![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/04145522\/what-to-do-in-20-minutes-600-lava.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nWhen you\u2019re busy, it\u2019s self-care that gets cut first. Instead of trying to multitask, divide your to-dos into 20-minute chunks.<\/p>\n
Doing so \u201ctends to decrease overwhelm and facilitate a can-do attitude,\u201d explains Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D.\u00a0clinical psychologist and author of\u00a0Joy from Fear.<\/p>\n
Feeling less stressed about all the things you want to do \u201ctranslates into actually enjoying the tasks at hand \u2014 and even completing more\u00a0than anticipated,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
You can do all of the activities below in just 20 minutes to move your health and fitness journey forward. Tackle one of them today!<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a loop or 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back, a quick walk can benefit your mind and body.<\/p>\n
Studies show that short walks are \u201csufficient to foster positive emotional states, so a 20-minute walk is a sure-fire way to boost your mental health,\u201d says Manly.<\/p>\n
She adds that \u201ca short walk several times a week has the power to\u00a0increase physical health\u201d by benefitting your heart, blood pressure, and even weight.<\/p>\n
Tatyana Mestechkina, Ph.D., Founder, and Clinical Director of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Better Living, suggests making a gratitude list.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s precisely what it sounds like: a list of things, big or small, that you\u2019re thankful for at the moment when you write it.<\/p>\n
It may not even take 20 minutes, but doing this simple act \u201chas been shown to increase well-being,\u201d explains Mestechkina.<\/p>\n
Gratitude lists may also be a good gateway for journaling.<\/p>\n
Keeping a journal can\u00a0help manage occasional anxiety\u00a0and even\u00a0improve procrastination.\u00a0It can\u00a0help people cope\u00a0when going through a hard time and increase their optimism.<\/p>\n
If writing down your thoughts and feelings doesn\u2019t feel comfortable, you could try a food journal instead.<\/p>\n
Writing down what you eat makes it easier to see where you\u2019re stress-eating or overdoing it, and identifying those patterns is the first step toward creating the calorie deficit you need for weight loss.<\/p>\n
Grocery lists can be a way to invest in your own mental and physical health.<\/p>\n
One study\u00a0showed that using a grocery list may be associated with healthier diets and lower body mass index (among very high-risk adults).<\/p>\n
It also helps with impulse buys and serves as a meal planning aid.<\/p>\n
But they can also help your well-being in ways beyond your diet. You\u2019ll save time at the store by using a grocery list, and you can spend that saved time on self-care activities or family time.<\/p>\n
Grocery lists also make it easier to stick to a budget, which\u00a0surveys have found\u00a0make people feel more confident in their spending and less stressed about finances.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You clear everything else to show up for your work meetings; we think your wellness should be the same way. Use a brief chunk of that time to tackle one of a myriad of workouts on the BODi app that are just 20 minutes in length.<\/p>\n
A 20-minute workout can be incredibly effective, offering efficiency, convenience, and ease of commitment. And depending on the effort and intensity, you can get a complete workout in the time it takes others to use the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Programs like Shaun T\u2019s Transform:20, Megan Davies\u2019 #mbf20, and Job 1 by Jennifer Jacobs offer a mid-day mood boost in addition to helping burn fat, build strength, and improve cardiovascular endurance.<\/p>\n
Also built on 20-minute workouts of nonstop movement, BODi LAVA is a six-week synthesis of power yoga and primal movements designed to forge a strong body that moves with greater ease.<\/p>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/15115413\/What-to-Do-in-20-Minutes.600.meditate.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n
\u201cMeditating \u2014 even for short periods of time \u2014 gives the body, mind, and spirit a chance to take a timeout,\u201d says Manly.<\/p>\n
Sometimes that\u2019s what your mind needs to get back to work with intention and focus. If you have difficulty sitting in one place, Manly suggests trying moving meditations like tai chi.<\/p>\n
Even if you\u2019re moving, bringing mindfulness to what you\u2019re doing can \u201cdecrease the likelihood of us experiencing anxiety or sadness,\u201d explains Mestechkina, because it interrupts stressful thinking patterns.<\/p>\n
Recovery is an essential part of training and exercise, but it\u2019s forgotten or ignored all too often.<\/p>\n
