15-Minute Tasks That Will Change Your Life

Go to bed at night with the warm feeling that you’ve been productive for at least 15-minutes despite your circumstances.

12 min readSep 16, 2021

Feeling like a complete failure at the end of every day, because you’re feeling too lazy, demotivated or busy to do anything meaningful? Here’s a list of 15-minute tasks that anyone can accomplish without trouble.

If you’re feeling demotivated, all you have to do is be determined to focus on something for the next 15 minutes. Just 15 minutes!

It all comes down to that 15 minutes you can remain attentive, that you can spare and that you have the energy for. With just blocks of 15 minutes of focus every day, you can change your life.

Ready?

40 Things you can do in 15 minutes to be productive

1. Read for 15 minutes

One of my favorite 15-minute tasks, reading. If you complain you don’t have time to read like you used to ever since the baby’s born, just spend 15 minutes reading in the toilet while, you know... Or, read while waiting for the train or during commute. As long as you have a book with you, it’s easy to get a quick 15-minute read.

2. Take a walk

Walking is good for you. Especially if you sit in front of the computer for hours. For me, it’s mandatory or my backbone will be mangled! Whenever you can spare 15 minutes, go for a walk. Just around the neighborhood or at a park. Sometimes, I just walk around my bedroom when I’m on a long call. This is not even a challenging 15-minute task, but it’s good for your health.

3. Journal for 15 minutes

Have you tried journaling yet? If walking is food for your health, journaling is food for your soul. If you’re not big on writing, just do it for 15 minutes. Even if it’s just some random thoughts or expression of feelings, you’ll feel better after writing them down. It’s cathartic as if you’ve unloaded your burden.

4. Call and talk to someone

You know there are people you haven’t contacted in a long time. You love them, you just don’t have the time. The next time you find yourself with 10 or 15 minutes of freedom, make that call. If they don’t answer, leave a long, thoughtful voice message on Whatsapp. These are just as meaningful as actual phone calls.

5. Tidy up your space in 15 minutes

Finding your work space becoming more and more messy with every passing day? Spend just 15 minutes at the end of every day tidying up. File away papers, rearrange the items on your desk, take out the trash, return the things you’ve used back to their original place and give the table a quick wipe. If you do this daily for 15 minutes, your stuff won’t pile up and threaten to devour you later.

6. Breathe deeply for 15 minutes

One of the healthiest 15-minute tasks you can do when you have the time. Whether you’re waiting for a friend to arrive at the restaurant or queuing to pay the cashier, just close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Of course, you’ll have to be discreet in public, but it’s not like you’re breathing fire. So relax and create your own zen moment.

7. Prepare healthy juice or smoothie

How many times have you complained you don’t have time to eat healthily? Well, preparing juice does not even take 15 minutes. Make sure you have a selection of fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator and the moment you have 15 minutes to spare, toss them into a juicer and you have a freshly made juice that costs you nothing.

8. Clean up your Whatsapp

No matter where you are or how busy or demotivated you feel, you can clean up your Whatsapp in 15 minutes. At least a little bit. Delete the conversations you don’t need anymore, delete the images you don’t need from the media file and respond to the messages you forgot to respond to. If there are any messages you haven’t read, read them and decide if you’re going to delete, respond or save.

9. Tackle your to-do list

One of the most productive things you can do in 15 minutes is take care of your to-do list. Instead of wasting time every morning wondering what to wear, what to do, what to cook, what to buy, just make a list whenever you have a break in your schedule. It doesn’t take long to plan ahead and it’ll make your life more organized later.

10. Fold the laundry

I get annoyed in untidy spaces. Clothes piling on the bed, overflowing laundry, clothes that no one even knows are clean or dirty because they’re all jumbled together, drive me insane. If this resembles your life in a nutshell, you just need 15 minutes to sort out your laundry. Fold the clean ones and put them in your closet. The rest, just toss them in the machine!

11. Quick catch up on the news

If you have no time to watch the news and you really ought to know what’s happening in the world, quit Facebook and read the news for 15 minutes. You can overdose on the news, let me tell ya. I mean, I get pretty negative after reading the news, so, maybe it’s wise to limit it to 15 minutes a day — just for the major news and to stay up to date. The rest are just headlines.

