What little things in your day to day life bring you joy?

[Thejewellershands]

I have been feeling extremely down and low over the past few months and kind of focusing on the negative parts of my life/things that may be going wrong or not working out. I’m sick of feeling sad all of the time and have decided to try and focus on the things that bring me happiness each day, even little things like getting comfy in bed at night and reading a good book.

I wanted to create this post because I’m interested in what other people get enjoyment out of in their average day and also I kind of find it comforting to hear.

edited to correct spelling

Small Bursts of exercise, writing in my planner, reading, random doodles, learning an instrument, having a bath with lovely bath oils, playing with a pet.

I hope you feel better soon!

Bird watching / feeding in my garden.

Looking at seed catalogues.

Decluttering.

Putting the electric throw into my bed at level 4 an hour before bedtime so that when I get into bed it feels INCREDIBLE.

Morning coffee!
the feeling of the house being clean and tidy
My dog (sad i know)

Tea in bed in the morning. I set my alarm for 6.30, 20 mins before I get the kids up, so that I can sit up in bed with my lovely Anthropologie cup and do Wordle or read Mumsnet in peace. Then when I get the kids up I already feel poised and at one with the world.

A good cup of tea
Snuggling up in my new highland cow "oodie" (fake one from Next but I LOVE it)
Listening to music on Spotify - a good playlist created for me by the app, my own playlist, an album I've not heard in a long time or a good movie/musical soundtrack
I joined a jogging group a couple of days ago and they meet twice a week so that will be another thing that brings me joy for 30-40 minutes at a time

• Tending the house plants
• cuddling the dog
• walking the dog, even if I don’t want to initially
• speaking to a friend/spending time with my daughter (bath time is the best)
• having a show to binge that me and my partner are really into, it’s a bit exciting (when you’ve got a toddler haha), currently watching the traitors and fool me once was a good binge watch.
• A bath, also sometimes with an overpriced bath bomb so it’s a real treat
• painting my nails
• face mask
• electric blanket on the bed, so warm!!

Swimming is by far the most positive from a day to day perspective along with the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi there, go with DH.

Not a small thing, but our 1.2 metre Maine Coon, today woke me up nose to nose on my pillow purring really loudly and two big fluffy paws on my head. He is constantly cheerful.

Lovely smelling bath foams and also had some small perfumes for Christmas.

Planning nice days out. Booked Orchid Festival at Kew.

Doing work on house like decluttering or cleaning though after it's done not during🤣

Chats with my daughter.

Some aspects of my job! I'm a teacher, and sometimes just a beaming smile or a spark of sudden understanding or enthusiasm from a student makes my day.

At home, settling down with a cup of tea and my knitting or crochet early on a weekend morning before anyone else is up. Or funny banter with my teen dc. Or doing the crossword with dh.

I need to start doing this! I set my alarms for 6 then 6.30 so I can have a leisurely morning to myself, but always end up hitting snooze until about 7am! Think I'll actually make a point of leaving my bedroom when my alarm goes off to help wake me up.

Just adding my fleece duvet and fleece sheet, very snuggly.

Beautiful birds out the window or if gardening and a robin appears, bit chilly for that now though.

Got some nice scented candles.

Oh, also had a really random funny WhatsApp exchange with my 2 oldest friends (one lives in Hong Kong now) so they always put a wee smile on my face.

I’m sorry your feeling low x

I have introduced a new “night” routine since new year to try and lift my mood also, and so far it’s working!

My children are older so understand not everyone will have time for this, but doing one or two might help?

I have a hot bath most nights, using some nice products that I got for Christmas, then I do my skin care. If I remember I use a nice body lotion too!

I do a session of Yoga from YouTube. I’m really interested in how trauma and stress affect the body, due to various reasons last year I wasn’t sleeping well, my neck and back were really sore from tension and I was grinding my teeth in my sleep. I really like Hannah Uiri for this, it’s trauma informed yoga and it’s really gentle. I can feel a difference in my body already and I’m sleeping better.

I journal - nothing fancy, bought a cheap one from Amazon and lost my goals and daily habits I aim for, it’s nice to get some thoughts out on paper.

I bought some new cushions to make my bed really lovely, and instead of scrolling on my phone I make sure I put it down an hour before I want to sleep and read a book instead.

Other little treats are nice coffee, good chocolate and candles. It’s working for me so far and I look forward to my evenings more now.

Morning coffee.
A bunch of daffodils at this time of year. So cheerful.
Whichever of my crafting things I’m doing. Cross stitch at the moment.

@MrsFloof you've got a Maine Coon?! Do you have any pictures of him to share on here? I've only seen pictures online but they look so majestic - heard they're really friendly and content despite their size.

I’ve separated from my stbxh, so everyday I wake up knowing I’m no longer in the same space as him is a bonus. I now live alone.

But I’ve noticed every evening when I’m taking my dinner to the sofa to watch Tv, I feel really content. The curtains are drawn, the days chores are over. My worries have been put aside til tomorrow. I got lovely food to eat and a few hours to watch/read what I like. Afterwards I’ll be treating myself to some chocolate.

It’s a moment when I feel really safe and comfortable and everything is OK.

Does that help?

I love having a nice cuppa once the kids are in bed in a tidy silent room with my dog, scented candle on.

Also have a lovely mandarin scented shower scrub that always feel like a bit of luxury when I use it. Can smell it on my skin for ages after.

Lovely thread!

I have infinite Maine Coon pics. 😎

Forcing self out for 15 min walk - either in park or just round the block, looking in people’s windows 😁

Reading The New Yorker.

Shower and slapping on any body moisturiser to feel pampered, not battered, by life.

Bit of Morcheeba Big Calm while houseworking takes the sting out.

Short stories on the internet. Try Googling Alice Munro or George Saunders.

This sounds very insignificant, but I’ve found that lavender pillow mist at night makes me feel calmer and gives me a better night’s sleep. I’m a terrible sleeper, so it’s a lovely addition to my nighttime comfort.

Agree on prewarming bed with electric blanket.

Not sad at all. I did an Action for Happiness course and this was the most popular answer when the group were asked this question!

Me - food. I am very fat 😆

Simple daily things for me:

Making my hot water bottle. It's a really pretty floral one and gives me real pleasure.

A tidy house.

A pint out in a country pub.

A new good series of a treasured favourite.

My log burner being on.

Fresh daffodils

The odd candle.

A bubble bath.

A short walk. (Or long!) but just thinking of the simplest things.

A new book.

Oh gosh, how could I forget!!! My dog!

Giving my lot a hug each morning, first cup of tea, wrapping my youngest ds up like an Eskimo for the school run, putting the fire on, I like work a bit, don't tell anyone, audible books - I think being read to is such a treat, watching the news with my eldest and being able to fill in some context and listening to his ideas as they form, playing chess with my other ds who will suck air between his teeth to let me know when I'm about to mess up - I'm not very good - jumping in to bed with dh on an evening. I was feeling a bit blue with a cold but this has really cheered me up, thanks op.