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Create a special space for your hobby to make it feel special.
"Creating a cozy space made writing feel so much more inviting. Itās like, āOkay, Iāve got my blanket, my tea, and now Iām actually excited to put words on the page.ā"
Set a timer for a few minutes to encourage you to start.
"Setting a timer helped me get past that initial mental block. Itās like, āI can do anything for 10 minutes, right?ā Turns out, I can."
Go into the hobby with the intention of doing it badly.
"If I was okay with dancing badly, it took the pressure off and I actually started to enjoy it again. Itās like, āYeah, Iām awkward, but Iām having fun, so who cares?ā"
Break the activity into small steps and take breaks as needed.
"Iād paint a tiny section of the canvas every time I passed by it in the living room. Itās like turning my art into a long-term project that didnāt stress me out."
Watch a video of someone else doing your old favorite activities.
"Watching YouTube knitting tutorials was like a little nudge, āOh right, this is kinda fun.ā Even if I never pick up the needles, just remembering that itās out there makes me feel a little less disconnected from my interests."
Combine it with something else you enjoy, like a snack or drink.
"Combining drawing with a snack was my secret recipe for relaxation. Itās like, āOkay, Iāve got chips, Iāve got doodles, and suddenly, life feels a little easier.ā"
Play your favorite music to enhance the experience.
"Listening to music while I got back into reading made it feel like less of a chore and more of a chill session. Itās like adding a soundtrack to my own little book club."
Start with just 10 minutes to ease back into it.
"Starting with something small helped me remember why I love my hobbies. Itās like easing back into the things I enjoy without diving straight into the deep end."
Invite a friend to make a hobby more enjoyable and motivating.
"Inviting a friend over made the whole thing more funāsuddenly, chores became a hangout instead of a drag. Plus, two hands are way better than one."
Simplify the activity if possible (e.g., easy version of a craft or game).
"Simplifying the activity made it feel way less overwhelming. Itās like, āOkay, Iāll just draw one thing, or read one chapter, and see where it goes.ā No pressure, just vibes."
Reframe your depression activity as a hobby, e.g., watching TV is enjoying art.
"When I reframed, I realized I was accidentally doing a hobby! Like, sure, I didnāt set out to be productive, but if I stumble into it, Iāll happily take the credit."
Read just one page from a favorite or comforting book.
"Reading just one page a day felt like a baby step back into pretending Iām a reader. Itās not exactly a book club pace, but itās enough to help me get momentum."
Watch birds or nature from a window for a calming break.
"Staring out the window at birds made me feel like a nature documentary host, minus the actual effort. Itās like my version of 'wildlife adventures'āexcept, you know, without leaving the comfort of my living room."
Spend a few minutes playing or cuddling with a pet or watching a short video of a cute pet.
"Playing with my dog was like an instant mood boostāheās way better at cheering me up than I am. Anchovy, my terrier mix, knows exactly when I need a waggy tail and some puppy eyes to make me smile."
Grab a pen and doodle or color for a few minutes.
"Doodling was my no-stress way of feeling artsy without doing a lot, I donāt have to create a masterpieceājust some squiggly lines and little hearts, and suddenly, I feel like Iāve got my creative groove back a liiiiiittle bit."
Look through old photos that bring back happy memories.
"Flipping through old photos was like, āOh yeah, good times did exist.ā Yep, there WERE moments when I wasnāt extremely depressed, even if now it feels like those moments were a hundred years ago."
Find a YouTube video that takes you on a virtual walk or hike if you can't leave the house.
"Scrolling through virtual nature walks made me feel like I got outsideā¦ without actually leaving the couch. Itās like my mind took a mini-vacation while my body stayed wrapped in a blanket burrito."
Choose an all-time favorite song and play on repeat.
"Blasting my favorite song made things 2% better, but honestly, I'll take that 2%. Itās not a miracle cure, but for those three minutes, Iām the main character in a feel-good montage, and thatās worth something."
Watch a 2-minute video or clip of something you used to enjoy.
"That one funny TikTok about tap dancing I saved? It was like a mini-dose of joy in my otherwise āmehā day because I remembered how much I used to love dance."
Try to get creative and determine how to do your hobby lying down.
"I actually feel like playing basketball š when I shoot trash into my trash can from bed."
Imagine transfering whatever difficult emotion you're having into your hobby.
"When I have no motivation, I tell myself I'll go to pottery to take my anger out on the clay."
If you're frustrated you're not doing hobbies as much, remind yourself that it's not forever.
"In this season of life, I know that a once-a-month improv class is enough š¤ "
If you've been trying without motivation, take a break for a few days or weeks.
"An intentional break sometimes is enough to take pressure off."
Recording your hobby on your phone gives you a cool visual for future encouragement.
"Even when I was feeling crappy, recording myself singing on voice memos gave me a reminder of why I used to love karaoke."
