• Pick a word to guide your day.

Choose a word that will guide you for the rest of the day. It sounds very simple, but when you choose a word that will guide you through the day, it shapes your lens of how the day goes. Decide how you want your day to go. Pick a word like “fun,” “ease,” “relaxing,” or whatever you feel called to choose. As you go throughout your day, when things come up, ask how you can apply your word to it.

• Do some EFT.

EFT, also known as “tapping,” is a healing tool that can provide immediate shifts in physical, emotional, and performance issues. See, in acupuncture, they talk about how there are 14 meridians in our body that are “energy pathways.” This is where all negative emotions are stored in our body. And with EFT, short for Emotional Freedom Technique, you can simply tap on those meridians and start to unlock those emotions.

• Take some time to free write or journal.

You might take a few minutes to journal about whatever’s going on in your life, or about what would make the rest of your day great. Sometimes getting all of your thoughts onto paper can help you clear out a lot of overwhelm sitting in your body, and help you start the day with a fresher slate.

• Do absolutely nothing.

 If you’re usually perpetually overwhelmed, consider doing absolutely nothing for a few minutes.

• Pray.

If you believe in a higher power, spend some time praying. This will be especially helpful if you feel as if you haven’t been as connected to your spirituality as you’d like lately.

• Meditate.

 You can sit in silence, full-on meditate, or even just breathe certain words in and out. For example, maybe every time you take a deep breath in, you visualize bringing happiness into your all of your cells, and when you breathe out, you think about letting go of any stress in your body.

• Listen

Listen to a few minutes of an audiobook or podcast that inspires you. You might even listen to it the whole time you’re getting ready.

• Read an article or part of a book about something new to you.

Even if you cut that to 5 minutes a day, you’re still reading 9 books at the end of the year.

• Get out of your head and into your body.

 Take a moment and just feel your shoulders, your hands, your stomach, and go all the way down your body until you feel your feet touching the ground. Think about what’s underneath you - a floor, soil, the earth, etc… - and think about how it’s supporting you and your body. When you’re able to focus on how your body feels, it helps remind you that you even have a body.

Please refer to the book for more details on this activity.