This Simple Morning Habit Can Make Your Day Happier and More Creative

“How you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” — Lemony Snicket

Morning habits are important because they set the tone for the rest of the day. That’s why I start every morning with the same activity:

I write 5 positive moments from the day BEFORE.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a morning person, so it’s not super difficult for me to string a few sentences together while I’m sipping my first coffee. If you’re NOT a morning person, feel free to jump in the shower first!

Anyhoo…

Back to my morning habit…

I take a moment to ponder YESTERDAY.

Specifically, I locate moments in the previous day when I felt HAPPY. Or SMART. Or PURPOSEFUL.

These don’t have to be huge things.

For example, the other day, I made a pot of peppermint tea during my lunch hour. It was perfectly brewed. I added just the right amount of honey. And I deeply enjoyed that cup of tea.

I also had a lovely chat with a client. Helped her solve a small problem, which made me feel happy, smart, and purposeful – the trifecta of positive feelings!

This simple morning habit helps me in several ways: 

✅Firstly, it puts me in a good mood before I venture into my office. And a good mood is a priceless asset to the workday.

✅Secondly, it creates an ever-expanding list of things that bring me joy. Like that perfectly brewed cup of tea. So, if the day begins to go astray, I have front-of-mind ideas of ways to turn it around and get back on track.

✅Thirdly, it makes me more proactive about acknowledging those moments of joy when they happen. Because I’m always looking for 5 things worthy of the next morning’s list.

✅And lastly, it makes me write. By the time I’ve got those 5 moments scrawled in my notebook, the pump is primed. I’m in a writing frame of mind, so words flow more readily when I need them to!