If your hobbies seem like too much, choose a low-cost or free one you can do right now.
"I didn't have the energy to go swimming anymore, but dancing at home felt accessible."
Get accountability from a friend or a free session on Focusmate to do an activity alongside you.
"Focusmate has three free sessions a week, so I schedule time to practice piano with someone every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday."
Listen to standup comedy or comedy podcasts while doing other things.
"I try to remind myself to laugh out loud when listening to activate just a little joy in me again, which encourages me to do other joyful things."
Do your hobby alongside someone in a YouTube video for virtual accountability.
"When I create collages alongside a 'how-to' video, even if I'm not following their instructions, I feel comforted."
Set a reminder on your phone or on a sticky note to practice your old favorite activities.
"My Reminders app on my phone is my prompt to do anything; even if I don't actually do them, my brain gets imprinted with the idea every day."
Watch your favorite show and try to finish folding before the episode ends.
"My favorite show made folding laundry feel way less boring. Itās like pairing a task I dread with a little bit of fun, and suddenly itās not so bad."
Light a candle, use incense, or try aromatherapy for the few hours you do laundry.
"Turning laundry into a routine made it feel way less like a chore. Itās like, āOkay, Thursday is laundry day, and then I can forget about it until next week.ā"
Use a mesh laundry bag for delicates to protect them and simplify sorting.
"The laundry bag was my MVP for keeping delicates safe. Itās like a little spa day for my socks and underwear."
Choose easy-to-wash clothes to reduce the stress of difficult laundry items.
"Wearing fabrics I knew how to wash easily took away a ton of laundry stress. Itās like sticking to the greatest hits of my wardrobeālow maintenance, high comfort."
Laundry pods simplify the processājust toss one in, no measuring needed.
"Laundry pods are my little magic beansāthey make the whole process simple and mess-free. No more guessing how much detergent I need."
Keep dirty underwear in the shower to clean it with body wash and air dry it.
"Oddly enough, hand-washing clothes in the shower made me feel accomplished. Itās like, āHey, at least I know itāll get done this way.ā"
Only do laundry when you know you can fold clothes right away.
"Folding clothes right away was my secret trick for avoiding wrinkles. Itās like, āIf I fold it now, future me doesnāt have to look like I slept in my clothes.ā"
Set an alarm with a fun song to remind you when to switch loads.
"The timer kept me from letting the laundry sit forever. Itās like having a little alarm that says, āHey, donāt forget about the clothes in the washer!ā"
Pre-sort your laundry into lights, darks, and delicates for easy washing.
"Pre-sorting my laundry made the whole process quicker. Itās like, āLight clothes, dark clothes, no stress.ā Itās my version of staying organized."
Focus on just one load per day to avoid a whole day of laundry.
"Reminding myself to just do one load of laundry a day made the whole thing way more manageable. Itās like, āOkay, Iāll tackle this pile today, and the next one can wait.ā"
Throw clothes directly in the washer after wearing.
"Tossing clothes into the hamper was my way of sending a message to future me, like, āHey, this mess is your problem now.ā Itās not exactly tackling the laundry mountain, but itās a start, and honestly, it makes me feel like Iām halfway to having my life together."
Wash a load without putting clothes away.
"Just getting the laundry washed, even if it stayed in the basket forever, was a major victory. Itās like, sure, Iām living out of the clean laundry pile, but at least theyāre clean, right? Baby steps."
Sort laundry while sitting to reduce energy use.
"Sorting stuff while sitting down felt like a life hackālike, why did I ever think I had to stand up to be productive? I just plopped down with a pile of clutter and sorted through it without breaking a sweat. My back was happy, and I felt like I was outsmarting the whole cleaning game."
Consider using a laundry service when overwhelmed.
"Outsourcing laundry felt like taking a big olā load off my mind (no pun intended). It was a big part of my household budget, but it was 100% worth it in desperate times."
Do laundry in small batches instead of one big load.
"Doing laundry in little batches made the whole thing less of a laundry mountain. Itās like breaking down the Everest of dirty clothes into a couple of small hillsāway easier to handle."
Spot clean any visible stains instead of washing the whole garment.
"Spot cleaning felt like taking the shortcut to āclean enoughā status. Sure, I didnāt do 4 loads of laundry, but hey, my fav t-shirt doesn't have a tomato sauce stain anymore, and thatās HUGE for me."
Challenge yourself to fold and put away laundry before it loses its warmth from the dryer.
"I put on a 15-minute playlist and race to make sure my clothes go in the drawers and closet WARM!'
Wash only your favorite clothes to minimize effort.
"Doing laundry for just my favorite clothes was like picking my MVPs to stay fresh. Itās like, yeah, my old jeans can wait, but those go-to comfy pants? They get the VIP treatment."
