Being more playful has so many benefits, including lowering stress hormones, reducing anxiety by calming your nervous system, and it even helps build more resilience.

You may have heard of the recent whimsy trend: adding little touches of whimsy to your life as an antidote to years of boring beige, grey minimalism, and the clean girl aesthetic.

But one of the biggest problems with this trend is that it focuses on more consumerism than actually improving your life. So instead, I'm going to focus on free (or cheap) ways to add more whimsy to your life that’ve been shown to help with anxiety.

The more you incorporate these into your routine, the more likely you’ll see a reduction in your anxiety because instead of getting stuck in anxious thought loops or bogged down in negative feelings, you’re getting healthy amounts of dopamine and distracting yourself in a sustainable way.

Give your brain a break with these simple ways to add more whimsy and joy to your life.

Make Your Chores More Whimsical

Make Chores More Whimsical woman dancing

Do you struggle to get your chores done?

Maybe you’re in that constant loop of everything piling up until a breaking point, then it’s a huge endeavor to get caught up, only to end up back at the beginning again. This can obviously create a nasty anxiety loop.

This is especially true for anyone with ADHD. ADHD is more of a task initiation disorder, making it really hard to get started on necessary tasks, and follow through on finishing them.

So while chores can be very annoying and probably seem like the last place you can have fun or reduce anxiety, they’re actually an easy place to add a bit of whimsy.

Instead of dreading them, add elements that provide some novelty and a healthy distraction. It might seem hard at first, but tap into your childlike creativity to make it more fun!

Whimsical Chore Ideas:

Put on some background music and dance while you clean or put away laundry
Pretend you’re on a game show: create a spinning wheel with chores or tasks, and whatever it lands on, set a timer to get it done to win a grand prize
Create a moody atmosphere: turn on a spooky or gothic playlist, light candles, and pretend you’re the caretaker for an ancient castle
Swap out your cleaning supplies or tools for fun-shaped novelty tools
If you like video games, turn your chores into side quests
Create a fun reward system like gold stars or cute stickers once you’ve completed your task
If it’s a work task: wear something fun, like a colorful outfit, scarf or hat, statement jewelry, etc., and pretend you’re the lead in a romcom finishing up an important story (because they’re always writers or journalists, ha)

Host a PowerPoint Presentation Night

I recently learned about this idea and absolutely love it.

Essentially, you and some friends gather together, and each person puts together a short PowerPoint presentation on something they really care about / want to nerd out about. This can be about anything fun that you’re the expert on. And if it sounds a bit intimidating, that’s actually a good thing!

This will be what I call a beneficial source of anxiety, rather than a signal that something might be wrong. I teach my clients to discern the difference between growth edge anxiety and smoke alarm anxiety.

Two Types of Anxiety:

Growth edge: your anxiety is self-protective to prevent scary exposure from being vulnerable
Smoke alarm: your anxiety is alerting you to something potentially being wrong

Intentionally creating situations that will induce some growth edge anxiety will initially be really hard because of that spike of discomfort, but over time actually diminishes anxiety, especially social anxiety. This is because the more you allow space for discomfort, the less your brain will see it as life threatening.

If you’re understandably nervous, start with just a few trusted friends or family members. Choose a topic that you know back to front and give a short presentation on one particular aspect. For instance, if you love Jane Austen and the Regency period, you could present specific rules for courting or faux pas.

Then move on to the next person’s presentation and make a commitment to really listen and take in what they’re saying, rather than focusing on any self-critical thoughts or vulnerability hangover emotions you might be having about your own presentation.

Take a Whimsical walk

Many of my clients complain that even though they’re getting outside and walking, they’re not really getting the full benefit. They’re still stressed, and often it just feels like another chore to cross off the list.

When we dig a bit deeper, it turns out that they’re so distracted the entire time, they’ve lost all sense of time and space.

This is usually because they’re trying to multitask: listening to a podcast, talking on the phone, or even ruminating / overthinking something.

Doing one task at a time is hard when you’re anxious, but it’s one of the best antidotes. This is because it reduces overstimulation, focuses your attention, and allows you to fully take in what you’re experiencing. This signals to your nervous system that you don’t need to be on alert, you’re just fine.

