20 Ways to Recharge in 20 Minutes

Moms never seem to have enough time. The next time life gives you 20 minutes, don’t waste a single moment – jump right into one of these 20 relaxing rituals.

Get your heart rate up with a brisk walk, preferably around the most scenic route in your neighborhood. As you walk, shake that tension out of your arms and shoulders.

Write four fanciful postcards to your dearest faraway friends. Short on postcards? Find four pretty pieces of notepaper and write hand-written notes with the most grown-up pen in the house.

Buy inexpensive bunches of flowers in season and arrange them in your prettiest vases around the house.

Center yourself. Find a comfortable spot and try a few basic yoga poses. Or practice meditation by quieting your mind and body; focus on breathing deeply in and out to release tension.

Flip through that pile of magazines you never have time to read. Tear out the articles that interest you and keep them handy for when you’re in the waiting room or car-pool line.

Record your favorite funny sitcoms or designate a weekly time to catch up with them on your computer. During these times, shut the door, turn out the lights, and enjoy (with or without commercials).

In your journal, write your idea of the perfect day. Start with how you would like to wake up and proceed, hour by hour, until the bedtime ritual. Be as descriptive as possible.

Call your best friend. Read her the description of your perfect day and ask about hers.

Close the shades, put on your earbuds, find your favorite dance music and get down. Don’t stop until your stress and strain shimmy away.

Sit outside under a tree. Listen. Write what you hear in a poem.

Take a mini-vacation to a foreign land – spend $10 at an ethnic market on something you wouldn’t ordinarily buy.

Engage your inner child – finger paint, play with clay or color with crayons. Focus on the fun of the process, not the quality of the product.

Enjoy the perfect cup of tea and your favorite cookies. My mother kept her “special cookies” hidden so the kids couldn’t raid her secret stash. Now I do too.

Find your “happy place.” What happens when you visualize yourself talking to an older, wiser version of yourself there? Write the results in your journal.

Look through your childhood photos or family photo albums. Reminiscing helps us remember what it was like to view the world through innocent eyes.

Turn on some soothing music, fire up as many candles as you can find, dim the lights and sink into a sumptuous bubble bath.

Create a gratitude list. As you write, take time to be especially aware of the good things in life you’d otherwise take for granted.

Soak your feet in a warm footbath for five minutes. Push the cuticles back with an orange stick and apply two coats of your brightest, most cheerful nail polish to your toes.

Set your alarm clock for 20 minutes, lie down and start counting backwards from 100. You’ll be rested and refreshed, whether you fell asleep or not.

Be a rock star. Sing in the shower as loudly as you like. Buy soaps and shampoos with scents that inspire you.

– Christina Katz