Improving the everyday doesn’t have to be grueling or complex. For me, these simple remedies have saved many a day from feeling like a waste of time. Perhaps they can do the same for you?
1. A morning coffee.
This is by far my favorite one. Nothing can help escape the daily rush like even two peaceful minutes with an enjoyable beverage. Of course, you can do this at any time of the day. But doing it in the morning, preferably while looking pensively out of the window, just takes the cake for me.
2. Leaving the house.
Or just changing rooms. Our brain is a funny thing. It can quickly fall into a sort of cabin fever, without us ever realizing it – especially while sitting in front of the computer all day. Leaving the house or just changing rooms has saved me countless times from drowning in the internet’s content flood. For extra enjoyment, just grab a nice beverage while you’re on the go!
3. Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar A).
Not everyone likes Yoga, but I’m convinced that sun salutations is something anyone can get into. It’s essentially a handful of simple postures that you can cycle through in almost no time at all. But the effect is staggering: It gives you a great stretch, your mind has an opportunity to relax and your day will immediately improve.
4. A well-made bed.
I’ve started way too many days in my life by just getting out of bed without so much as a look back. A shame, because even the simple action of shaking up your pillow helps to start the day by doing something constructive right off the bat – and reminds you when you got to bed that you started the day well.
5. Thinking about death.
Sounds like a curveball but hear me out. It is so easy for a day to just seem like any other. This is profoundly untrue. No day ever comes back. Thinking about death reminds us of that – perhaps uncomfortably, but effectively so.
What simple thing do you do to improve your day? I’d love to be ready for the next bump on the road!
Markus + Micah 
❤️ this is great advice
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Thank you, I hope so!
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Good advice, especially the last. My aunt always says “you’re a long time dead” in other words, make the most of your life.
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Well said!
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Great post! And a reminder that we are all mortal haha. Coffee and yoga are definitely two things that make my day better!
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Indeed – simple and effective!
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Coffee works first thing–so delicious. Then it always feels better when I do some easy yoga stretching. Going for a walk–feels wonderful. Eating healthy–yum. Connecting with Spirit–the best. Thanks for the suggestions!
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Connecting with Spirit is a good way of framing it. Highlights how rewarding it is, without sounding as macabre. It is also funny how simple these things are, isn’t it? I’ve managed to leave the house in the morning more often in the past days, and the difference for the everyday is staggering.
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I have always enjoyed watching the sun come up and listening to the birds as they start their day with a cup of tea (and I include water now – when I remember). Pottering around outside is now a feature of starting most days and I still fit in a k-drama or two. I might spend all of two minutes zooming the headlines. I don’t need to do any more than that. I get the gist of what is happening very quickly. I (we) make the bed, just depends who is doing what at the time. As for thinking about death – yes I do from the point of view of whether I need to achieve anything else in life and making sure the family has financial security, should I pass on. We went to a psychic dinner last night – great fun. Apparently, I be working and doing this and that for quite a few years yet 😉
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Psychic dinner sounds interesting. And I admire your routine! In the past days, I’ve managed to leave the house in the morning more often again, which has been really refreshing. Doing this and that is good, no? It’s a big part of life anyways.
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Yes, I do believe leaving the house is so important as it does have that refreshing effect. That’s part of why I go off and play guitar on Sundays.
The Psychic Dinner was a fun night. I had a crystal reading, tarot reading and a reading by a psychic medium. And better still it was held in a German restaurant (Biergarten) in the Swan Valley. We are definitely going back to further enjoy the food, German smallgoods and the beer 🍻
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Oh you play guitar, too? Very cool! I try to jam with a backing track in front of my computer a couple of times a week. Just like leaving the house I never regret doing it, but it doesn’t nearly happen often enough.
Haha yes, enjoy the Biergarten! You are fortunate to have the weather for it right now.
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Definitely doing any kind of yoga in the morning is helpful! Even 10 minutes of some sort of slow flow helps gets me going. Agree with the idea of reminding ourselves that each day is a gift 🙂 we won’t ever get it back to “reopen”
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Yes, exactly. And 10 minutes really seems to be the magic timeframe for me. Much shorter and it doesn’t really do anything, but much longer and I get bored and start losing discipline!
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Oooh love these different remedies for a better day. I found leaving the house helpful, but only if it can be done in a safe manner. I didn’t know thinking about death helps, but it does give a good wakeup call!
Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com
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Wake-up call is a good way of describing it! That’s exactly why I think it’s useful.