Whimsical Walk Instructions:

Next time you’re outside, find a natural space to really take in the scenery
Use your senses: look around and see the different colors and foliage, listen to the ambient sounds, smell the flowers or freshly cut grass, feel the breeze on your face, touch the bark or leaves on a tree, engage with anything in your surroundings
Notice any anxiety or distracted thoughts, or urges to check your phone, and bring your attention back to your surroundings
Take a calming, deep breath, and remind yourself that you have plenty of time to take it in.
Bonus: make it silly and fun by talking to the animals or pretending you’re exploring a new planet

As with most things, it may not “work” the first time. You’re not going to suddenly become a Zen master, but if you practice this consistently (give it at least 1-2 weeks), it’ll start to feel more natural and much easier.

Do something creative with your hands

With the rise of soulless AI design likely infiltrating your feed, not to mention product ads, you might be craving some genuine, tactile creativity.

Think about any old hobbies you used to enjoy and see if you can reengage with them. Or learn something new! For instance, you can find inexpensive modeling clay, yarn, or scrapbook paper to make unique gifts for friends and family.

Leaning into a hobby can be a huge win for your mental health, particularly if you struggle with chronic anxiety. Research shows that hobbies can act as a powerful reset button, helping your nervous system relax and lowering stress levels while making life feel a whole lot more fulfilling.

I suspect a lot of this has to do with breaking up the monotony of your daily routines. It’s so easy to get caught in a wake up, doomscroll, go to work, come home, eat dinner, doomscroll, bed cycle, which is obviously incredibly unfulfilling and unhealthy.

Adding a whimsical hobby to your life will not only boost your mood, but also break the trance of doomscrolling. And try not to get caught up in hustle culture messaging that you’ll need to monetize what you’re creating, you absolutely don’t have to.

Try to pick something low stakes, fun, and/or silly to add a bit of whimsy to your day without the pressure. If you notice a rise in anxiety, possibly due to perfectionism, challenge yourself to keep going by purposely being silly about it.

Whimsical Hobby Ideas:

Paper crafts: quilling, origami, collage-making, making cards
Paint stones or small objects
Doodle or sketch
Write short stories or poems
Create a fairy garden in a flower pot, terrarium, or small container
Make friendship bracelets
Junk journal
Birdwatch
Learn about constellations, different types of insects, or trees and plants (bonus if you can present at Powerpoint night)
Color walks: walk around looking for one specific color like a treasure hunt
Fly a kite
Geocaching
Puzzles
Stick google eyes on items around your house or paint little whimsical designs on door frames or light switch covers

Write Handwritten Notes and Letters

You can also combine a whimsical activity like making cards and/or envelopes with writing letters to your friends and family. Imagine how touched the recipient will be to not only receive something handmade, but a note written especially for them.

You can really amp up the whimsy or silliness by pretending you’re a heroine in a Jane Austen novel, keeping your far away friends up-to-date with your life.

Will it feel a bit vulnerable and anxiety-inducing? Most likely! But like I mentioned before, this is growth edge anxiety and is an excellent opportunity to make space for discomfort in order to spread a little joy.

If you’re really struggling with this, start with leaving a nice, handwritten note in your mailbox thanking your mailman for their hard work. You can also add some little decorations or doodles to make it fun and interesting.

Try it out, then pick another person you know would appreciate receiving something handwritten. Bonus points if they live far away and you don’t get to see them often. Focus on the end result rather than what you’re feeling: imagine the delight and novelty of receiving something like this in the mail.

And hopefully you’ll inspire others to do the same!

I hope you’ll be able to try out some of these tools to experience how playfulness and whimsy can be a powerful antidote to anxiety and rumination.

Don’t try to do too many things at once: I often tell clients that when you try to fix everything, you fix nothing. So pick just one of these to try this week, and challenge yourself to be patient and fully commit to it.

Then you can see what helped or what didn’t, and adjust for your next whimsical activity.

If you’re needing more support around anxious thought loops or panic symptoms, reach out for a free 15-minute consultation call to see if I’m a good fit for your needs. I work with adults in Texas and Florida to help you break free from anxiety’s grip on life, so you can live with purpose and intention.

How to Add Whimsy to Your Life to Reduce Anxiety

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