Escape the Hustle: 15 Activities to Calm Your Mind and Recharge Your Spirit
Americans have always had a problem clocking out, and the rampant devaluation of the dollar has only compelled Americans to work more. With downtime shrinking (and, for some, evaporating entirely), every minute you’re not working is at a premium.
“Official” sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that the average American works 2,080 hours out of the year (out of a total of 8,760, which includes sleep). Common sense and anecdotal evidence tell us that most Americans are working at far more than this nine-to-five clip.
The point is that you can’t afford to waste time scrolling X or frittering your time away in other ways. Off-hours are for activities that bring you true joy and revitalization, so consider indulging in 15 activities that fit the bill.
1. Walking
Nobody said you have to spend money to calm your mind and recharge your spirit—if they did, they were lying.
Walking is arguably the most affordable, broadly accessible stress reliever known to man or animal. Physical activity alters your brain chemistry for the better. Walking can also stimulate creativity, increase energy, improve sleep, and reduce stress.
This all makes cubicle life seem wholly inhumane, doesn’t it?
2. Tossing Your Television on the Garbage Heap
While some tout low-effort activities like watching television as a means of enervation, most recognize that excessive television can exacerbate the sense that we’re wasting our precious time.
Harvard researchers explain that “blue light has a dark side,” especially at night. Watching television in the evening may trick your body into thinking it’s daytime, throwing off your circadian rhythm and disrupting the sleep that’s soessential to recharging your mind and spirit.
3. Breathing Practices
We all breathe, but most of us do it wrong.
By breathing through your nose and engaging in intentional breathwork, you can access one of the easiest, most repeatable methods to a sounder mind. The Wim Hof Method is one of several techniques millions of people use to calm their nerves, quiet their minds, and find some grounding in a crazy world.
4. Hydrotherapy (Hopping into the Shower or Bath)
Some call it hydrotherapy. Others call it taking a cold shower, relaxing in a warm bath, or diving headfirst into the nearest body of water—probably not your koi pond, though.
Many people swear by cold water exposure to reset their nervous systems. Swimming can be an especially re-energizing activity, as it combines the benefits of physical activity with the liberating feeling of floating in a cool body of water.
5. Deleting Your Social Media Apps
If this list were titled “15 Activities to Short-Circuit Your Mind and Crush Your Spirit,” we’d encourage you to add as many social media apps as possible to your phone’s home screen. Burn your books, stay up late, eat fast food garbage, and spend as much time on social media as possible!
Alas, we’re trying to better your life, not shorten it. So, we refer you to the well-circulated findings that social media tends to upset you, isolate you, drain your precious time, and fill you with regret. The teens who spend five hours per day on social media face unprecedented levels of depression and suicidality, and it’s no coincidence.
6. Journaling
Therapy is one of the first budgetary items to go when tough financial times hit. Even if you had the money, it’s not practical to reach out to your therapist or partner every time you need to get something off your chest.
Journaling is a free, low-risk, much-needed means of clearing your head, sorting out your emotions, and clearing your psychological and emotional pipes on a daily basis. Writing down whatever comes to mind can reduce stress and increase feelings of wellbeing, which are not small benefits.
7. Drawing Something…Anything
Whether you take inspiration from Hunter Biden, George W. Bush, or none of the above, don’t dismiss drawing (or painting or other art forms) as a hobby designated for eccentrics. In a world where TV shows, music, and other forms of art are typically fed to us (rather than created by us), your creative instincts may be more stifled than an Amish exotic dancer.
Engaging in art can increase your serotonin levels, stimulate blood flow, prevent harmful repetitive thinking patterns, create a hopeful outlook, and deliver countless other physical and psychological benefits. Play Picasso, even if just for a half hour a week, and you’ll soon get addicted to the feeling.
8. Playing a Sport (You Don’t Have to Be Good at It)
Especially if you are athletically inclined, finding a sport you can play as an adult can be the path to rejuvenation you’ve been seeking. While many reasonably fear a torn ACL, simply shooting a basketball or playing nine holes every other week may be enough to recharge your spirit and quiet your busy mind.
Even the most moderate sports can reconnect you with the animalistic spirit and pride many adults have had beaten out of them (by work, taxes, and life in general). Toss in the proven mental and psychological benefits of physical activity, and you have every reason to get back in touch with your inner Michael Jordan.
9. Riding a Bike
Bike riding solves several of the problems that tend to worsen as we age. Lack of physical activity stifled wanderlust, and the physical toll of high-impact exercise are all excuses for stagnation, and a single Schwinn blows each of those excuses to bits.
Cycling is shown to lower stress and reduce the likelihood that you’ll be depressed. Riding a bike also requires concentration, working your attention span in a way that may carry over to your professional life. You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong; just do your best not to fly over the handlebars.
10. Playing with Your Kids or Grandkids (or Your Dog)
Not everyone has a kid or grandkid at their disposal. A cat, dog, or raccoon will suffice in lieu of such sentient, ever-developing blessings.
In all seriousness, humans have a deep-seated need for connection. While conversations with our fellow adults provide undeniable benefits, there’s something about the agenda-free, innocent interactions with kids and animals that nourish the soul like few other activities.
11. Reading Your Spiritual Literature of Choice
The U.S. is a nation of a plurality of religious preferences—hell, we even have Satanists now.
While we can’t in good conscience recommend Satanic texts, we do know that reading texts connected to your religion or spiritual path can be highly beneficial. Multiple studies have shown that reading the Bible can provide hope and stress relief during life’s most difficult times. If you are not a Christian, we do not doubt that reading your chosen spiritual text can provide similarly priceless benefits.
12. Calling an Old Friend (But Not the One Who Mistakes You for Their Therapist)
Life is much more bearable and can even be sublime when we have deep connections. Unfortunately, constant financial pressures and the isolating nature of modern life have left most of us lacking the depth and frequency of connection we need.
Call a friend, and make it one you haven’t spoken to. Speaking with a friend a day has proven mental health benefits. If you have plenty to catch up with a friend about, the conversation may have a depth that feels like a meaningful and rejuvenating use of your time.
13. Getting a Massage (the Theragun Doesn’t Count)
We know the knot in your upper back is limiting your range of motion, but consider what effect it’s having on you psychologically and emotionally. Tensions and tightness can reflect and fuel our stress, and a good massage can put an immediate end (or at least a reprieve) to the vicious cycle.
Mayo Clinic prescribes massage therapy not just for physical ailments but also for mental health deficits. Seriously,name one thing better than an hour of zen time with a broad-shouldered, heavy-handed masseuse? We’ll wait.
14. Sip Your Favorite Drink
Life’s little treats remind us what it means to live. If you’re like us, you gave up buying your favorite beverages long ago, as water is a much more affordable substitute for Coca-Cola, kombucha, and Body Armor.
If you need a respite from life’s soul-grinding monotony, give yourself a pass to spend a dollar fifty on your drink of choice. Savor every sip, then get back to work! The electric bill isn’t going to pay itself!
15. Go Outside, the Blue Light Is Killing You
Desk-bound Americans are suffering from an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency. Researchers call this “the ignored epidemic,” and it’s a worldwide plague.
Making matters worse, we bask day and night in harmful blue light that disrupts our sleep, disturbs our light-based biological processes, and can expose us to risks like macular degeneration. While UV rays can be harmful in high volume, less blue light, and more sunlight is a recipe that many people would be wise to follow.
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