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I definitely agree that leaving the house can brighten up the day! Especially if it’s sunny outside x
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Indeed!
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What a great post! I can’t do the morning coffee because I don’t like hot drinks, but I have morning water haha! Getting outside is another huge one too, it’s a great refresh xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
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When in doubt, water is the superior beverage for sure!
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I love your list. I agree with each item. Stepping outside early in the morning is a pleasant way to start my day, along with morning meditation.
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Yes, it is amazing to start the day already centered. Some days it works better than others.
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So true! Both accounts. 😀
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A great breakfast always starts my day off on the right foot. A hot shower does wonders to improve my mood or day too 😀
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Can’t go wrong with a hot shower. Especially while it’s freezing outside.
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What a profound thought – “No day ever comes back.” Thanks for a great reminder to use our day well. Usually, about one day a week, I write in my gratitude journal. The quiet reflection and focus on gratitude is a wonderful way to start the day.
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That is a great habit to have. Sounds like a good way to create awareness in your life as well.
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Very true, I need at least 1 coffee a day to function. And leaving the house and at least going out into the yard is the difference between feeling in a funk and feeling like a weight is taken off your shoulders, it’s a short walk but sometimes we forget right?
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Yes, it’s so simple. Maybe that’s why we sometimes think it’s not worth doing. But perhaps that’s exactly what makes it so important.
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Great list. I like your last point. It’s a good reminder to appreciate what you’ve got.
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Yes – and that it’s up to you what happens with it.
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I would add an ice cold shower….
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That will pull you right out of it for sure!
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It was a smooth flowing article and then bam, those skeletons – totally got me. 😂
Making the bed can put you in such a good mood! And coffee is my lifeline. I don’t think I’d like to think about death in the morning. 🙈 I get that it changes your perspective knowing it can end anytime. But yeah, no. 🙈
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Haha, thinking about death is not required, of course. I did spend a bit of extra time making the bed this morning and felt all the better for it!
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You are 100% right about that morning coffee. That is my time to do absolutely nothing, but enjoy every sip, while my thoughts sort the order of the day out, or completely wonder off to I don’t know where. Point is, it is my time to indulge. I sometimes do it while lazily browsing the internet reading the latest news on NYT. I also tend to #2, which I either go for a bike ride, or a long walk. But, what I haven’t dedicated time to is your #5. And it actually makes sense, but I have never set time to think about death. I mean, I often think about death, but at random times.
Thank you for a refreshing post. You never disappoint! A good day to you my friends!
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Yes, I’m trying to do more of the wondering and less of the lazily browsing. The latter tends to leave me in more of a mess than what I started with. Maybe coffee also goes well with #5? Thank you for your comment and a good day to you, too!
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🙂 🙂
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I love this list ❤️ Number five definitely got me like 😳😱 but that’s so true – thinking about the end can help us live more fully in the present. Sometimes when I think about my family in those terms, I feel the motivation to love and forgive and embrace them more.
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Yes, it really creates a powerful perspective, doesn’t it? And perhaps ironically, I find it naturally fosters a more life-affirming attitude.
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I take a walk, but that fits in with your steps, too.
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Very true! Somehow I find it hard to get myself to leave the house sometimes, especially in the winter. But I never regret having done so when it happens.
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We lived in NY for 50 years, so we are used to cold weather. Ice will stop us from walking, but not cold temperatures. We have winter coats bought in NY, but we don’t wear them until it’s way below freezing.
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It’s good to brave the cold like that. Toughens you up.
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We’re tough old birds.
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Tougher than most!
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A cup of coffee and a well made bed! For me, these two things sets the tone for the rest of the day.
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Indeed! I used to just leave my bed without looking back in the morning, but thanks to Micah I’ve learned how much of a difference it makes. A few seconds of distilled mindfulness to start off the day.
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No.5 – Thinking about death! Being older, this subject comes into my mind much more than it used to. I am very aware of the number of years I’ve been on the planet and very aware that my time here is limited. My thoughts are not morbid but whilst this pandemic continues they can be depressing. Your expression ‘no day ever comes back’ really resonates with me, as I imagine it does with most of the older generation!
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Yes, it is not necessarily pleasant. I remember literally lying awake at night thinking about death some years ago. But that doesn’t make it any less important in my opinion, exactly because it emphasizes how precious every day is – no matter how old you are.
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For me, it’s exercise. Doing a workout in the morning sets the tone for the day. And getting outside for fresh air is a close second.
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Yes, especially in the winter! Can’t beat a sunny winter day in terms of freshness.
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