As you wake up in the morning, you realise the night is over. A new day comes with new responsibilities, new tasks to achieve and new milestones to overcome. The goal for every new day is to make it better than the previous day, but many times it’s not an easy thing to do.
You may have started the day well enough, woke up to your early morning duties and then, somewhere in the middle of the day, something or someone comes to ruin your day for you. It has happened to me several times, Some of the times, I simply just take the day as it has become [awful] and other times, I make some efforts to make the day better.
Whether you want to make your day better from the start or you want to make your day better after it has been spoilt by someone or an event, this guide will show you some things you can do to achieve that.
20 Things To Make Your Day Better
- Wake up early
- Make your bed
- Do some morning exercise
- Make breakfast important
- Pack your snack
- Clear your desk
- Learn to forget toxic events fast enough
- Do something you enjoy
- Harness your peak periods
- Avoid negative energy
- Be cheerful, smile more
- Plug in your music
- Sniff a lemon
- Get some rest, take a nap
- Do a stretch
- Meditate
- Keep a gratitude diary
- Turn off your electronics
- Prioritize your activities
- Learn from yesterday
Wake up early
Early to bed, early to rise, so they say. But what does this really mean? Adequate night sleep gives us a headstart, enhances your memory, your mood and your productivity throughout the entire day.
Waking up early has a lot of benefits in preparing you for the day. Sometime around 6 AM, the production of cortisol peaks. Cortisol is referred to as the stress hormone because it gives the body the ability to cope in times of stress. Its level drops gradually as the day ages but it can be triggered to rise at any time when there is a significant stressor.
Take a brief look at this. Waking up after some hours of good night sleep is not a stressful period, you just rested, and there are no harsh weather conditions yet. But why does the stress hormone need to rise at this time?
The body prepares for the stress of the day ahead of time, and so should you. If you wake up early and prepare ahead of your day, you will be better equipped to make it worthwhile.
Make your bed
In the commencement speech to the graduates of The University of Texas, Austin on May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven, a retired US Navy dropped the three words with very deep meanings, “Make your bed”. He opened by saying “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed” and this was greeted with a loud wave of laughter across the hall. But what is the significance of making your bed in the morning?
“When you make your bed in the morning, you may have accomplished the first task of the day. That will give you a sense of pride, and encouragement to do another and another and another.” – William McRaven
Accomplishing those small tasks early in the morning gives you a sense of fulfilment, inner joy and motivation to accomplish more and make the day even better. And if there is a chance you had a bad day, you can come back to lie on the bed you made – satisfaction that erases the bad memories of the day and make tomorrow even better.
Do some morning exercise
Keeping fit is good business. If you argue with me on what the best time to do exercises should be, I would insist sternly for the mornings. I am sure you quite agree with me on this – the morning is cool, you just woke from a refreshing sleep, your cortisol level is high, and you can get to charge up your body for the entire day’s activities.
Not only does morning exercises charge you up, but they are also recommended by weight control and body fitness programs. Doing that morning jogging, or marathon, or using the gym keeps your body and mind strengthened, and for a fact that exercises make you more satisfied with your body gives you the confidence to face the day and challenges that may threaten to spoil your day.
Make breakfast important
Countless people out there can afford to skip breakfast and still perform optimally during the day. However, it has been established that breakfast is the most important food of the day. There are always inevitable times when you do not have enough time to have your breakfast. Maybe you are very late for work/school or you could not prepare your breakfast. In any case, you should make breakfast important because having breakfast, especially when you can, makes your day better and productive.
Pack your snack
Come on, I am not a glutton and you are not going to eat this right after your breakfast. If you do that, then you are the glutton here. However, that will come in handy when your body’s energy reserves have gradually been depleted during the day.
The entire process of preparing your breakfast and packing your snack also gives you the sense of fulfilment of yet two other tasks as early as that morning – another motivation to achieve more and make your day better.
Clear your desk
Not all the hours of the night are used for sleeping. On some days, you might spend the early hours of the evening and night drafting or reading up some stuff on your desk. Your coffee mugs remain your closest companions to keep you awake throughout your study or writing period on your desk. But soon, you retire to your bed to snore your tiredness away.
Leaving your desk untidy in the morning before going out can make you lose focus and feel disorganized. Just before you leave, cleaning your desk and the house environment can help make you feel more organized and focussed through the entire day, thus making your day better and more productive.
Learn to forget toxic events fast enough
When was the last time someone ruined your day? Let me hazard a guess. That was yesterday, am I right? Many times, other people do things and display attitudes that spoil our experiences and joy for that day. Some of these people have had to deal with some toxic events that morning too and the only way for them to express themselves is to ruin someone else’ day. Awful, isn’t it? But it happens.
No one can ruin your day without your permission. Before the action or words of anyone or any event can make you have a bad day, you must first allow it to do so. This means that you have to devise a means of diffusing the toxins that can potentially ruin your day, leaving you with good vibes that make your day better.
Do something you enjoy
As the day goes by, your energy and interest begin to wane. Everything starts to become bland and disinteresting, but not everything actually becomes interesting. There are still some things that can cheer you up or re-energize you. They are the things you really love doing, not some boring job or the mundane activities of normal adult life.
It’s been a while since you did those things you enjoy, and I encourage you to go out there right now. Buy your favourite candy, watch movies you love, go to dinner with your partner, eat outside, buy yourself a new gift, get a new pet, read a novel, the list is just endless, but doing something you enjoy in-between periods on intense activities can help make your day better.
Harness your peak periods
Your peak periods are those times of the day when you are most productive. It shouldn’t be far-fetched why harnessing your peak periods can help make your day better. The more productive you are, the happier you will be, and the better your experience for that day.
