Why Brewing Tea Should Be The Best 5 Minutes Of Your Day

Brewing tea creates the ultimate in-between space. And have you ever noticed that we, as humans, have trouble living in the in-between spaces?

When you're waiting two minutes for your microwaved leftover chicken, or six minutes for your dead cell phone to wake up, it's easy to mentally put your life on hold. After all, what difference could five or six minutes make?

But when you're brewing tea, whether it's by Moka Pot or bag, why not treat this small waiting time as something, well, important? You could be surprised!

Here's why brewing tea should be the best 5 minutes of your day.

You can ignore technology guilt-free.

Believe me--I'm an internet addict, too. And when people talk about turning off their devices for a day, or a weekend, or a week...that sounds great, but tricky.

If you're not ready to make that leap, use these small tea-brewing minutes as a technology break. Don't look at your phone, don't check your email, don't check out the new stories on McSweeney's. If something comes in? You can respond in five minutes. But right now, you're making your tea.

You can practice mindfulness.

I know that "mindfulness" is a buzzword that's everywhere these days. (There's even a BuzzFeed article about mindfulness.) But the concept is simple and the payoff is huge--more patience, less stress, and more resilience to face your day.

Crash course in mindfulness: you just need to pay attention to yourself and your surroundings with a gentle, open mind. Think about how you're breathing, how you're standing, the color of your Moka Pot. Notice what you're thinking about.

And besides, you're only spending five minutes on it. No pressure!

You can move your body.

Stretches, breathing exercises, push-ups...you pick! You're already making tea, which is a Certified Healthy Choice. Why not take it to the next level and focus on touching your toes, or doing wall-sits? Set the exercise at a level that's comfortable for you, and use five minutes to really take it in.

You can journal.

When it comes to writing, not having an endpoint is the most intimidating thing. But five minutes of writing, when nobody has to see it but you? Pshh--you can do that standing on your head.

Take a little notebook along with you while you're waiting for your tea to percolate, jot down the first thing that comes to mind, and see where it goes from there.

Important: DO NOT WORRY ABOUT WRITING "WELL." I know this is way easier said than done, but seriously--write anything. When you're journaling, it's more important to just get the words on the page than to spend hours crafting the perfect phrase.

You can sit outside.

Now, I don't know your life. Maybe you're reading this in your rooftop garden. But I know that I have a sweet little backyard with a chair, and I'm almost never sitting in it. Why not get your tea going, set a timer, and enjoy the outdoors for just five little minutes?

Take in the morning air, listen to the birds sing, pretend you like the sound of the trucks driving by. It does a body good! And by the time you head back inside, your tea will be ready to drink.

Are there any ideas we missed? What are you going to try while you're brewing your tea?