Keep live plants or cut flowers in your bathroom
I’m not a huge morning person, but brushing my teeth in view of flowers brightens my mood significantly. Plants are natural mood boosters, and gazing at greens is going to make you much happier than scrolling through your phone first thing.
Unfollow or mute a social media account that stresses you out
Every now and again I find myself following a person or a brand on social media that makes me feel squirmy. As someone interested in health and fitness, sometimes this means unfollowing a feed that’s gotten too diet-stringent. Sometimes it means I’ve got to mute folks who voice their opinions in a negative way. Your social media feeds are yours alone – feel free to edit them.
Take a short walk outside in the middle of the day
This one is hard in winter, but such a good one. If you have kids, bring them with! If it’s hard to get away from work, find a coworker who will take walking meetings with you. Research has shown that a 30 minute walk boosts your mood, but I’d argue that even a 5 minute walk picks me up mid-day.
Give a genuine compliment
Maybe your barista at Starbucks has a really great manicure. Tell her! Maybe your coworker did a fantastic job on a presentation. Tell her! I promise it’ll boost your mood as much as the person you’ve complimented.
