Do these 15 things after work to lift yourself up and help your mind, body, and soul be fresh again!
So it’s 5pm and you’ve finally escaped from the office.
Your brain feels like mush, your back’s killing you from that terrible desk chair, and all you want to do is face-plant into your couch and become one with Netflix.
But if you do the same couch routine every single night, your life ends up being all about work.
You wake up, work, hit the couch, sleep, and then repeat it all the next day.
And before you know it, you can’t even remember what happened last week because it all just blends together.
Look, I’m not here to shame your couch time. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
But most days after work, even doing one different thing can make you feel less like a zombie and more like an actual person with a life.
In this post, I’m sharing 15 best things to do after work, other than being a couch potato scrolling through your phone.
But first, pin this post, please!
Let’s dive right in!
15 Things To Do After Work
1. Drink Loads Of Water
I don’t know about you, but whenever I am out of the house for work, I’m not able to drink loads of water.
If you relate, then the one thing you absolutely need to do post-work hours is drink water.
Refill your water bottle (whether you’re outside or working from home), and start drinking.
It will give your body instant energy that it might be lacking after long work hours, and your mind will also feel refreshed. Power of hydration!
2. Take a Decompression Walk
Decompression walk sure sounds intense, but I promise it’s not. It just means walking for the sale of detoxing your mind.
You can walk right after coming back from work, or do it after your dinner.
No need to pump your arms or count your steps.
Just take a regular walk around your neighbourhood and actually look at the stuff that you usually miss (trees, grass, houses, and your neighbours).
All that work stress just starts melting away while you’re walking.
I always walk after particularly hectic days, and honestly, it works better than therapy, and way cheaper too!
3. Call Someone You Love Talking To
I know phone calls feel weird now because we’re all used to just texting everything, but think about someone you actually enjoy talking to.
Maybe it’s your mom, your college roommate, or that friend who always has ridiculous stories about their dating adventures that make you feel better about your own life choices.
Just call them for no particular reason and have a good conversation, even if it’s only 10 minutes long.
It’s amazing how much better you feel after talking to someone who actually knows you as a person instead of just as ‘the person who handles the spreadsheets’.
It reminds you that you have people and a life outside your workspace.
4. Cook Something That Smells Amazing
After breathing recycled office air all day, your place needs some actual life in it, and nothing is better than cooking for that.
Not only is it a great post-work hobby to bust your stress, but you’ll also get to eat something homemade.
So, throw some garlic in a pan, toast some spices, or bake literally anything that will make your kitchen smell like real food.
Even if you’re just making mac and cheese, you can add some herbs or garlic or something to make it feel like actual cooking instead of just reheating processed food.
5. Visit a Bookstore or Library
Bookstores and libraries have a quiet energy that’s totally different from your office, where everyone’s always rushing around.
People are browsing at their own pace, reading things they actually want to read, taking their time without someone breathing down their neck about productivity.
You don’t have to buy an expensive book or commit to reading something heavy.
You can just walk around, pick up random books that look interesting, flip through them, and read a few pages.
And if you happen to find something that catches your interest, that’ll be a lovely bonus.
You can read the book when you get home and pick it up every night for the rest of the week till you’re done.
6. Do Something Creative and Pointless
Creativity is a very colorful and weighted word for sure, but I think it’s most fun when it’s pointless. That’s when you’re able to enjoy the most.
So, after getting off work, if you feel like tapping into your creativity, then do it just for fun.
Get yourself a sketchbook and draw badly, write random thoughts in a notebook, or strum on your guitar.
Your brain will love doing something fun and completely unrelated to work (after having spent eight hours doing just that).
Related post: 15 Creative Side Projects You Can Actually Stick With
7. Become a Regular Somewhere
Pick a coffee shop that’s not too far from your work or home and start going there regularly after work.
Don’t just grab a coffee to go and run. Sit for a while with a book or just watch people and remember what it’s like to be somewhere without an agenda.
It’s nice being a regular somewhere because it makes you feel connected to your neighborhood instead of just passing through it on your way to work.
When the coffee person knows your order without you having to say anything, you feel like you’ve got your life together (even if you haven’t done laundry in two weeks, haha).
It’s a small thing, but small things add up to make you feel like you’re actually living.
This idea is inspired by way too many reruns of Gilmore Girls. But I live to romanticize, and so I am spreading the word!
8. Take a Different Route Home
I am sorry if you are tired of me repeating this particular tip, but I think it’s quite underrated.
When you take the same routine every day, you become oblivious to the world around you.
Mindfulness gets lost, and you end up thinking about either what happened in the day or what you will do tomorrow.
But a new route is…new, to put it simply. It will break you out of your thoughts and make you notice things around you.
