As they say, all work and no play makes you dull. But what it really does is make you stressed out, and ineffective. If you really want to be good at your job and productive every single day, setting aside time for mindless fun each and every day is imperative. Being mindless for a little bit each day will make you more creative and productive.
Go for a Walk
Everyone should try to take a walk each day for about 30 to 45 minutes. Walking at a brisk pace for this length of time will help your heart, as well as clear out the cobwebs from your mind. Avoid taking anything with you to listen to, like music, or lectures, or books. Instead, try not to think of anything but how your breath feels going in and out of your lungs, and how the air smells to your nose.
Read a Chapter of a Book
No, don’t read something about your industry. Read something simple and mindless that is not realistic. Read “chick lit”, murder mysteries, science fiction or another genre that you enjoy that seems like ultimate pleasure and nothing more. If you have teenagers, try reading some of their books for a real eye-opening experience.
Play a Video Game
There are many different games you can play today, from games online to old-fashioned games on paper. Take just 15 minutes or so to play a round or two of a game that you enjoy and don’t think of anything else while you’re doing it. Set the timer. Time flies when you’re playing games.
Create an Art Project
Want to learn to paint, knit or sew? Why not start now. You can learn something new and find a hobby that takes your mind out of your work. Painting is really good for that because you can be abstract and not exact on your creations. It will teach you that imperfections can be beautiful.
Meditate
This requires a quiet room, comfortable clothing, and just 15 minutes. Find a way to sit that is comfortable, usually with your legs crossed and your back straight, hands relaxed on your thighs. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe in, and out. In through your nose, and out through your mouth. Take deep, long breaths and focus on nothing else for the time you’ve set aside. You want your mind to literally think of nothing.
Jump on a Trampoline
One of the best exercises is rebounding, and it’s fun too. When you are jumping, think of only the fun of jumping, not what’s next in your life. Just think of right now, jumping up and down.
Get in a Hot Tub
If you have access to a hot tub, or just your tub full of hot water, get in. Fill up the tub with nice smelling bubbles, light some candles, and enjoy until the water cools down. Different smells will give you different feelings. Try mint for more energy, lavender to calm down.
Get a Massage
Depending on where you live, you can get someone to come to your home or office for a massage. Massages usually take from 30 to 40 minutes and are a perfect weekly treat to help you get out of your head and enjoy mindless fun.
Take a Vacation
You can’t take a vacation every day of course, but you should take one at least once a year. If you cannot take one long two-week vacation each year, try taking more frequent smaller three-day weekend vacations where you disconnect and unplug so that you can come back refreshed and ready to work.
Watch Funny Videos
Everyone loves cat videos, or videos of babies laughing. Set aside a bit of time on occasion to watch some funny videos. It will help you have a full happy day, and spark your creativity due to the happy endorphins released during laughter.
Take a Nap
A 20-minute power nap can do wonders helping you become more creative. You need someplace good to nap such as a cool bedroom or a comfortable couch in your office. Pull the shades, turn off the technology, and set an alarm.
Take in a Movie
Whether you go to the theater or watch instantly on Netflix, a good movie can take you to a whole new world. Most movies are one to two hours long, so plan this one into your schedule carefully.
Learn to Knit
Once you learn to knit, it becomes a mindless activity that is very repetitive yet something you must focus on to get it right. Having something mindless to take your focus can make you that much more energetic and creative when you come back to work tasks.
Take a Dance Class
Nothing can quite get your blood pumping like a good dance. You can take lessons with a friend, or a spouse, or even alone depending on the type of dance you want to learn. It’s not really important that you’re good at it, just that you have fun.
Create a Vision Board
While not totally mindless, it’s very helpful to create a vision board to help you envision and plan your future by making them look real on a vision board. You can use Pinterest or old-fashioned paper, glue and paint to do it.
Have Sex
This might seem like a strange thing to say but so many of us get so busy with our working lives that we forget about our spouses. Life, children, and work take precedence over fun activities like sex far too often. It might seem that it’s not so romantic to schedule it in, but it’s very important if you’re in a relationship like that not to ignore it.
All of these activities are pretty mindless and can get you out of yourself a bit. It’s important to incorporate mindless fun into your life so that you can be even more wonderful than you already are. All of these activities get you out of your head and can actually get your creative juices flowing. Just be sure to stick to your schedule so that mindless activity doesn’t take over completely and that work doesn’t get in the way of having mindless fun.
