A couple of months ago I had a period of pretty low mood. I was unmotivated, exhausted and feeling ‘meh’ most days. Thankfully, I pulled myself out of that funk (and wrote about it here) but when I look back at it, coming out of it started with one good day.
I remember waking up without a headache for the first time in a couple of weeks (I was cutting down on caffeine and the headaches were no joke) and this immediately made me feel lighter. The rest of the day was spent at my day job and I remember pausing on my lunch break and thinking, “I’m really enjoying today”.
When I got home, I felt tired but fulfilled.
The tasks I had to do that day were varied and included running a workshop on anxiety management for people in the company. I noted down what it was about the day I enjoyed, what different factors went into my good mood and why that day was a good one.
This isn’t something I’d really ever done before. I guess it was because I’d had such a run of not good days that this one really stood out. It made me realise how important it is for us to note the good days and figure out how we can enjoy more of them, especially if they’re feeling thin on the ground right now.
As you’ll know if you’ve followed me for some time - I don’t go in for the toxic positivity approach and I don’t believe that all days should be sunshine-y and full of rainbows. It’s human to have bad days, it’s human to have negative emotions. Ignoring or suppressing them will only cause further harm.
But if you know you could be squeezing more joy out of your everyday, if you’re in a funk and want less ‘meh’ days, try asking yourself the following questions the next time you have a really good day.
What elements of today did I enjoy?
Think about the different parts of your day, what did you do? Who did you see? What element brought you the most joy? What do you think made your day good?
For me it was having the space and time to work on wellness ambassador work in my day job, something I had been struggling with the last couple of months. It was having a varied day that included writing and supporting people in the workshop.
How can I add more of these elements into days moving forward?
Now, consider if and how you can incorporate these elements into more of your days. If it’s work related, can you see if it’s possible to do more of the thing you enjoyed? If it was connecting with someone, can you find a way to connect with them more often?
For example, I’m now making an effort to carve out more space for wellness ambassador work and considering how I can do more workshops outside of what I do at my day job, through Blue Jay of Happiness (in fact, I already have one workshop on self-care journaling coming up in December at Yoga Quota’s Reflect & Gather retreat day).
What other factors affected my mood?
It’s not always just what we do that makes a day good. Sometimes there are other factors. Maybe you had a really good night’s sleep the night before. Maybe you had more space in your day than usual.
Not having a caffeine withdrawal headache was a big factor in my case and generally feeling more steady energy-wise.
How can I recreate these factors more?
Some of these factors you won’t be able to recreate, for example if the good weather affected your mood, but some of them you totally can. If getting enough sleep made an impact, make a concerted effort to get more sleep. If having space in your day made it better, think about anything you can let go of or delegate to make future days more roomy.
In my case I just continued with my reduced caffeine intake. My energy has remained pretty steady and I’m sleeping better. And I kinda hate that, because I love coffee, but hey - I’ll take better energy levels and a cup of decaf any day.
And there we have it, a few ways you can create more good days. I’d love to hear what a good day looks like to you, let me know in the comments.
If self-care is an element that’s lacking in your days and you know it’ll make a difference to your mood, I’d love to help you put a sustainable routine together and give you the motivation you need to make it happen. Take a look at my self-care strategy session on my coaching page for more info.
Next week I’ll be back with a podcast on self-compassion and a blog sharing five ways I make life easier. Until then, take care.
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I like the idea of taking stock of what’s been good about your day. A great post!