Mornings. Even if you are a morning person – the mornings before work can be rough. They can feel rushed or full of the desire to go back to bed. There are several ways to make mornings prior to work feel less stressful, this way you can arrive at work in a decent mood and feel ready to take on the day. **Disclaimer – I don’t have children (If you do – results may vary!)** Each idea is based on one or two points of setting a happy mindset that I have personally been experiencing and trying to incorporate into my life: 1) Organization and 2) Hygge. Organizing makes one feel better about life. The human brain enjoys organization and “hygge” means to put your brain into it’s happy space of comfort and enjoyment.

1. Set up the hot beverage station the night before – What I have noticed is that my mornings always start out alot smoother when I wake up and have set up my coffee pot the night before. Now that being said – Not everyone is a coffee drinker. In this case, set up your mug and tea choice the night before or set up a mug with all the makings right beside it for Cocoa. This is both an organized way to start the morning and a great way to prepare to “Hygge” in the morning.
2.  Do NOT read Social Media or the News for 15 Minutes – This sounds super easy but when you have reached the habit of constantly getting on social media first thing when you wake up, it’s the hardest one to do. When I wake up in the morning my brain needs time to come to life before it processes what it’s seeing or hearing. When my husband asks me something it forces me to start faster and feel rushed – worst thing ever. Social Media and the New do the same. Here’s what I recommend – if you can’t stay off of Social media – Pinterest or Instagram. Instagram is just photos – your brain will have time to process without having to think about what is or isn’t true. Simply give your brain 15 min of leisure time in the morning.
3. Wake up earlier – I know everyone says it and you don’t understand why you should do it. but it’s similar to not looking at social media. It gives you time to sit, drink some hot beverage, and simply wake up. I’m not a person that bounces out of bed ready to go. I take time and when I know what time I have to leave the house – I make sure to be up atleast 1.5 hours before hand. I know that it sounds extreme but think of it this way: As a woman it takes me a minimum of 30 minutes to get ready, 30 minutes to drink coffee, ponder life, and generically “Hygge” before I have to get ready. I like to wake up and while drinking my coffee blog or read a book. It puts me in a good mood.
4. Set out your clothes the night before – If you can’t or don’t want to wake up more then 20 min earlier than normal – set out your clothes the night before. It is one less thing to worry about in the morning and makes it that much smoother when you have to leave.
5. Do something you love – wake up early enough to do something you love. Read a book. Have breakfast. Whatever that item is that makes you tick. It will make you happy and start your morning out on the right foot.

Ultimately it’s your morning. But I can tell you that if you do this for just a week to test it – you will find that your mindset has improved.  My grandfather always had a saying “Proper Prior Planning Prevents a Piss Poor Preformance” – 7 P’s of life. Organization and Hygge in the morning makes it that much smoother and ultimately will make you that much more happy in the mornings.