How to Have a Great Day

Are you ready to learn how to have a great day, every day?!

Two things have been entering my mind lately: 1. I’m really happy at this point in life, and 2. Most of my days are exactly the same (so, why are they so good, haha?).

I have three little girls who I love dearly, but anyone with little kids knows that day-to-day life with them is pretty rough and demanding. We have a pretty set routine, which I’ll share below, and I think it’d be easy for someone with this life/routine to be… bored? anxious? wanting more? But I really don’t feel like that. Sure, I’d love to take a vacation, but I’m honestly very content with my so-called mundane life.

After thinking more about this and doing some research on what makes life good, this is what I’ve determined allows you to have the best day ever, today (and every day after).

And, my new life motto is “Great days make a great life.” How true is that?! So, instead of focusing so much on goals and what the future holds, I’m focusing on today.

How to Have a Great Day

Wake up to something you enjoy

Splurge on the good coffee, have something delicious to make for breakfast, allow yourself to check your social media accounts if that brings you joy. If you want to have a great day, you have to start your day off on the right foot. For me, that’s good coffee and blogging. How can you adjust your morning routine to begin it with something you love?

Stop worrying about the future; all you have is today, right now

This has been huge for me. It’s so easy to be waiting for the “next big thing.” This could be graduating college, getting engaged/married, having a baby, getting out of the “baby phase,” having another baby, etc etc etc. While it is great to have goals, why not just… forget about all that for a bit and enjoy TODAY!

Obviously, I am a blogger. I get tons of emails from people who want to start a blog, but are afraid they’ll never make money from it or learn everything there is to know. I encourage every single one of these people to just START. Do one thing every day that relates to blogging. Don’t worry about learning everything in one week, or making money within your first month. Just do what you can TODAY and have fun with it.

Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins; endorphins make you happy. So, exercise!! You don’t have to have audacious goals like gaining tons of muscle or losing a bunch of weight, just move your body. I am a member of the YMCA and love their fitness classes, but you can absolutely work out for free. Find a YouTube video, go for a jog, challenge yourself to 50 push-ups a day, etc.

Create your own schedule

Do you enjoy your job, or are you just living for the weekends? Does Sunday night bring on the blues, or are you excited about Monday morning and a fresh start? To really make a day GREAT, you need to be in charge of your own schedule. If you love your 9-5, that’s wonderful!! But if not, there IS something you can do about. You can perhaps ask about working from home, or working four 10-hour shifts instead of five 8-hour ones. OR, you can build your own online business. There are many, many ways to make money online. It takes time, but it’s absolutely possible.

Here’s my FREE course on the best side hustles for moms! >>

My current schedule, which I’ve created myself, looks like this: Wake up between 5:30-6:00am and blog or hang out with the kids, depending on when they wake up. Once my older two are at school, my baby goes down for a nap and I call my mom, work on my blog, make a healthy breakfast, and clean. When she wakes, we head to the gym for a workout class, followed by picking up my preschooler from school. Head home and spend time with her, maybe bake something yummy, before getting my kindergartener from the bus stop. My husband is also self-employed and arrives home around the same time. The rest of the day is spent having fun as a family! I LOVE this schedule and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Change your attitude

Easier said than done, ha. But, if you are in a bad mood, be aware of that and do what you can to change your attitude. I know that sometimes that’s impossible, and if that’s the case, just know that your funk will pass at some point, and do what you can to try to make yourself feel better (go for a walk, treat yourself to a coffee, call a friend, etc).

Leave room for downtime / don’t overschedule

A great way to NOT enjoy your day is to run around from one event to the next. Of course, some days this is your only option, but do your best to allow for downtime every single day. Right now, my “guaranteed” downtime is after my kids go to bed. I take a hot shower and give myself 30 minutes or so to eat some ice cream and do nothing. Then, I usually blog and straighten up the kitchen, pack lunches, etc. Where can you squeeze in some downtime every day?

Let go of the guilt

You ordered take-out for dinner… again. Your kids do not (ever) get Pinterest-worthy birthday parties. Your house isn’t clean. You don’t have as much money in the bank as you’d like. You guys, you’ve got to let all of this go. Instead of focusing on a million “to-do’s,” focus on creating a happy, healthy life for you and your family. I promise you no one has it all together. We are all just doing our best and trying to get by. Give yourself permission to not feel guilty over any of this. Take a deep breath and let it go.

Play with your kids

I will be the first to admit I’m not the best at actually playing with my daughters. But, I absolutely LOVE spending quality time with them. We bake treats together about once a week, they love helping me with household chores, we play tag at the playground and Duck Duck Goose every night before bed, and we read lots of stories every day and constantly tell one another we love each other!

Spend time with your spouse

Your marriage is one of the most important relationships in your life; make time for it! Try to make it a habit of connecting with your spouse every single day. This could be waking up early just the two of you to have your coffee before the kids get up, going on an evening walk, sitting on the couch with a drink for 10 minutes after the kids go to bed, going to the gym together, etc. My husband and I, personally, go for a drive almost every single day (the kids come, too, but thanks to a DVD player in the car they are usually quiet) and we chat nightly before watching our Netflix shows.

Do something just for you

Determine what’s most important in your life, and plan your day around that. Most likely, your family and the people that you love are what matter most. So, as stated above, make them your focus. Your health may also be important, so make time to go for a walk or go to the gym. If you enjoy doing your make-up everyday and getting ready (I do!), make time for that! You will never have a good day if you are constantly prioritizing everyone else.

Work

I believe everyone should have a side hustle. Unless you have a huge inheritance that’s guaranteed to last your lifetime and possibly your children’s lifetime, you need to be making money. It doesn’t have to be much, and it most definitely doesn’t have to take hours each day, but you should have something. Blogging is my side hustle of choice. When I help new bloggers get started, I recommend they do one blogging-related item every single day. It can take five minutes or five hours, but they have to do something.

Here are the highest-paying side hustles you can start today >>

Do something nice for someone else

You want to know the real secret to having a great life? Serve others. I’m sure you’ve all seen the episode of Friends where Phoebe tries to find a selfless good deed, and she comes up empty-handed. Simply put – doing nice things for other people makes us feel good. It also, more importantly, makes them feel good. Invite a mom you know has been struggling over for dinner, bring your child’s bus driver a “Thank you” gift card, look for ways to serve in your community, bring your neighbors fresh-baked cookies, pay for the person’s order behind you in the drive-thru line, donate money to a good cause, etc. If you’re having a bad day, doing something for someone else will instantly transform your outlook.

Now, I want to know, what makes a day GREAT for you?! Share in the comments!