times in your life as a reminder of how good things can be, even if they aren’t great right now.

20. Read something intellectually stimulating.

21. Write a letter to your past self at a time when you were struggling, reminding yourself that things change and get better.

22. Write a letter to your future self to keep things in perspective and remind yourself that there’s still time to figure things out.

23. Go for a swim or light some scented candles and take a bath – there’s something inherently soothing about being in water.

24. Spend time around a friend who energizes you.

25. Research your dream vacation, apartment or job, to remind yourself what you have to look forward to in the long-term.

26. Hug or cuddle a loved one for that sweet oxytocin release.

27. Make yourself a good, healthy meal that your body will thank you for.

28. Compile or peruse through your favorite inspirational quotes to keep yourself motivated.

29. Write a list of twenty (or more) things that you’re grateful for.

30. Lay out an action plan for dealing with upcoming challenges, to make them seem more manageable.

31. Have sex with someone else or yourself.

32. Go for a long drive with music playing and the windows rolled down.

33. Give yourself permission to cry if you need to.

34. Do something you enjoyed as a child – eat a huge bowl of Fruit Loops, watch a cartoon or go for a bike ride.

35. Try a guided meditation.

36. Go to a bar, introduce yourself to a stranger and tell them what you’re most passionate about. Let it serve as a reminder of how attractive you become when you talk about what inspires you.

37. Take a nap under a pile of warm blankets and then have a coffee in bed when you wake up.

38. Journal out your feelings or thoughts.

39. Make a list of all you hope to accomplish in the next ten years, as a reminder that you’re never done growing or changing.

40. Give yourself permission – just for one day – to not have it all figured out yet. Thought Catalog Logo Mark