We all have them. Those days where a grey, heavy storm cloud seems to park itself directly over our heads. Nothing is overtly catastrophic, but everything feels a little bit harder, a little more irritating, and a lot more exhausting.
On days like these, your energy is low, your patience is thin, and your motivation has packed its bags and left town. The last thing you need is a demanding to-do list of complicated self-care rituals.
This is not that list.
This is your emergency first-aid kit for a heavy heart. This is a collection of gentle, incredibly low-effort things you can do to offer yourself a moment of comfort and kindness. This isn’t about forcing yourself to be happy; it’s about making the wise and compassionate choice to be a little less miserable.
Here are 10 simple things to do to lift your spirits on a tough day.
1. Take a “Warm Water” Reset. The simple, sensory act of a warm shower or bath is a powerful physical and emotional reset. It’s a chance to symbolically wash the day’s stress and grime away.
2. Put on Your “Comfort” Uniform. Take off the clothes you wore to face the world—your work clothes, your restrictive jeans—and change into your absolute softest, coziest loungewear. It’s a signal to your body that it is safe to relax.
3. Listen to a “Familiar” Story. Your brain is too tired for a new, complex plot. Put on a favorite audiobook you know by heart (like Harry Potter) or a comforting, gentle podcast. Let someone else do the work.
4. Eat Your “Childhood” Comfort Food. Now is the time for the food that feels like a hug from the inside. A simple grilled cheese sandwich, a bowl of mac and cheese, or a warm bowl of soup can be incredibly soothing.
5. Do One Tiny, Satisfying Task. On a bad day, feeling a tiny sense of accomplishment is a powerful antidote to helplessness. Just choose one small, visible task. Make your bed. Put three dishes in the dishwasher. Water a plant.
6. Watch Funny and Wholesome Videos. Give yourself 15 minutes of guilt-free, low-stakes entertainment. Watching a compilation of funny animal videos or heartwarming moments is a reliable way to get a small hit of dopamine.
7. The “Cancel One Thing” Lifeline. Look at your calendar for the next 24 hours. Find one non-essential, low-priority thing you can cancel, postpone, or simply not do. Give yourself the gift of less.
8. Do the “Legs Up the Wall” Pose. The most restorative, zero-effort yoga pose. Lie on the floor, scoot your hips to a wall, and rest your legs up against it for 10 minutes. It’s incredibly calming for a frazzled nervous system.
9. Create a “Sensory” Sanctuary. Change your environment to change your mood. Dim the lights, light a favorite candle or start an essential oil diffuser, and put on a soft, instrumental playlist.
10. Give Yourself Permission to Have a Bad Day. This is the most important one. Stop fighting it. Stop telling yourself you should be happy. Acknowledge the feeling without judgment. Sometimes, the most compassionate act is to simply surrender.
A bad day is not a bad life. Your only job on a day like this is to be incredibly gentle with yourself, to lower your expectations, and to navigate the storm with as much self-compassion as you can muster.
Choose one of these small acts of kindness. You’ve made it through the day. And that is more than enough.