Starting My Day In A Positive Way

                                 Dawn                                 Title added to image by Mabel Amber from  Pixabay

The things you do to start your day in a positive way depends on whether you are a lark or a night owl, your personality and your living situation. What works for the lark is unlikely to work for the owl. If you are an introvert your needs will be different from those of an extrovert. If you have young children in your care (or you are a carer for an adult with a disability or someone who needs support due to ageing) your situation will be different from someone who lives alone. There are many other factors that will influence what you are able to do, let's be practical here, and what you will want to do when you get out of bed in the morning.

I was going to do a '5 Tips For Starting Your Day Happy' post but once I got started changed it to a more personal perspective with the emphasis on starting out positive. I thought about some of the tips I have read which don't appeal to me at all and decided I would start with what works for me at this time and finish up with a few suggestions that might work for others.


Get organised the night before
I am definitely a night owl and what I can do in five minutes shortly before bed takes me longer, much longer in the morning. I also find it advisable to make a list of important stuff I need to do in the morning as I don't think so clearly early in the day. I may have thought things through the night before and have a step by step plan in my mind but if I don't write it down it's quite possible I will forget. 

So, I will have my handbag organised with anything I need if I am going out the next day. If I need to get scripts filled, letters posted or to do any errands, I put what I need in my bag the night before. If I am returning library books or dropping a few items off at the op shop I will put those in my trolley. Perhaps the next day is a Saturday and I am going to the produce share. I will pack non perishable items in my trolley and leave a note for myself regarding any plants, vegetables or cut herbs I want to take along.

Knowing I have things organised puts me in a positive frame of mind when I wake up.

Now I don't know how it works for larks. Are those of you who bounce out of bed at 5am (shudder, shudder) better off just going to bed and organising stuff when you get up? If morning is your best time maybe that works better for you.

Eat something nice for breakfast
There are people who can't face food first thing in the day. I am not one of them, I need food and I like it to be something I enjoy that is also nutritious. I vary what I eat hoping that over the course of a week I will get all the nutrients I need.

One of my favourite things is egg and bacon but I don't have it too often. Sometimes I also cook some tomato and just before everything is cooked I will add some baby spinach. I love cooked mushrooms too, either on their own or with onion.


Other mornings I have an egg with toast, sardines on multi grain toast or granola. I used to have porridge cooked with a few sultanas sometimes but I've 'gone off' porridge.


Sit somewhere nice to eat breakfast
When it's warm I sit outside and listen to the birds and enjoy the garden as I eat. At the moment it's early winter and I am choosing to sit inside and look out through the glass door at the garden. I often have a vase of flowers on the table and sometimes a lace tablecloth. Taking time over breakfast gives me time to feel gratitude for all the good things in my life.

Pushing aside a pile of clutter on the table and eating in a small clear space wouldn't make me feel positive and able to manage the day ahead.

Flowers boost my mood                                Image:Marie Vonow

Enjoy a cup of coffee
After I have eaten I like to have a cup of coffee, but only if I have time to sit and sip it slowly. If I am in a hurry to catch a bus or train I don't have coffee as I don't enjoy rushing it. Some people can't get started without that first coffee but I prefer to delay having a coffee until I can relax and savour it. When the weather is suitable I sit outside.

I enjoy drinking my morning coffee outside    Image:M Vonow

 Listen to music
Sometimes I like to listen to music and other times I enjoy silence or the sound of the birds. If I listen to music it will be something upbeat.

Ways other people may start their day-

• with a glass of warm water with some fresh lemon juice added

• going for a swim or a walk

• exercise class

• yoga

• tai chi

• meditate 

• prayer

• stretching

• making their bed

• checking Facebook (although one is generally advised not to start the day this way, if you follow people who post uplifting messages this might promote a positive frame of mind) 

• phone call to check a family member or friend is okay. This, hopefully, will give peace of mind that things are going okay.

Others have a routine of getting children ready for day care or school and don't think too much about pleasurable rituals for starting their day.

How do you like to start your day?