Use rubbing alcohol spray to freshen and disinfect clothes for multiple wears.
"A little fabric spray and re-wear saved me from laundry stress, and it kept odor away. I keep a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and water in my closet as a reminder."
Place clean clothes directly in drawers as they are.
"Shoving my clean clothes into drawers was a low-effort way to get my life together for a day. Those wrinkles might say otherwise, but I counted it as a victory in my book."
Avoid wearing stuff with special washing instructions.
"When depressed, I def was living in T-shirts and leggings because who needs to overcomplicate laundry, right? No 'dry-clean only' stuff for me, thank you very much."
Steam clothes instead of iron to give them a polished look with less effort.
"Ironing is waaaaaay too much work, and I can't figure out how to avoid those iron lines, so steaming is my favorite thing."
Clean your washing machine every few months to maintain its performance.
"I use Affresh washing machine cleaner every month so it gets a better clean and I don't have to deal with it breaking as often later."
Wash full loads to maximize efficiency and reduce water usage.
"I challenge myself to reduce the number of loads I have to do but still get the clothes clean."
Research how you can wash something at home rather than dry clean.
"I found that I could wash my coat in cold water instead of dragging it to the dry cleaner's."
Use dryer balls to reduce drying time and static.
"I am all for anything that reduces how long I have to deal with laundry, and wool dryer balls are that for me."
Sort clothes by fabric type for optimal washing and care.
"Better sorting helped my clothes last longer and look better during dark times."
If you have no energy for shopping, consider air drying clothes to keep them feeling new.
"I hate shopping and can't do it when depressed, and my clothes still look brand new because I exclusively air dry them."
Pre-treat stains as soon as they happen with a stain-remover for better results.
"I use Grandma's Secret Spot spray for any little stain that appears on my clothes before laundry time; it's so low effort but makes a huge difference."
Switch to eco-friendly detergent for a greener laundry routine.
"Using 'green' cleaning supplies helped me feel like I was following my values, even when feeling super low."
Tell yourself you will brush just one tooth and stop if that feels too hard.
"I'd tell myself I'd do one tooth. Sometimes I'd keep going."
Light a candle to make morning or night brushing a ritual.
"My brushing ritual is like my bookends for the day. Itās the one thing that makes me feel like I have a little bit of structureāeven when the rest of my life is a mess."
Use a toothpaste flavor you genuinely enjoy to make it more appealing.
"I ditched mint toothpaste because cinnamon brings back the warm fuzzies of childhood. Now brushing feels less like a chore and more like a little trip down memory lane."
Focus on the physical sensations of brushing to notice your progress.
"Focusing on the feeling of brushing helped me realize how each tooth was getting cleanālike, āHey, tooth number 4, youāre looking shiny!ā Weird, but it kept my mind occupied."
Brush while watching TV or listening to a podcast.
"Brushing my teeth while watching TV turned it from a boring chore into something that actually made me forget how heavy everything felt. Toothpaste commercials could never."
Pair brushing with social media scrolling to add variety and motivation.
"Scrolling TikTok while brushing my teeth turned into my nightly ritual. Itās like I tricked myself into thinking I was just there for the laughs, not the minty fresh breath."
Keep your toothbrush in plain sight to make it easier to remember.
"Seeing my toothbrush on the sink was like a little nudge that maybe I should, you know, use it. Itās like a reminder from past me to present me to keep it together."
On tired days, you can use a travel bottle to swish mouthwash whenever.
"Portable mouthwash is my secret weapon for keeping my teeth semi-fresh. Itās like, even if I canāt brush, I can still swoosh around a little minty freshness."
Break it into steps: wet brush, add toothpaste, brush one section at a time.
"Breaking it down into steps made the whole thing less terrifyingālike, āOkay, first step: get out of bed. Weāll worry about the rest later.ā"
"Body doubling" with a YouTube video can add some extra support.
"Brushing my teeth while watching a video made it feel like I had a buddy cheering me on. Itās like I outsourced my accountability to YouTube, and honestly, it worked."
Set a timer for one minute and see how clean you can get.
"Setting a timer made it so much easier to just start without getting caught in overthinking. Itās like tricking my brain into action before it can talk me out of it."
Purchase "waterless" toothbrushes for a dry brush.
"My box of dry toothbrushes is a must-have by my bed. If I get out of bed, I won't get out, so I'll always have a way to brush my teeth if that happens."
Just floss if brushing feels like too much to handle, even just a little.
"Holding a brush was tough, but I kept my plastic flossers on my nightstand for mornings and nights where all I could do was floss my teeth. I'd just do one tooth if doing all of it was overwhelming."
Chewing gum can be a temporary substitute.
"I carried a pack of gum with me everywhere and put it in my nightstand drawer. I'd chew whenever I could when I couldn't care for myself hygiene-wise. I got watermelon-flavored gum if I need a change from mint."
