We’re all busy people in life. We work, we study, we take care of ourselves, we do all the endless things that partake in being a member of society, and so on. Luckily for us, there comes a moment when we can spend some time at home and unwind. Now, I get it, you’d like to rest and scroll on social media or watch a movie. And that’s great! There’s no shame in that, BUT why don’t we rid ourselves of the productivity shame that usually leads us down that path and instead do something with our time that can help us feel equally satisfied while not requiring too much effort? I’ll be breaking down ideas from most energy-consuming to least energy-consuming, and remember: it’s not about letting time pass by but how we engage with that time. These tasks can make us feel fulfilled and help us take off the stress from our daily routine while engaging in healthy ways to cope with life.
Most Energy Consuming
These tasks may require a little more of your energy, regardless these are great ways to spend time in your space and enjoy what they offer:
- Cleaning up your space
Now, I know you want to chill, but cleaning is a great way to spend your time at home. The rewards of it are endless, since cleaning will help you save time for the daily routine and will give you a sense of accomplishment. And who says it has to be boring? You can absolutely clean with speakers on full blast while busting a few moves. Yet, in order for the cleaning to be successful and quick, you need to have a plan. It can go like lightly organizing your space, cleaning the dirt away, or reorganizing said space. Remember, this is you helping yourself out, so take your time and set yourself a reasonable goal, this is mainly to help destress and make tiny accomplishments that make you feel good.
- Cooking
A great way to spend some time at your house is to hone those awesome cooking skills! It’s time to try that awesome pumpkin pie recipe you’ve been postponing, or making that sushi roll you saw on Instagram. This chill way to spend time at home not only gives you experience to help maintain yourself but the reward is a tasty meal at the end. While cooking isn’t easy, there’s a first time for everything! This can be a step towards gaining a little bit of independence in taking care of your life, there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to make a tasty dish. There’s a learning curve so the key here is to practice. In the meantime, be gentle with yourselves and make the most of it, you can even make some tasty brownies for your friends while you’re at it!
- Gardening
Yes babe, let’s start that gardening journey! Gardening is fairly easy, you can even get some tomatoes out of this. The key to gardening is to know what type of plants benefit most from your living space, so research first in order for your little plant babies to prevail. Once you have this figured out, you can adjust the task to your budget. You don’t have to buy the most expensive pot or the “best soil,” you can make do with things in your own home; even explore your artsy side and decorate little pots to your liking. Spending time in nature has been proven to destress and help center yourself, so take your time outside, spend some time with the bees, listen to the birds, and channel your nature guru side.
- Self-care
Self-care can include a bunch of things, but what you can do in this instance is focus on either skin care, mental health, physical health, or spiritual health. Skincare it’s fairly easy, from knowing your type of skin to getting the right products, you can just enjoy a spa day and get your nails done or do a face mask that treats your skin just right. For mental health self-care, you can write down all the things that have been bothering you, call a friend, or organize your thoughts and daily tasks so you can organize your day and feel you have control over these things. In physical self-care, not only could exercise and a good home workout help, but writing down ways you’ll try to eat better could do just the trick as well. This can include water intake or vitamins you might be lacking, these things are good even for your mental health. Everyone’s spiritual journey is different but sitting down and spending some time catching up on those spiritual habits, whichever they are for you, is always fulfilling and joyful, so find some time to unwind and catch up on this. Taking care of yourself is a great step for your well-being so spend some chill time taking care of yourself no matter what self-care might look like for you.
Least energy consuming
These tasks require a lot less energy as you can be sitting or lying down somewhere while you do them:
- Create a playlist
Yes, my beautiful music-loving darlings! It’s time to dust off the Spotify playlist and tune that wonderful musical ear of yours! You can be in the comfort of your own home (or bed) and create that new playlist you’ve been longing for. Get the mood going by figuring out what type of vibe you’re going for with this playlist and how long it needs to be. You can either organize your already saved songs or tune in on those new releases to set your list up. Are you going for the perfect classical tune, the most punk rock excellence, boleros to reminisce over your partner who’s in the war, the perfect coffee drinking, chill, fall playlist, or even the baddie top ten songs in your library? Once you find out what suits you best, let the music find its way to your playlist and have fun!
- Reading
My favorite activity to spend time on, and maybe yours too. Reading has endless benefits like expanding your creativity, learning new things, and even rewiring your brain to adapt new ways of thinking. Notice how I only mentioned reading, I’m well aware of all the types of creative writing out there, and the last thing we’re gonna do is shame the various creative outlets for writing. So, no matter what type of writing you’re into, be it books, manga, graphic novels, magazines, or online articles, make the most of it and read away! Make that cup of tea or coffee, turn on that candle, crank up that playlist, and give your reading time a go.
- Meditation
Although meditation is usually regarded as a spiritual practice, it can have the same effect as a daily practice. The benefits of meditation include gaining a new perspective on stressful situations, building skills to manage your stress, increasing self-awareness, focusing on the present, reducing negative emotions, and increasing imagination and creativity as well as patience and tolerance. That’s a good deal, right? Well, as easy as it may sound, the number one problem with this practice is how used we are to being bombarded with constant information on our phones or daily life. At the time of starting this practice, a lot of people may encounter feelings of boredom or desperation. In order to avoid giving up on this wonderful practice early on, the best way to start is by setting a time limit and gradually increasing it as your tolerance grows. Let’s say you start by meditating for 5 minutes, then 15, and then 20, and so on. This can help you learn to have patience with yourself and benefit from all the good things meditation can offer you. So, put down a pillow for your bum and let this nice practice help you destress.
- Engaging in artistic activities
While making art requires some effort, I’ve grouped it with the less energy-consuming activities because there are a number of ways of interacting with art that don’t require much physical effort. I want to encourage you to set up your canvas, open up your creative journal, and get all the materials together so that you can make a project worthy of your creativity. I love drawing, but have you ever had the bad habit of judging yourself too harshly because you compare yourself to other standards in art? Well, apart from this, I want you to express your creative self in a judgment-free zone, in a way that makes you happy and joyful. Remember: art is about expression and other people’s standards are not necessarily the best to apply to your creativity. So pick up your brush, pencil, or any other creative tool, and enjoy your creativity in the comfort of your space, you deserve it.
These are some chill ways in which you can spend time at home and enjoy your days while doing things you love. Make sure to give yourself space for learning and relaxation but, most of all, a good way to manage these things with an open mind.