12. Follow up on pending tasks

Is there anything pending that you can tackle within 15 minutes? If yes, then do it. Is there a text message you need to send out, a reply? Is there a simple decision you need to make? Talk to someone about something? These things are relatively simple and you should aim to get them done in 15 minutes, when you have the time to spare.

13. Check out job vacancies for 15 minutes

If you’re not happy with your job, stop whining about it every chance you get and start doing something about it. Sign up to that job search portal you’ve been meaning to, update your CV and spruce up your profile if you haven’t already. And if you have already done all that, task yourself to send out as many applications as possible in 15-minute time span. Do this daily and you would have sent out enough applications in a month to actually change your life.

14. Send a love you note/text

This is one of the most important tasks that you have to spare a 15-minute for daily. Whether you’re at work, grocery shopping or dining, if your loved one or significant other hasn’t been with you for a few hours, pause and send a sweet love text to him/her. Healthy relationships don’t just happen. They need your time investment.

15. Respond to one e-mail

The work e-mails rarely fall through the cracks, but it’s our personal e-mails that sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Maybe it’s just me, but it happens all the time. If you’re like me, go through your personal e-mails and see if you’ve replied to all the important ones. And by important I mean from friends, family and sometimes even fans.

16. Make appointments

Spend the next 15 minutes to make all those appointments you’ve been avoiding. Yes, the doctor’s appointment, the appointment with the dentist, with the insurance guy… And of course, make those that you’re not dreading as well such as booking that restaurant for your Friday night date. Still on lockdown? Oh well…

17. Mend the broken accessories/clothes

Ever been in that situation where you’re in a rush getting ready to go out only to discover the hem of your dress unraveling? You put it away with a huff and then notice the same thing two months later. When you have 15 minutes to spare, go through your closet and mend the clothes that are unraveling or with missing buttons. You’ll save a lot of time the next time you’re getting ready to go out.

18. Prepare a healthy snack in 15 minutes

I don’t recommend snacking between meals, but if this is your style, then at least try to make it a healthy one. Spend your 15-minute window to prepare a healthy snack that you know you’ll need later.

19. Calculate your weekly expenses

This is another one of those important 15-minute tasks that everyone should do weekly. Instead of living life with the assumption that you have enough to spend, keep an eye on your weekly spending. Is it within budget? Do you notice unfamiliar transactions on your credit card?

20. Wash the dishes

Yes, 15 minutes is all it takes to complete this task. Don’t let dirty pans and plates pile up unnecessarily and then use water conservation as an excuse. If there’s a pile in the sink, it’s time to wash them. The longer you leave dirty utensils in the sink, the more you’ll attract pests.

21. Clear clogged drain

Is the bathroom upstairs clogged? Or is the kitchen sink clogged? Take care of these with commercial unclogging solution or make your own. It literally just takes 15 minutes.

22. Vacuum or sweep the floor

In the busyness of our lives, it’s quite common for us to neglect home care when there are many other important things to take care of. But instead of relegating it to a weekly project with monumental sub tasks, just spend 15 minutes a day doing the minimum such as vacuuming or sweeping the floor.

23. Tidy up the car

The same goes for your car. The longer you go without cleaning your car, the more difficult it becomes to clean it after 6 months. So, perform basic cleaning once a week just for 15 minutes. Wipe the dashboard, take out the old cans, receipts, plastic bags and stuffed tissues. Vacuum the carpet if you have the time.

24. Clean your handbag

Ladies, you know what I’m talking about. If it’s like the Bermuda Triangle in there by now, it’s time to take all the junk out and decide what stays and what goes. You’ll save a lot of time when you don’t have to rummage for your keys for the 11th time!

25. Water the plants

Watering the plants doesn’t need that much time. Stop letting plants die in your apartment. Just spend 15 minutes every day making a quick sweep to give your plant babies some love.

26. Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn as I’ve found out, is a great platform to gain the attention of potential employers and future business partners. If you’re career focused, then this is a platform you cannot ignore. If you haven’t set up your profile yet, do that first and then start posting short, meaningful posts once a week or every time you have 15 minutes to spare. This, as it happens, is also on my to-do list!

27. Floss and brush your teeth for 15 minutes

Hey, it’s not the most exciting thing on this list, but if you have not flossed your teeth in ages, pay closer attention to your dental state when you have 15 minutes. Brushing alone is not enough and sometimes we don’t even brush properly when in a hurry. Ideally, you do this at night, but if you’ve neglected your teeth for a while, anytime is a good time.

