What a lovely little gift Daylight Savings Time gives us each fall. One extra hour, delivered via our automatically updated alarm clocks and phones while we slept this weekend. Check our eight clever and chill ways to spend your extra hour, even if it's to do nothing at all. See below:
1. Sleep in: If you don’t usually get enough ZZZ’s (and let’s face it, you probably don’t), an additional hour won’t cure all your ills, but it sure will feel nice. Sleep deprivation decreases a range of cognitive abilities. Therefore, this little indulgence can only improve your mood and ability to do stuff.
2. Start a new book: Between having lack of time and energy in the evenings you can’t always dive into a book. If you need any recommendations, a few that are on our must-read list are:
- We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Hunger by Roxane Gay
- Rabbit by Patricia Williams
- Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward
- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
3. Take a walk: Depending on where you live, you might enjoy balmy breezes or a brisk gust of wind blowing colorful leaves off the trees. Either way, you’re getting your heart rate up while soaking up some natural vitamins by way of nature. Pull in a friend or family member you haven't seen in a while to tag along, or just go it alone and reconnect with you and have a self-care moment.
4. Do something that makes the rest of your week go a little more smoothly: Make your lunches ahead of time for the office or in between classes, sometimes those meals on-the-go can add up it'll also cut down on your time spent waiting and wondering what to eat midday. Or putting away the laundry that’s been sitting in baskets, folded and sorted, so you have clothes to wear. You can try to devise a simple meal plan and shopping list so the nightly “what’s for dinner?” discussion isn’t so baffling or such a drag.
5. Get creative: If you have a particular creative hobby you enjoy, whether it’s painting, creative writing, crafting or whatever, spend an hour doing that. Don’t worry about having all the right materials or setting. If you have to, go to a local fabric store or art studio and just go nuts.
6. Cook with friends: The simple act of choosing a recipe, assembling the ingredients, preparing and cooking or baking a dish together with your besties can be a fun bonding experience. With an extra hour, you have the luxury of time to spend showing them how to roll out dough or chop vegetables. When you’re done, you can all mutually appreciate and enjoy the food you made, catch up on the latest news, sip a little red wine and chill.
7. Vibe to some good music: Make a good hot cup of tea or coffee and finally play a couple of those vinyls you brought the last time you took a trip the record store. Or put the new music of the week list on random and sip and vibe.
8. Tips on point: Getting or even doing your own manicure or pedicure can be an enjoyable way to spend an hour. Try out that new deep autumn color you've been eyeing to rock this season. Whatever you choose whether it's something or nothing at all enjoy that extra hour and happy November to you!