Swish water around your mouth if you can't manage anything else.
"Each time I went to the bathroom, I swished water around my mouth as much as I could to get some sort of clean when I couldn't do anything else."
Set a 10-second timer and brush for just that short period.
"I would say, 'Hey Siri, set a timer for 10 seconds,' to encourage myself to just get started, and I stopped at ten seconds if I couldn't do any more than that. Sometimes, I would continue."
Pre-paste your toothbrush if you have more energy the afternoon/night before.
"Whenever I had extra energy, it went to preparation for future me because I didn't know what my energy levels were going to be like. I didn't overdo it, but it helped on the roughest of rough days."
Use your finger with toothpaste to brush if you canāt manage to brush.
"When I was in the depths of depression, my limbs where so heavy that I could barely hold a toothbrush. Using my finger was enough because it had to be. I kept toothpaste in my pocket to finger-brush whenever I could."
Try brushing your teeth while lying down in bed with water from your bottle.
"Brushing in bed might sound weird, but it was keeping my teeth clean without having to get up, so don't knock it 'til you try it!"
Swish some mouthwash if brushing feels impossible.
"I often used mouthwash and called it a day because that is ultimately better than nothing, and it kept me pretty clean for a while until I could get the energy to brush my teeth."
Track your oral hygiene habits on an app or in your notes to gamify it.
"I'm not gonna lie, I used a chore chart with stickers meant for children to track my hygiene and it WORKED because I love gold stars."
Go on Zocdoc or another site to schedule a dental appointment online.
"Tbh, I choose doctors, dentists, and other professionals partly based on if they have a convenient online scheduling feature *shrugs*"
While brushing, try to write a short story or joke in your head to get creative.
"I sure have made up some silly stories while brushing my teeth, and I'd continue them the next time I brushed my teeth so I had motivation to keep brushing LOL"
Use a mouthwash when you need an energy boost after brushing.
"Mouthwash not only made me feel cleaner but also improved my alertness."
Scrape your tongue with a spoon or scraper to remove bacteria.
"Tongue scraping with a spoon actually made a big difference in my breath when I was struggling with other hygiene things."
Remind yourself how flossing can make your breath fresher
"I didn't want to offend anyone with my breath, so the reminder that food can rot in between teeth was a motivator to floss."
Have a few different toothpaste flavors on hand.
"I felt like a little kid with cinnamon, mint, bubblegum, and strawberry toothpaste, but it got me mildly interested in brushing my teeth, so that's a win."
Use a fluoride toothpaste to protect enamel and prevent cavities.
"I was super nervous about my next dentist appointment, so I tried to be the model dental patient to ease my worries."
Choose a favorite song that's about 2 minutes to be your teeth brushing soundtrack.
"I felt proud when I brushed for a full 2 minutes, and my favorite song as the inspo music was a bonus."
Invest in a high-quality toothbrush or electric model for a better clean faster.
"An electric toothbrush made my teeth feel cleaner and made it lower effort, which motivated me more."
Sneak in a set of squats while you brush your teeth or wait for the microwave.
"Sometimes I try to make a game out of doing squats, trying to see when there's a random time to fit one in."
Take the stairs instead of an elevator for a little challenge.
"Taking the stairs (even though I want to just take the elevator lol) is a simple way to move a bit more."
Inhale as you raise your arms, then exhale as you lower them slowly for a calming stretch.
"Lifting my arms with deep breaths helped me reset. It was like a mini-meditation break."
Extend and flex each finger and rotate your wrists to relieve tension in your hands.
"Any kind of movement counts in my book, especially when my bandwidth is super low."
Point and flex your feet while lying down to keep circulation moving.
"Flexing my feet in bed gave me a sense of movement when I didn't feel like getting up yet."
While seated or standing, gently twist your torso from side to side to stretch your back.
"Twisting and letting my arms flop side to side is so soothing for me- so helpful for anxiety."
Stand up and march in place for 60 seconds anytime you need a quick break.
"I can usually commit to 1-minute of something, even when I'm really struggling. This got my blood moving!"
Each time you take a sip, stand up to stretch your legs before sitting down again.
"When I'm sitting all day, it's kind of a fun little game to remember to get up & stretch whenever I drink water."
Use a reminder to stretch out your arms and legs to counteract sitting.
"I tend to hunch over and get really stiff, especially when I'm feeling a lot of anxiety. This little reminder helped a lot."
Put on a favorite song and sway or move gently to the rhythm. No complex moves needed.
"I'm pretty uncomfy with dancing, but some swaying to music lifted my mood. It was a fun, easy way to move without a big effort."
Stand and reach up as high as you can, then slowly lower your arms and relax your shoulders.
"When I stretch my arms up, it's uncomfrotable at first but then feels freeing, like I'm not trapped & can move."
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