The "1-Minute Rule" That Completely Changed The Way I Handle Anxiety

Hello, lovelies! This week I was thinking about anxiety and all the ways it tends to hold me back from doing all the things that I want or, sometimes, need to do. I've seen so many of my friends and people that I follow online struggle with anxiety lately and I gotta tell you... I'm right there with you!

Some days are awesome and I plow through my to-do list like nobodies business (for some reason, I've had a lot of those days lately and I'm almost scared to jinx it) but others see me slow to move with little desire to get out of bed and barely any motivation. I think on some level, even if we don't all struggle with anxiety, we all have days like this.

Yesterday I saw one of the ladies I love to follow on Insta-stories having a down day and I reached out to share something... I think now is the perfect time to share (with you too) a tip that has completely changed the way I deal with my most anxious days:

"the 1 - minute rule"

Although I'm not sure how I first discovered this 1-minute rule (it must have been an online article somewhere), putting it into practice has been life-changing for me!

The rule is simple. If something takes one minute (or less), do it right away. Don't make excuses and say, "That's such a little thing... I'll do it later." A few examples of tasks that take less than a minute: taking your vitamins, brushing your teeth, (if you're really fast) making your bed, picking up that little bit of trash you passed on the way up the stairs, straightening your couch cushions, picking up your shoes. What I've found, when I employ the one-minute rule during times of anxiety, is that building a pool of little accomplishments makes me feel capable and like I've been able to get something done. Sometimes this trickles over and I in-turn feel motivated to dig myself out of crippling anxiety and tackle bigger things. Sometimes I just pat myself on the back, glance at my space that's tidier and to-list that's shorter and allow myself to continue wallowing in the anxiety. Both are acceptable courses of action.

So, if you're feeling down or having a bad anxiety day, I challenge you to try the 1-minute rule and do all of the little tasks that you can which take a mere 60 seconds. I hope you'll be presently suprised to find that you feel a little better!