Do you need a refresh? We’re three weeks into 2014 and I’d like to ask you a question my friend Lara asks me a lot.

How are you doing?

No… how are you really doing?

Well, imagine you have five minutes. Five FREE minutes to yourself right now. What will you do with them? Will you waste them on Facebook? Thumbing through Instagram on your iPhone? Feeling overwhelmed about the MOUNTAIN of half folded half unfolded laundry that’s in the living room on top of your couch? (Oh wait, that’s me…)

No, you have FIVE WHOLE MINUTES right now! TAKE THEM! Run with them! What will you do to refresh yourself? Your mind, your body, your soul – whatever needs it most or all of the above. This morning, after dropping Brady off at “school” (our dear friend has four toddlers over to her house a few days a week for “school” and its the greatest thing ever) I walked back into the house to get ready to work and immediately felt overwhelmed. But, I knew I could spare five minutes so I kicked that overwhelmed feeling in the teeth – gathered all the laundry together so we can tackle folding it tonight, made our bed, brushed my hair back into a neater ponytail and started making a green smoothie (yea, I’m fast). BOOM! Here are some ideas for you and your fancy five minutes. These can work for you if you’re in an office right now or if you’re at home:

• Tidy up your desk. Put stuff away. Better yet, THROW STUFF AWAY.
• Take all the trash out in your house.
• Make a cup of coffee.
• Drink a big glass of water.
• Treat yourself to a healthy snack on a real plate.
• Download your thoughts and to-do list onto a piece of paper.
• Go for a walk outside, sunshine is a cure-all.
• Gather all the loose papers on your desk into a pile. Deal with said pile later.
• Tackle your inbox. You have five minutes, get it down to 0. Flag the important ones and take care of them later. Delete the rest.
• Go to Unroll.Me. You’ll thank me later.
• Call a friend. Warn them you only have five minutes. I talked to Lara this morning for longer than five minutes but it was so good for my heart to have “face/phone time” rather than “text time”. Pick up the phone. 
  
• Read a few pages of a good book.
• Open the Bible and read what you turn to.
• Go brush your hair and put it up. Get it off your face.
• Take a deep breath. No, really like right now as you’re reading this…. deeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breaaaaaaaaath. (We do this in my house and it works on everyone including Brady). Don’t you feel good now?

BOOM. You just kicked that overwhelmed feeling out the door too. Need more ideas? Check out “You Have Five Minutes” Part I that I wrote a few years ago over on the Making Things Happen Tumblr.

xo,

Emily