28. Sketch for 15 minutes

It’s a not a life changing task, sketching, but it will lift your mood immensely no matter how your sketch turns out. If you’re not much into sketching, just try doodling or drawing random patterns to relax and calm yourself down.

29. Take a 15-minute shower

If you’re really stressed out, try taking a 15-minute shower and feel the water on your skin as it cascades down your back. It is therapeutic to a degree and it’s especially pleasurable before bedtime. Yes, taking a shower is a form of self care no matter how busy or depressed you are so don’t neglect it. Take a shower at least once a day.

30. Do a challenge for 15 minutes

If you enjoy doing puzzles and word challenges, you don’t have to wait until the weekend or when you’re free to do them. Just pick up your favorite puzzle like Sudoku or crossword puzzle when you have at least 15 minutes to spare. It doesn’t matter if you can’t complete it in one sitting. Prolong the excitement and do it over several 15-minute breaks!

31. Make your own cleaning solutions

If you’re trying to save money or reduce the amount of waste like plastic bottles, make your own cleaning solutions in 15 minutes or less. Mix white vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda and you have your own chemical free kitchen cleaner. It’s easy, natural and safe.

32. Check expiry dates

So, have you checked the expiry dates on your sauces, condiments and other cooking ingredients lately? If you’ve not paid any attention to them in a long time, do a quick check. It doesn’t take long to get rid of the ones that have expired.

33. Get a mini facial in 15 minutes

Another 15-minute task that is self care oriented. This one is easy, just buy a facial mask from a pharmacy and a cucumber. Take a shower, apply the mask and slices of cucumber on your eyes and relax for 15 minutes before bedtime. Believe me, it’s incredibly soothing.

34. Collect discount codes and coupons

These days, everyone could use a free coupon and discount code. If you need to go shopping soon, scour the internet, the newspaper, magazines and other places for 15 minutes first. You might get a free coupon or a discount code for the products you need to buy.

35. Spend 15 minutes with your pet

I don’t know any pet owner who neglects their animal friend, but this is an important 15-minute task for everyone with a pet. If you don’t deliberately spend time playing or connecting with them, it’s really not fair to them.

36. Infuse water with cucumber or lemon in 15 minutes

Water infused with fruits makes it more palatable for those who can’t imagine drinking unsweetened water. If you’ve always struggled with drinking a reasonable amount of water, prepare a large tumbler of water infused with cucumber, lemon, strawberries, orange or other fruits. You’ll drink more and increase your Vitamin C intake. Make sure you eat the fruits after you’ve finished the water!

37. Dance with your partner

If you didn’t send that love note or text to your lover like one of the points above, then you’ve got to come home and dance with your significant other. It takes just 15 minutes to rekindle passion and remember why you picked this man or woman to be in your life.

38. Write one product review in 15 minutes

Product reviews are useful for the next person thinking about buying the product you’ve already bought and tried. Good or bad, others could use your opinion. The best part, it only takes about 15 minutes to log in, upload a photo if you want to and write an honest review.

39. Update software/OS

Ugh! I know, software updates these days take more than 15 minutes. And because of that, we postpone it as much as we can. Recently, this resulted in a massive problem for me. I’ve resolved most of the issues, but there’s one that’s remaining and I haven’t a clue how to solve it. The lesson I’ve learned is, update your software when you receive the notification. The good thing is that you don’t have to wait for the update to be complete. You just have to initiate it when you have a 15-minute gap and then go about your other tasks.

40. Watch a TED Talk

TED Talks are amazing. Okay, most of them are about 20 minutes long, but you can find 20 minutes if you can find 15 minutes, can’t you? 😉 Within 20 minutes, you’ll get to acquire a ton of information that will change your life and improve it for the better. I am a big fan of TED Talks, so I can’t recommend them enough. If you need some ideas on what to watch, I have some excellent suggestions below:

Well, that’s it! That’s my list of 40 tasks you can perform in 15 minutes and squeeze into your busy schedule. On their own, they might not seem like much.

But if you do them consistently, over time you will see that they make a huge impact on your quality of life.

You don’t have to accomplish big things that always span over weeks and months. You just have to do small things in little chunks consistently to keep moving forward. Forward is forward whether it’s an inch or a mile.