8 Easy Ways To Destress Your Workday In 5 Minutes Or Less [Chart]

Just yesterday we published an article called the Ultimate Guide To Unplugging. If you need a digital break, there are some great tips in there for how to go about it so you’ll come back feeling refreshed and ready to go. But what if you aren’t quite ready to unplug just yet? What if you just need to destress for the moment? There are tons of ways to destress. But if you’re a busy professional, the question becomes, are there ways to do it that will take less than five minutes?

The answer is yes. Sure, you could take a vacation, go camping, plant a garden, start a hobby, take a class or go visit a friend. All of those things can help you destress, but maybe you don’t have time for those right now. You need something that can provide immediate results.

For me, working out and/or listening to music are the most effective ways to destress almost instantly. This chart called How To Relax Fast by Anna Vital at Funders and Founders suggests 8 scientific ways to destress in 5 minutes or less. If you are stressed right now, you could be feeling better in almost no time by choosing something on this chart.

Sometimes we get so used to being stressed that we don’t even realize when we are completely frazzled. One way you can tell if you are stressed is by paying attention to your body and how it reacts to stress. For example, when I’m stressed, I can always feel it in my shoulders. They get all tight and scrunched up. When I’m relaxed, my shoulders fall back down into place. Learn to notice the signs your body gives you.

I’ve heard that meditation is a good way to relieve stress, but for some reason, I’ve never been very good at meditating. If you have any tips on that, let me know. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this!