So, instead of going the exact same way you always go, some days try a different street.
Maybe get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way, or drive through a neighborhood you usually skip.
You’d be surprised by the interesting stuff you notice when you’re not on complete autopilot.
9. Spend an Hour at a Museum
Museums are quiet and air-conditioned and full of stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with your job.
Your brain will have a completely different channel to tune into after spending all day thinking about the same work problems over and over.
Just pick one section that seems interesting and wander through it slowly.
Look at art that has nothing to do with quarterly reports, read about dinosaurs, and check out whatever exhibit they currently have.
This might not be something you can do every day, but once a month is doable and will make you feel all intellectual and thoughtful.
10. Work On a Small Garden
There’s something really satisfying and therapeutic about taking care of plants after dealing with humans all day.
Plants don’t send stressful emails. Nor do they schedule unnecessary meetings.
They don’t have strong opinions about things that don’t matter. They just grow and smell good, and sometimes you can put them in your food.
It’s honestly the most peaceful post-work hobby you can have.
Even if you live in a tiny apartment with questionable lighting, you can grow herbs on your windowsill or start a little container garden.
You can grow basil, mint, or whatever herbs you use in cooking.
Your apartment will start smelling like an actual garden instead of the office smell that follows you home every day.
11. Join a Gym Class or Do Something Physical
You spend all day at work hunched over a computer screen, probably in some weird position that’s going to give you problems later.
So, at the end of the day, physical activity is the best thing you can do for your body.
It will keep you fit and also help you de-stress (seriously, there is no better form of venting than kicking your arms and legs).
You can join a gym class, of course, or just do whatever physical activity you’re in the mood for.
I do YouTube workouts in the evening because I love the hundreds of choices I have there. Kickboxing, HIIT, Yoga, pilates, barre training, walk workouts — I’ve tried it all and still there is so much to explore!
You can also take a yoga class, go swimming at the community pool, or dance around your living room to music that gets you grooving.
Your mind and body will love-hate you for it (mostly love, I promise).
12. Browse a Thrift Store or Antique Shop
I love spending time in thrift shops once a week after work.
It’s weirdly therapeutic after a day of dealing with new problems that feel exactly like old problems (that’s just how work life goes, I guess).
You can discover so many random, amazing things in such shops, like vintage band t-shirts, weird kitchen gadgets that are actually helpful, and books you always wanted to own as a kid.
You get the satisfaction that one gets after shopping at the mall, but way cheaper, because it’s thrift shopping!
Similar: 21 Fun Things To Do With Little To No Money
13. Sit Somewhere and Just Watch People
When I was younger, I never had a fascination with people-watching. But then I didn’t have the mindfulness that I do now, as an adult.
When you watch other people as a quiet viewer, you get an escape from your own stuff. It’s a healthy break for your mind.
And later on, once you’re back home, you find your problems put into better perspective.
Watching people makes you realize that everyone’s just figuring it out as they go, and so can you.
So, if the idea sounds good and you have time to spare, then find a bench somewhere busy (like outside a Starbucks), and just observe humans being humans.
It honestly feels like watching a bunch of mini movies all happening at the same time.
For a while, you become a part of the world while still being in your own company.
14. Learn Something Completely Unrelated to Work
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through the same apps until your eyes hurt, pick something random and actually learn about it on purpose.
You can explore the universe on YouTube, or practice a language that fascinates you, or read something on human psychology.
This will give your brain something different to think about than your work.
It’s especially helpful for people who struggle to create a good work-life balance (which I think is most of us).
This random knowledge probably won’t make you better at your job, which is the whole point.
You work to live, not live to work. And this activity will remind you of that fact.
15. Take a Cleansing Bath or Shower
Okay, I’ve saved my favorite for the last.
I end every weekday with a shower, because it’s the best way to cleanse your mind and body of your day’s thoughts and get into your cozy home mode.
Instead of making a quick work of it, take your time in the shower so that it feels like a pampering ritual.
Use a body wash that smells amazing, put on music that makes you happy, and maybe light a candle if you’re feeling fancy.
You deserve nice things and pleasant experiences, not just functional things that get the job done.
And sometimes (or most times) a really good shower is exactly the kind of small luxury that makes life feel manageable and actually good.
Look, Here’s the Thing
Some days, the couch is exactly where you need to be, and that’s totally fine.
But on those days when you’ve got some energy, doing something (literally anything) can make your whole day less about ‘work’ and more about ‘life’.
So, go ahead and pick one thing from this list, and do it tomorrow after work. It will make all the difference to your mood, I promise!
Read next: 6 Good Things To Do Before Work Every Morning
You just discovered 15 refreshing things to do after work! Which one are you going to try first? Let me know in the comment box before you leave.
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