“What to do after you break up” is a phrase everyone can relate to. After all, is there anything worse than breaking up, aside from death and taxes?
Breaking up with someone is like losing your best friend. In most cases, it is losing your best friend. If you have had to say goodbye to someone you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with, there are ways to make it easier to move on.
What to do after you break up
These are the fifty things you should do after a breakup.
#1 Block their number. Instead of waiting around for them to beg for you back, block their number. Then you can pretend that they have been trying to call for months and just can’t have you.
#2 Rearrange the furniture. Try looking at things from a different perspective—literally. Move your furniture around. Hey, if you are going to feel strange, you may as well go for it. [Read: How to fall out of love when you see no future]
#3 Put away pictures. Don’t wallow in pictures of the good times you had together. The day you break up, put those pictures away or give them to a friend for safekeeping. That way, you won’t be tempted to sit and ruminate about them when they are gone.
#4 Get drunk. Call some friends, assign a Jiminy Cricket to watch your back, and get drunk.
#5 Get your hair cut. Do something new to your hair—color, cut, or highlight it. Feeling good about yourself is imperative to moving on. [Try: How to get your life back on track after a big change]
#6 Call that person you know has a not-so-secret crush on you. We all need a rebound date, so let the one you know adores you be the one to get you over the hump.
#7 Play hooky from work. Instead of showing up for work and muddling through it sadly, play hooky and do something you have wanted to do for a long time.
#8 Paint the walls. Instead of staring at the same old color of your walls, grab a can of paint or two and do something outlandish. Immersing yourself in a project, and getting creative, will help you get past the hurt. [Check out: 11 tips to fall in love with yourself and be a better you]
#9 Go on an exotic vacation. We all have the desire to fly off on some exotic vacation. Take a couple of days off of work and see the world. Getting out of your element will help you forget about your break up and allow you to enjoy some time away.
#10 Change your Facebook status. To move on, you have to make the commitment to move on. What better way to make a change and not look back than to announce it to everyone you know?
#11 Take a yoga class. Limber or not, man or woman, yoga will help you “Om” your way to peace. [Read: How to be graceful and elegant in 10 easy steps]
#12 Go to a comedy club with friends. What could be better than paying someone to make you laugh?
#13 Skydive. A little drastic, but what can make you stop thinking about someone more than free-falling to earth? Extreme behaviors can put things into perspective.
#14 Learn to mountain climb. Nothing can lift your spirits more than climbing to the highest peaks of the globe and looking down to see that problems are much smaller when visualized from above. [Try: 25 inspirational tips to get motivated and work out]
#15 Trade your sensible car in for a late-model car of your dreams. If you want a convertible, get one. Without anyone to tell you what to do, you can make unreasonable decisions, bad choices, or impractical leaps of faith. It is all about what you want now.
#16 Change your style and get rid of all those clothes that are your “go-to.” In a relationship, we start to get settled. We wear the same comfortable clothes, forgetting about how we present ourselves to the world. Take those yoga pants and set them on fire, and in their place, buy yourself some hot pants and put yourself back on the market.
#17 Start looking your best, no matter where you go. Make a commitment to always look your best. If you can’t feel the best inside, at least, you will appear to be doing well. Moving on is the best revenge you can have on someone who broke up with you. [Read: Increase your sex appeal effortlessly]
#18 Take a cooking class. What is more fun than playing with your food? A cooking class will occupy your mind and allow you to let your creative side come out to play.
#19 Have a one night stand. Just make sure you are protected. Being with someone new always feels weird. Get the rebound romp out of the way with a stranger so you are ready to move on.
#20 Buy yourself flowers and have them delivered to work. People pitying you is the worst feeling ever. Send yourself some flowers at work. It will not only make you look desirable to your opposite sex co-workers, but it will also stop the muttering about “poor you.” [Try: How to move on and deal with a break up with a smile]
#21 Crash a wedding. What is more fun than a wedding? Especially a wedding where you know no one. Marriage unions are the best place to meet someone new, and an excellent way to kick up your heels and have a good time.
#22 Take a dance class. From hip-hop, to ballroom dancing, to Zumba, try it all. Have you ever just found yourself dancing to your favorite song? Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?
#23 Spend three days eating anything and everything you want without guilt. Give yourself a three-day eating binge to eat whatever you would like to drown out your sorrow. In three days’ time, promise to be done and get back on track. That way, you won’t end up putting on weight that has the potential to bring you down. [Check out: What should you do after a breakup to feel awesome?]
#24 Have an old-fashioned sleepover. Have a girls’ night in, or head on a golf outing with the guys. Spend all night talking about the “good old days.” What you will find is that you had many good times before you met your ex, and that you are building many more without him or her.
