36 Productive Things To Do in 5 Minutes or Less

Raise your hand if 5 minutes sounds like a short amount of time.

If you have 5 minutes to spare, you may be tempted to open your favorite social media app and “doom scroll” to pass the time.

I work from home full-time and have a 6-month-old daughter. Being able to check off a task in 5 minutes or less doesn’t seem doable sometimes, but that’s why I’m writing this blog post. There are so many possibilities of things you can do besides scroll on your phone or simply waste it doing nothing. You can feel so much more accomplished in 5 minutes if you are wise with how you spend them.

Here are a few ideas of what to do when you find yourself with those 5 minutes (or less).

Digital

• Answer an email

• Delete unnecessary photos from your camera roll

• Text someone back

• Read an article

• Check your bank account

• Unsubscribe from an email list or newsletter

• Clean your internet browser’s cache

• Delete old texts or voicemails

• Go through your Notes app and delete old/unnecessary notes

• Complete a DuoLingo lesson

Health

• Brush your teeth

• Do squats or planks (wayyy harder than you think to do squats for 5 minutes straight — let alone a plank!)

• Drink a glass of water

• Wash your face

• Pray

• Do jumping jacks

• Walk around to get your steps in

• Grab a snack

• Listen to calming music

• Read a Psalm or Proverb

Home

• Make your bed

• Wipe down a counter or two

• Pour yourself a cup of coffee

• Put dirty laundry in the hamper

• Load the dishwasher

• Unload the dishwasher

• Fold some blankets

• Fluff the couch pillows

• Wash a baby bottle

• Clean your glasses

Organization

• Write a quick to-do list

• Brainstorm gift ideas for a family member or friend

• Update your planner

• Declutter a drawer (or two)

• Test and get rid of old/dried up pens and highlighters

• Read through your mail and throw away the junk