13 Ways to Get Out of Your Bad Mood Before the Weekend
Sometimes when the weekend rolls around, we’re so exhausted we stay inside and munch while streaming movies. We love a relaxing weekend every now and again, but if it’s a bad mood or anything else trapping us inside—it seems like a waste of a perfectly good weekend.
So, here are 13 ways (yes 13) to shake yourself out of a bad mood:
#1 Spend time with friends
Yay, for being able to #hug your friends again! Spending time with them is an instant “slump” buster. So, reach out and have fun—it’s one of the best ways to get out of a bad mood. You could combine this tip with the next one and have a dinner party. Just saying—you can hit two birds with one stone.
7-Day Challenge:
Sometime this week, pick a day to spend time with a close friend.
#2 Cook a fresh meal once a day
You are what you eat…I took a trip to Maui and ate fresh pineapple every day. Pineapples are an awesome fruit because they’re a mood booster. So, I was delighted after eating almost four whole pineapples on my trip (maybe more if you count the fresh and blended Pina-Coladas).
I got out of my “same-old-food-routine” and dipped my toes into a new culinary adventure. You can do the same. You can eat more veggies and fruits and prepare fresh lunches and dinners outside of what you normally eat. Instead of grilling up some chicken, try creating a meal with many colors and flavors (like roasted chicken with colorful and seasonal vegetables). Boost your mood by adding creativity to your cuisine.
7-Day Challenge:
Next week, cook a fresh meal at least once a day (here are some healthy ideas + from our friends from Happy DIY Home, here are some spectacular, cheap, and healthy food options).
#3 Pick up some fresh cut flowers
Yes, we love giving and receiving flowers and plants (#plantlady). But when was the last time you picked some up for yourself? Do we hear crickets?
Having living things around you can help brighten your mood. Go to the market, your backyard, or local florist and pick up a bouquet that speaks to your sense of style. If you’re more of a minimalist, you can try adding some green leaves to a handful of white lilies. If you have a more glamorous taste, you can add wildflowers and eucalyptus to a handful of spray roses. Fresh-cut flowers can make you happier instantly.
7-Day Challenge:
Pick or buy fresh-cut flowers today (here are some fun ways to keep your flowers fresher longer).
#4 Technology detox
When we asked our chief editor at OMNI to look up her weekly phone usage, her face dropped. “I spend seven hours on my phone?!” She said in horror, “What the heck I’m I doing?”
Whoops, it happens. We get sucked in when we wake up or before we go to bed, and our smart devices are always around. A technology detox might be what you need to feel better. Pick a day or time where you limit your engagement with technology (like not checking social media or emails for an hour).
Instead, you can go to lunch with a friend and put your phone on silent. No cheating during a technology detox! For instance, if you're hanging out with your friend, and they get up to get something, don’t even think about reaching for your phone. This is a solid day or even an hour without your devices. You'll thank us later.
7-Day Challenge:
For the next week, spend an hour a day (or one whole day) without your devices.
#5 Spend time doing your passions
You know there’s something unique, which positively sets you apart. To get in a better mood, you can choose one passion you love doing and then engage in it. Whether it's writing, dancing, painting, surfing, or doing crafts, complete the activity starting today. Reinvest in your passions, and your motivation will come back faster than you'd ever thought possible.
7-Day Challenge:
For the next week, pick a passion and do it for at least five minutes a day.
#6 Do something outside your comfort zone
Getting stuck in a rut is so easy. Our workweek bleeds into our weekend, and trust us, during the pandemic year, everything looked the same, and we got stuck on auto-pilot too. So, now we can get out of our rut by doing something new.
Even the simplest activity, like changing out your shampoo for a new one, or a bolder action like hiking a new trail with friends, will get you doing something out of your routine. Expand yourself and your awareness by doing something outside your comfort zone.
7-Day Challenge:
For the next seven days, and once a day, do something that is outside your routine.
#7 Write a love letter
Sharing your love is a wonderful way to spark a sense of happiness. If you don’t have a specific person you can write a love letter to, then you can address your fabulous letter to a friend, someone you love, or a future SO that should know your feelings are for #real.
You might want to write a simple text or direct message, but that won't cut it. You must put your fingers on the keyboard or pen to paper and write a letter about the top ten things you love about them. You might be surprised by how much fun you'll have while writing your heart out. Plus, you’ll brighten someone else's day, which is the main reason for doing anything that comes from the heart.
7-Day Challenge:
Write a love letter and send it to someone by the end of the week.
#8 Be grateful for your $#!@ job…and then get a new one
When you're having a bad day, there is probably someone, somewhere, who’s having an even worse day than you. Your job might be awful, but at least you have a job, and you are brilliant. You can and will find a new one.
So, be grateful for what you have, and you’ll see your perspective change instantly. Do not lose sight of your ultimate goal. It's not that it won't become a reality. Instead, it's that it hasn’t come true yet.
7-Day Challenge:
For seven days, write three things that you're grateful for.
#9 You don't have to be happy all the time
The worst advice someone could give to you when you're feeling down is to, "just be happy."
No, you don’t have to be happy when you're not. Being authentic to your feelings will help you feel better at your own pace. Over time, you’ll see that every setback or bad situation can end happily if you let it.
7-Day Challenge:
For the next seven days, allow your feelings to come and go—like an ocean wave—and become an observer of your fluctuations without trying to change them.
#10 Make your bed
It's one of the simplest activities you can do in the mornings, gives your mood a boost, and increases productivity throughout your day. Make your bed.
When you make your bed, it puts you in the driver’s seat immediately. It builds a foundation for the rest of your day. If you can do this, then you can make any positive activity into consistent action.
7-Day Challenge:
For the next week, make your bed every day.
#11 Read a good book
Not only will it make you smarter, but more relaxed. Your mood can’t stay in the dumps when you're reading something good. So, get an audiobook, read a paper-back, find your Kindle, or borrow a book from your local library and get reading!
7-Day Challenge:
Read once a day for the next seven days, even if it’s just for fifteen minutes.
#12 Breathe and stand up throughout your day
We know we should stand up and breathe deeply, but do we? Not always. Yet, standing helps your circulation, overall health, and you breathe deeper. You’ll feel instantly relaxed, and when you sit back down, you’ll be more focused.
Try a simple breathing exercise where you take five breaths in. Then when you exhale, release five bursts of air. You will feel more relaxed and have a better mood at the end of this simple activity.
7-Day Challenge:
Stand up at least once every two hours and breathe deeply throughout your day for the next week.
#13 Get better sleep
If you do one thing from this post, let it be this activity: get more sleep. Getting a good night's rest can help with digestion, hormone regulation, weight loss, slowing the aging process, having a better mood, and improving overall health.
Our OMNI team has bouts of insomnia. We know how hard it is to fall asleep blissfully.
Here’s what the team does to help with restless nights:
Meditation
Breathing exercises
Watching a documentary
Aromatherapy (like the smell of lavender in a diffuser)
Writing in a journal
Taking a natural and organic sleep aid (check out Knock Me Out on Goop)
Talking to someone you love
Turning off your devices
7-Day Challenge:
Do something for the next seven nights that helps you sleep.
We hope these 13 activities left you feeling better. Usually, a lousy mood is not caused by "one" bad thing but a combination of many factors taking its toll. Stepping back and figuring out what those things are will help you stay in a better mood and more often.
Starting today, take smart risks; you have 13 right here that’ll kick-start your better mood.