Avoid negative energy
Maybe you have had an encounter with someone who turned out to be bad energy. Some people are only interested in ruining your day and they can do so time and time again if given the opportunity. When you identify such people, wisdom demands that you avoid them as much as you can in order to avoid what they usually have to offer – disappointments, anger, feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness.
Be cheerful, smile more
Overcoming stress and pressure also requires you to smile always. Smiling has been shown to help relax the muscles of the face, relieving stress, and inducing the release of the “feel-good” hormone called dopamine, the same hormone responsible for the pleasure of sex. It takes efforts to smile most times, especially in the midst of many things that can steal your joy away, many things that can take away all your reasons to smile. However, smiling is a decision you can take and execute successfully each time irrespective of the circumstances around you.
Plug in your music
Several studies have shown that listening to music can help lower your blood pressure, reduce stress, and enhance mood. Some people resort to taking marijuana to achieve these effects, but what if I tell you that there are easier and cheaper things that can calm your mood and blood pressure down? Listening to the right music is one of them.
I’m certain you have a smartphone or an MP3 at least. Simply load your playlist with your favourite calming music, press the play button and watch how much better your day becomes from then on.
Sniff a lemon
There are many hacks that can turn your most stressful days into refreshing, satisfying moments. One of these is the simple act of sniffing a lemon. Japanese researchers have found that lemon contains linalool, a volatile organic compound that can repress the classic “flight-or-fight” stress response. When you are stressed, or when faced with a threat, your body automatically switches to the stress mode principally governed by cortisol and epinephrine/norepinephrine. The response produced by these hormones is what is referred to as the “flight-or-fight” and it puts you in a state of fear, anxiety, and desperation.
Inhaling linalool in lemons can help suppress the stress response and help calm your nerves down. Many fruity scents in other fruits like basil, juniper or lavender have also been shown to produce a similar result of reducing stress. To end this up, when life gives you a lemon, turn it into a lemonade. When stress hits you hard, sniff a lemon.
Get some rest, take a nap
Maybe you were involved in a stressful activity like relocating to a new apartment or packing some luggage to another location. There are companies that can help you ease the stress of packing and make the day easier for you. But most of the time, stress is an inevitable part of the day no matter how much you try to reduce it. Even if you were to sit in one place, doing nothing, as long you are alive and thinking, your brain and body tissues are consuming some amounts of energy. A time comes when you begin to feel the stress that your body enzymatic processes and organ functions give you.
Do you know the remedy? Take some rest, this is the right time to eat from the lunch pack you packed in the morning, and get some nap. These will replenish your energy and keep you refreshed for a better day ahead.
Do a stretch
As the day progress, not only do you gradually get worn out mentally, your muscles also ache from either too much activity or being placed in a rigid position for far too long. Usually, you stretch when you either visit the gym or when you are in your yoga pants. This time, you are just going to make a few easy moves exactly where you are.
Bend your waist forwards so that your fingers can touch your toes. Then, stretch your arms overhead, raise and lower your shoulders consecutive times while standing. Also, try stretching your legs to the back while you lean your torso against a wall. And if there is enough space around, you can bend your waist backwards while you try to make contact with the floor with your hand behind as if you want to do a backflip.
Stretching can help improve your circulation and flexibility and can help ease the stiffened or aching muscles.
Meditate
In my own experience, meditation is hard but it is easier than you may think. Meditation helps to calm your mind from worries and the effects of stress. When I want to meditate, I simply sit on a chair, lean my back to it and close my eyes. While my eyes are closed, I try to keep my mind blank – I try not to think of anything, even when thoughts try to rush in. Another way you can do it is, settle into a comfortable position in a chair or on the floor. Then follow your breath – in, out, again and again for a few minutes. When thoughts try to bubble in your mind, just let them float by while you turn your attention back to your breath.
Keep a gratitude diary
Is there anything as a gratitude diary, you’d ask? Simply take a minute or two to write down what you are grateful for. The day may have had several negative events, bad weather, traffic, job problems, but there are still some things you can be happy about. Instead of focusing on the negativities, turn your attention to those things that can bring a mindset of positivity to you. Keep a gratitude diary of things you are thankful for.
Turn off your electronics
Electronic gadgets have a way of taking our attention from the things that matter the most, from our relationships. While you may not realise how this can affect you, it is important that you know that drawing away from the people that care about you the most means you will also segregate yourself from the support you get from them.
Also, if you are someone who is always staring at computer screens and other electronics all day, you may experience some fatigue and inactivity. Many people think that they can make their boring day better by keeping busy with electronics but oftentimes, what you need is some break from those gadgets whether they are for work or leisure.
Prioritize your activities
In order to maximize your day, you need to be able to prioritize your activities. Accept the fact that you can’t do everything, at least not at once. A to-do list will be helpful but even if you do not do a written to-do list, you should do your best to organize every task in your head in their order of priority. This way you do not wear yourself out thinking of what to do next, or mudding everything up. If you are able to achieve those items on top priority, you can afford to take some rest or skip those that are not so pressing down the list. Overall, this will make your day better.
Learn from yesterday
“When history is forgotten, the mistakes of the past will surely be repeated”. The worst mistake a person can make is the mistake he makes the second time. No matter how bad the experiences of the previous day were, the best thing you can do to yourself is not by lamenting about what you did or did not do. It is your opening to learn from your own mistakes and do things better next time.
If you want to make today better than yesterday or the day before, you should deliberately pick out lessons from your previous experiences and think about what you could have done better.
Conclusion
Here are 20 things you should do to make your day better. I wish you a better day ahead. Thanks for reading and please share and comment.
