1. Make your bed
I know, I know, we’ve all heard this one before. However, there is something really wonderful about getting out of bed in the morning and making it right away. It’s a positive first step, a small achievement, a tiny success. It sets you up for a good day, a day where tasks get done and order is found. Even if your day doesn’t go quite as you planned, by the time night falls and you return to your bed for sleep, climbing into a made bed that is waiting neatly for you is welcoming and even calming. So start your day right by fluffing those pillows and folding those sheets.
2. Diffuse an essential oil in your kitchen while you’re making breakfast
I’m really getting into essential oils now. Recently I’ve started using DoTerra oils every morning in my Petal Diffuser. When I enter my kitchen the first thing I do is select an oil or two depending on my mood, fill my diffuser with water, add the oils and set it working it’s magic. If I’m feeling a little out of sorts I go for Frankincense, which has a beautifully calming scent which immediately seems to help me relax and let down my shoulders. If I’m feeling good, I go for an uplifting blend like three drops each of lavender, lemon and peppermint. Before you know it there’s a fresh, Spring-y scent in the room and as you breathe it all in you can almost feel your cells waking up!
3. Listen to something on YouTube
I LOVE motivational videos like this one or this one from Les Brown. These never fail to lift my spirits and shake me out of any poor humour. I’ve listened to them so many times that I nearly know them by heart, and yet they still make me smile and make me remember the important things in life. If I don’t feel like a motivational video, I put on some amazing music like this or this to sing along to while I make breakfast and often I even have a little dance. Now that’s a great way to start the day! Finally, sometimes I watch a vlog from The Lindquists in Canada or The Michelaks (seriously beautiful videos) in the United Kingdom. They’re glimpses into other people’s lives with no strings attached, and I find they can offer a different perspective on things. Plus it’s just fascinating to see what other people do in their day-to-day lives!
4. Take five minutes to write down 3 things you want to get done today
Since I’ve started doing this I seem so much more productive. It’s really satisfying to see things getting ticked off a list – back to those feelings of positive steps and tiny achievements. When I was going through my cancer treatment, this was just one thing and not three – achieving just one task was the goal and it felt great to get it done, whatever it happened to be. Now I list three things and it’s great to look at it in the evening and say, I got those things done, today was productive. It’s a very tangible way of measuring small achievements, which, in the long run, all add up.
5. Fill a large water bottle for the day and pack snacks if you’re going to be out and about
I couldn’t write this post without mentioning food somewhere, could I?! If I’m going to be out of the house for more than a couple of hours during the day, I always pack a little snack box of raisins and mixed nuts and a herbal tea sachet in my handbag. I’m a terrible grump when I’m starving – having a snack in my bag has been a mood-saver on more than one occasion! It also stops me from resorting to buying some form of corner-shop junk to satisfy a hunger pang – which I’ll only regret later. My trusty water bottle comes absolutely everywhere with me, around the house or out. It’s a 650ml glass bottle and I fill it with filtered water from a special tap we have at home. That way I know I’m drinking clean water unaffected by BPA/plastic contamination. Or at least, as close to it as I can get. I try to drink at least two full bottles of water a day and I really feel it helps me stay energised and feeling good through the whole day.
So there you have it – my 5 ways to get your day off to a great start. I hope you found something useful here for yourself – I hope this was a list that felt fresh and different. Do let me know in the comments if you have any feedback or indeed if there is anything in this post that you might like me to cover more thoroughly in another post on Happy Magazine.
Have a wonderful day everyone.
By Happy Magazine Editor, Holly Kennedy.
