A Restorative Self-Care Playlist to Put On While You Hang Out and Do Nothing

This article is part of SELF’s Rest Week, an editorial package dedicated to doing less. If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that taking care of yourself, physically and emotionally, is impossible without genuine downtime. With that in mind, we’ll be publishing articles up until the new year to help you make a habit of taking breaks, chilling out, and slowing down. (And we’re taking our own advice: The SELF staff will be OOO during this time!) We hope to inspire you to take it easy and get some rest, whatever that looks like for you.

It might actually be the most excellent time of the year: That special week when the rush of the holidays has started to subside and the lure of making New Year’s Eve plans still feels far off enough to ignore. At SELF, we’re always big fans of making time for rest and self-care, but if you’re feeling especially in the mood to chill out and do nothing this week, this is the playlist for you. 

If you’ve listened to some of the other playlists we’ve created, think of this one as the pensive, more low-key cousin to the chill playlist that published last month right around Thanksgiving. Am I bookending the start and finish of the holiday season with a welcome dose of relaxation? You bet. 

You won’t find upbeat rhythms or fast, motivating tempos on this lineup. In fact, I genuinely hope you put this on, and then don’t do much at all. Stay cozy in bed, read a good book, or perhaps gaze out the window and daydream for a bit.

The songs on this playlist span genres and generations. You’ll listen to “Moon River” by Frank Ocean, a modern cover of the classic 1960s tune to kick things off, and eventually end on the Etta James version of “Stormy Weather.”. Between those, there are a few more covers—“Free Fallin’” by John Mayer and “Friday I’m in Love” by Yo La Tengo—plus several more quiet songs from this decade and the last. Whether you’re listening to Adele’s “Easy on Me” or Landon Pigg’s “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop,” it’s not hard to tell that most of these songs are very much about *feelings*—falling in or out of love, apologizing about the past, expressing hope about the future, or just working through whatever’s holding space in your head and heart. Music in particular can be great for that: Allowing us to sit with a mood when words seem to fail. Even if it feels difficult to do nothing with that mix of emotions, turns out it might actually be a really good idea, as SELF has previously reported. 

READ RELATED: The Best ALDI Foods of 2022, According to Shoppers

So here’s hoping you take the length of this playlist to actually relax and stay grounded in a calm moment. January will be here soon, and we know you’ll hit the ground running.

Full playlist:

1. “Moon River” by Frank Ocean
2. “everything i wanted” by Billie Eilish
3. “Glimpse of Us” by Joji
4. “Riptide” by Vance Joy
5. “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift
6. “Free Fallin’ – Live at the Nokia Theatre” by John Mayer
7. “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman
8. “I Feel It Coming” by The Weekend, Daft Punk
9. “Bad Times – Acoustic Version” by Ra Ra Riot
10. “The Scientist” by Coldplay
11. “SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK” by Joji
12. “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop” by Landon Pigg
13. “Easy on Me” by Adele
14. “exile” by Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver
15. “When I’m With Him” by Empress Of, Perfume Genius, Jim E-Stack
16. “Falling for U” by Peachy!, mxmtoon
17. “Describe” by Perfume Genius
18. “Sisyphus” by Andrew Bird
19. “Funny Girl” by Father John Misty
20. “Friday I’m in Love” by Yo La Tengo
21. “Lilo” by The Japanese House
22. “True Love Will Find You in the End” by Wilco
23. “Stormy Weather” by Etta James

Related:

Source: SELF