Researchers are torn about whether we absorb muscle-relaxing magnesium through our skin, but even the act of drawing yourself a bath has benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we take small 20-minute breaks to reset and refocus, we are far more likely to feel more positive, refreshed, and attentive,\u201d Manly explains.<\/p>\n
Use 20 minutes to set yourself up to enjoy a healthy, nourishing diet. Try doing something that helps you in an area in which you struggle.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s hard for you to get in enough veggies, prep chopped vegetables for salads or roasted vegetables for sides.<\/p>\n
If you forget to eat because you\u2019re busy, prepare a week\u2019s worth of healthy snacks.<\/p>\n
(You can also find most veggies pre-prepped in bags at the grocery store, or frozen in bulk for total convenience.)<\/p>\n
Remember that by doing these things, you\u2019re taking care of future you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we embrace the idea that meal prepping can be an act of self-care (rather than a bothersome must-do), we tend to enjoy the process of preparing the food that nurtures our bodies,\u201d says Manly.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t have time to go into all the reasons you need to be getting enough sleep but suffice it to say that\u00a0it\u2019s vital\u00a0for your long-term health.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not getting adequate sleep at night, naps temporarily can help you close this gap between your sleep needs and reality.<\/p>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/15115408\/What-to-Do-in-20-Minutes.600.foam-roll.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n
Foam rolling is your tight muscles\u2019 best friend. It can help relieve soreness and get you back into your workouts faster.<\/p>\n
Stretching can also help reduce the risk of injuries. Lingering stiffness\u00a0can cause muscle imbalances\u00a0that affect you in and out of the gym.<\/p>\n
Stretching or foam rolling are also gentle ways to pause from work and reconnect with your body if you\u2019re someone who sits most of the day.<\/p>\n
Instead of eating at your computer, take 20 minutes to sit and enjoy your meal, distraction-free.<\/p>\n
That means no endless scrolling through emails or Instagram, either!<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing our full awareness to what we are doing in the present moment\u201d is valuable, reminds Mestechkina.<\/p>\n
Your body requires attention\u00a0to notice satiety cues and doing a task that takes some of your attention away from what you\u2019re eating impairs your ability to feel full.<\/p>\n
Sometimes checking something off your to-do list is a form of self-care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf tending to a few straggling tasks will reduce your overall stress, don\u2019t hesitate to use a spare 20 minutes to mindfully sweep the floors,\u201d says Manly.<\/p>\n
And using sweeping or vacuuming as a break from office work (if you\u2019re working from home) can help ease physical tension caused by sitting too long.<\/p>\n
Having a furry friend\u00a0is beneficial\u00a0for your social, physical, and mental health, but you need to spend time with them.<\/p>\n
Staring into your dog\u2019s eyes\u00a0increases levels of oxytocin, the love hormone, which makes your bond even closer.<\/p>\n
You may not be able to get through your entire to-read list in 20-minute chunks, but you could tackle some of it.<\/p>\n
Pick up fiction for a break from your workday or self-help or non-fiction to learn about or strengthen a skill you\u2019ve always wanted to develop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about this as \u2018refueling time,’\u201d says Mestechkina. She says we need to \u201cfigure out ways to \u2018put gas\u2019 into ourselves\u201d regularly, just as we do with our cars.<\/p>\n
Looking for more expert tips? Head over to BODi and find out how BODi\u2019s at-home workouts, nutrition programs, and online community work together to help you reach your health and fitness goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you\u2019re busy, it\u2019s self-care that gets cut first. Instead of trying to multitask, divide your to-dos into 20-minute chunks. Doing so \u201ctends to decrease overwhelm and facilitate a can-do attitude,\u201d explains Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D.\u00a0clinical psychologist and author of\u00a0Joy from Fear. Feeling less stressed about all the things you want to do \u201ctranslates into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-2655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","tag-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2657,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655\/revisions\/2657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}