It’s all too easy to get caught in routines, especially when it comes to the school/work/weekday grind. The repetition makes our lives easier, but it can also make waking up each morning just a little more “meh.”

Sometimes you just need to wildly disrupt the same old, same old to truly feel alive and regain that fervor for day-to-day life. Sometimes, you just need to jolt a little ridiculousness into your afternoon. Sometimes, you just need to…

1. Go to an improv or comedy show on a Tuesday night. Bonus points if you volunteer to take part in a skit.

2. Host a book club. Give it a start and end date (maybe you just meet every Wednesday night for 4-6 weeks to discuss one buzzed-about book), so people don’t feel like if they agree to go, they’re committed for all of eternity.

3. Sign up for a weekly dance/yoga/running group in the mornings. Don’t worry about convincing a friend to join you; just go and see what happens. (Doing so can also free you of any “But what if I suck?” anxiety. You don’t know anyone. You have a clean slate, and if you’re awful, it’s not like your friends/family need to know, unless you choose to tell them.)

4. Gather a group of people for a karaoke night. Honestly, this is my absolute nightmare. I don’t enjoy karaoke at all, but I’ve learned that you can have a blast without singing by being the most enthusiastic cheerleader out there. Everyone really wants an audience to respond and connect with them, and being that person can be pretty awesome.

5. Play hooky — and take yourself on a solo date. Go to the movies, take a walk, eat lunch at a swanky restaurant, do whatever you feel like doing all by yourself. Resist the urge to call/text/Snapchat others. Even if you look lonely to the outside world. Even if the server repeatedly asks if anyone will be joining you.

6. Bring a canvas to the park and paint your surroundings. Then hang your work on the wall. Because you made it…whatever ‘it’ is.

7. Write a poem and post it to Facebook. Or take on any hobby that interests you, and share it with the world. You don’t have to be great at it; you just have to risk putting yourself out there and saying, ‘hey, I tried.’ That already puts you leagues ahead of the people who snicker on the sidelines and never actually accomplish anything.

8. Practice a week of saying “yes” to anything that comes your way, no matter how outrageous. Okay, let’s draw the line at things that break the law or will hurt you/other people (come on, now!), but if a coworker invites you to an afternoon coffee, and you’re all “but what will we talk about?! This is going to be SO AWKWARD!”, silence that voice. Just make like Jim Carrey and say yes to life.

 

None of these ideas are groundbreaking, but who knows, taking one uncomfortable step out of the ordinary could help you let go of perfection, inspire someone else, and help you embrace a regrets-free life, according to Forbes. And all of those benefits make nudging out of your comfort zone absolutely worth it. (At the very least, you’ll have a hilarious story to tell later, right?)

Photo: Brooklyn Morgan/Unsplash