As we begin to slip towards the end of the year, it’s not uncommon to feel a bit stuck. The hope and ambition of a fresh start has faded, but the reflection at the end of the year is not yet upon us. It’s the time of year when life can feel a bit sluggish, or unsatisfactory. So it’s the perfect time of year to shake things up!

It can be hard to feel refreshed if you aren’t heading off on holiday, but these 7 hacks are all free or cheap, and easy to implement. They offer an opportunity to look at your daily routine a little differently, and create the environment for inspiration to strike.

1. Try a different breakfast

Even if it’s just once a week, push the boat out. Check out the Symmetry Breakfast Instagram for some adventurous inspiration, but it need not be so complex. Swapping toast for fruit salad or cereal with scrambled eggs mixes up your routine up enough to escape the monotony of a blurry midweek morning.

2. Change up your hot drink

Similar to hack 1, try swapping your go-to desk drink. Swap your tea for a coffee, change your milky coffee to a long black, ditch a caffeinated tea for something herbal or fruity. You might even find some inspiration in the new breed of caffeine-free lattes; from chai, to turmeric or even beetroot.



3. Commute differently

Your journey to and from work is an important time for introspection, preparation and unwinding. It’s a buffer between work and life. So try mixing up your journey with an alternative route. If you’re feeling adventurous, try a different mode of transport. See how it makes you feel.

4. Start a new skill

Your brain is always changing, adapting and building new pathways. To nurture its elasticity, you want to feed it. Nourish it with education. There are so many free or cheap ways to skill up, such as Udemy or other MOOC platforms, or language-learning apps like Duolingo. Nourishing a learning habit will help you see things differently.

5. Mix up team lunch

If you don’t have a semi-regular team lunch, start one. If you do have one, try something different. Arrange to all eat together on-site, eat out at a new kind of restaurant or run a potluck and share homemade goodies. Different environments help to breathe new life into existing relationships, or encourage new ones.

 6. Refresh your desk

Einstein prided himself on his messy desk as a testament to his busy mind. If you’re feeling a bit stagnant, look at the environment around you. Is it inspiring – or is it dragging you down? Rearrange your workspace, stick up some new pictures or upgrade your pot plant or decorations. Let your thinking space be a positive influence.

7. Do part of your daily routine in the opposite hand

This is a common mindfulness exercise, intended to let you live in the moment and draw your attention to the minutiae of your life. Try swapping the hand you eat or do your teeth with. This makes you notice things you may well never have noticed, like the weight of the toothbrush, the way you move your wrist or even how stand.

These hacks will have you looking at things a little bit differently – see what they inspire!