#25 Join an adult sports league. A great place to meet someone, it is also an excellent way to get some exercise, which is an instant mood booster.
#26 Bow out of their family. Don’t hang on to their mom, or cry to their sister. It is best, at least for now, to tell their family that you can’t see them anytime soon. Hanging on to peripheral people is only going to feel like a betrayal to your ex, and make you feel isolated and disconnected from them. [Try: How to move on after a break up and overcome the pain]
#27 Assign a friend to talk you out of calling or contacting them. Assign one of your most honest friends to be the “go-to” when you are considering calling your ex. Before you rationalize that you “have” to call because of X, Y, or Z, call them to talk you out of it before falling into the trap.
#28 Find a new hangout. Don’t go to the same old places you used to hang out. If you run into them, it isn’t going to be how you dream, I promise. Find a new hangout, meet new people, and start on your new path, moving forward.
#29 Throw yourself a party. Have a celebration of your new life. It may be awkward for your friends if you have been together for a long time, to know what their position is. If you throw a party, it will take the tension out of them deciding if they should contact you and what they should say. [Read: 14 surefire ways to keep it classy at a party]
#30 Rescue a pet. Having a new best friend will take your mind off of the old one.
#31 Order some exciting masturbation sex toys online… shhhh. Get online and find something that will make you feel even better than they ever did. Who needs them anyway, right?
#32 Join a dating site—or several. You don’t have to answer, just check out the possibilities. Window shopping is always a good way to get over your ex. [Not sure where to start? Read: 14 important dos and don’ts of online dating]
#33 Make a vow not to talk about your ex anymore. Stop talking about and ruminating on your relationship. It is over, so let it be over.
#34 Make a list of all the things you don’t miss, and keep them close by. There are no doubt things you couldn’t stand about them that made you cringe. Make a list of those things and pull them out whenever you are second-guessing your loss.
#35 Volunteer. Helping out those less fortunate than you may be a jolt of reality and perspective on life that you need to get over it. [Check out: 5 ways volunteer work can help heal depression]
#36 Find a cause to take up. Raise money and awareness for a cause that you believe in, help your preferred political candidate, or just take a stand for something. Having something to believe in will distract you from wallowing in dreams of getting them back.
#37 Talk to a counselor. If all else fails, it may be your mom’s fault you can’t have a normal relationship. Talk to a counselor to fix your deep-seated problems—or, in some cases, to discover them.
#38 Create daily affirmations to pick yourself up. Write yourself little letters about how much better off you are, and how you are going to be happier than ever. Daily affirmations are awesome. If you say something enough times, it really can become reality. [Read: How to master positive self talk and banish negativity]
#39 Go on a road trip. Hit the open road, stop to go to the giant ball of wax, and giggle lots along the way to your destination. If only for a weekend, suspend whatever is going on in your life and have some fun.
#40 Go to an amusement park. Feel like a kid again and hit the amusement park. Life has been enough of an emotional rollercoaster, so put yourself on a real one and have some fun with it.
#41 Clean out your closets. Throw out those old clothes and start anew. A new life means it’s time to clean house! [Check out: New relationship advice to have a perfect start]
#42 Get new bedding. Sure, you two wore those sheets in together, but that is why it is time for them to go. Invest in a warm and inviting bedroom. If they aren’t there to greet you, at least, you will have beautiful sheets to take their place.
#43 The first rainy day, go out and splash all the puddles to pieces. Stomp away!
#44 Take a karate class. Get your anger and hurt out with a roundhouse kick, punching gloves, and a big old bag.
#45 Lose the extra pounds you put on since you met. Looking hot is your best revenge. [Check out: How to feel sexy and desirable all the time]
#46 Splurge on that stupid thing you wouldn’t dare to when you were together. They said you couldn’t have it—now you can say, “Yes, I can.” Breaking up with someone has one advantage: you have to answer to no one but yourself.
#47 Show up to the grocery store in your pajamas. Get a bottle of wine in your pajamas, and just be you.
#48 Watch whatever the hell you want on television without regard for any else. No more Lifetime or History Channel—watch what YOU want. [Try: 15 reasons why being single can be a lot of fun, too!]
#49 Get rid of that piece of furniture you always hated. It never belonged in your house to begin with. If they didn’t take it with them, donate it to charity.
#50 Find laughter wherever you can, live to the fullest and try your best to move forward one day at a time. Your best days are ahead—that, I guarantee.
[Ready to move on? Next, read: 12 steps to change your life and find your happiness]
A breakup is one of the hardest things that an adult can endure. The only comforting thing I can say is that it won’t last forever. You just have to ride out the storm to your new, happy normal. Stay strong, stay distracted, and do whatever the hell makes YOU happy right now. Living for you is exactly what to do after a breakup.
