Where do I start on bad days? 5 things to do in less than 5 minutes.

Fog over a beautiful autumn hillside.

You know those days. THOSE days. Maybe it was the side of the bed you got up on. Maybe it was how much caffeine you drank way too late in the afternoon yesterday. Maybe it's all the stress from...everywhere. First, know that we all have those days. On days where it feels like a slog to get moving or difficult to get anything done, here are a few tips that take less than 5 minutes to make the push to a better mood not seem like such drudgery. First, take a deep breath. All the way down to where you feel your stomach expand. Every doctor, therapist, or mental health provider will give this advice but sometimes it's really hard to just take the 5 seconds to do that one thing when you don't feel like you're in a good headspace. A lot of people skip this step but it's probably the most important. Take one good deep breath and when you get to the end, let the rest out forcefully and use your abdomen to do it.

Second, pick one thing. You might have a list as long as your arm, but just pick one. It can be the thing at the top of the alphabetical list or the thing that's the most important. Blind dartboard choices qualify too. Third, break tasks into something smaller. If that one thing still seems too much or you tell yourself "I'll wait until I feel better," break that thing down into doable tasks. Maybe you told yourself you'd clean the house today. Further break that down into cleaning your nightstand or making your bed. Do one piece of that task to start making progress. Fourth, smell something you enjoy. Maybe you have a favorite candle scent or an essential oil that you like. The olfactory nerve (the smelling nerve) is the most direct sensory nerve to memory centers in the brain. Take advantage of the quick uplift you get from good memories related to smells. My personal picks are lavender or anything citrus. Fifth, flip the script. Instead of thinking about how cruddy you feel or how little you feel like doing, focus instead on the one or two things you will get done today and think of the accomplishment you'll feel from getting those finished. Plan a good cup of coffee or tea at the end, something where you can relish the fact that you made progress. Bonus: Add those five things to your list of things you did get done today. The little things count too and never underestimate the power of small things. "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." — Confucius