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Crystal, how do you stay motivated to get up and get moving each day? Do you generally have a positive attitude about your days? May I ask how you cope or stay on task when you're tired or discouraged? -a reader
Want to know the truth? While I'm generally a very positive person, this positivity is something I've intentionally decided to choose: - I try to choose to go through life looking for blessings, even when there are hard and heavy burdens.
- I aim to choose to go through life looking for the good to praise, instead of pointing out the things there are to criticize.
- I always try to choose to believe the best about others, even when I sometimes want to be frustrated and hurt.
I don't always do a great job of this. There are days when I wake up feeling overwhelmed. When I feel tired and behind before my feet even hit the floor. When I just want to roll over and go back to sleep because my to-do list is too long and the night was too short. When I wake up feeling discouraged and tired or when I start feeling down or want to wallow in frustration, I've found a number of solutions to help me get back on track and have more of a cheerful, upbeat attitude. 
Over the past few days, I compiled a list of 33 different things I do almost every day to make my day so much better. Here's my list: 1. Get Up a Little Earlier - Even if I can't get up really early, I have found that getting up just 15 minutes before my children do makes a world of difference in my day. I start the day out with more clarity and purpose, I'm more organized, and I'm a much more cheerful and relaxed mom. 2. Make a Cup of Coffee - Need I say more? I love me my fresh-brewed coffee with half and half. And I look forward to waking up every morning so I can drink my piping hot cup! 
3. Light a Candle - I love the look and smell of a candle burning, so I light one just about every morning when I come downstairs to brew my coffee. It's often the little things that can make such a difference! 4. Take Time to Brain Dump - Either at night before I go to bed or first thing in the morning, I write down everything I need to do that day or feel like I need to do. Getting it all out of my head onto paper is such a helpful exercise. 5. Create Time Blocks for Tasks - Once I create my "brain dump list" of what I think I need to do during the day, then I go back and put those tasks into time blocks. Which basically means assigning times for each tasks - such as do x, y, and z from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., etc. I try to also schedule in at least 2 hours of margin each day. 
6. Delete Some Unnecessary Tasks From My Day - By creating time blocks for the tasks of my day, it helps me to figure out whether the tasks I think I need to do during that day are realistic or not. Often times, I'll have more tasks than time, so I will cull some of the unnecessary items from the list freeing me to focus on the most important tasks for the day. 7. Write Down My Blessings - The practice of recording my blessings each day has transformed my attitude. I dare you to try it! Start your day with listing 1-3 things you are thankful for and I can almost guarantee that it will help you begin your day with a boost. 
8. Read My Bible - As a Christian, spending time in God's Word feeds my soul and encourages my heart. I'm loving doing the She Reads Truth studies right now and spending time digging deeper into God's Word as a result. 9. Turn on Music - I love music and, never fails, if I'm feeling down or discouraged, when I turn on uplifting music, within 10-15 minutes or less, I'm smiling and humming along. 10. Clean Out My Inbox - I'm kind of a fanatic about keeping my inbox cleaned out, so I usually start my morning blogging time by quickly going through the emails in there and dealing with them - either responding, filing, delegating, or deleting them. This helps me to make sure I don't get behind on tasks and stay organized as a business owner. 
11. Find Something to Smile About - I love to laugh, so I'm always looking for funny stories and cartoons to share to make other people smile, too. I usually post a few of my favorites on the Money Saving Mom® Facebook Page each day. 12. Write a Blog Post - Writing is cathartic for me, so I've made a habit of writing something every single day. Sundays are the only day I take off from blogging, so every other day, I usually write at least part of a post or a full post. I often outline the post one day and then come back to it the next day or a few days later to finish the bones of it. 13. Hug My Kiddos - We're generous with the physical affection at our house and I know everyone benefits as a result. Plus, it's hard to be frustrated with someone for long if you are hugging them regularly!  14. Kiss My Husband - I've read things about the importance of a 15-second kiss at least once every day. We aim to go above and beyond that every day… and we're big fans of not keeping things G-rated.  
15. Get My Heart Pounding - Exercise stimulates my brain, makes me feel more energetic, and helps me stay fit and healthy. Even if it's just a brisk walk at a store or stair-climbing or a quick 5-minute run, I try to do a little something every single day. A little bit is better than nothing at all! 16. Take a Shower - I'm a grouch if I don't take a shower and shave my legs every. single. day. There, now you know more than you needed to know about me. 17. Dress in Something I Love - Take a little time to put on an outfit you love, a little jewelry, and a little makeup. It's amazing the difference this can make in your energy and productivity. 
18. Read Aloud with My Kids - I love, love, love reading aloud to my kids. So I try to read at least a few pages - if not a few chapters - every day with them. It fills me up and they love it, too! 19. Do Something for Someone Else - The less you can think about yourself and the more you can invest in others, the more fulfilled you'll be. Look for ways to bless others - whether that's a word of encouragement, a quick text to tell someone you're thinking about them, sending a card in the mail, or just stopping to listen to someone when you run into them at the store. 20. Take Some Time to Breathe - I try to take a little time each day - even if it's just a few minutes - to do something that fills up my soul. Whether this is soaking up quiet while driving, meeting a friend for coffee, reading a little bit from a book, or watching a movie with my husband. 
21. Savor Another Cup of Coffee - And yup, this is highly important. I love my afternoon cup of coffee, too. Almost as much, or maybe even more, than my morning cup of coffee. 22. Eat Healthy Food - I try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies plus good protein every single day. This gives me fuel and helps me feel more energetic. 23. Drink Plenty of Water - Water is one of the best liquids you can give your body. Many of us don't drink enough on a regular basis, so I try to always have a glass of water or water bottle handy to encourage myself to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. 
24. Take My Vitamins - I take a few different vitamins every day and can tell a pretty marked difference in how I feel and in my energy levels when I don't take them. 25. Clean Up the Main Living Areas - We do a quick clean up of our main living areas twice a day - once in the mornings after breakfast and in the evenings after dinner. This helps our home always stay pretty tidy and never get out of control or become too overwhelming. 
26. Do a Load of Laundry - Doing a load of laundry from start to finish every day helps me to stay {mostly} on top of the laundry and never get too far behind. This is a practice I'm still working on, but have made huge strides in over the last few months. Yay! 27. Listen to or Read Something that Makes Me Think - I think it's important to be stimulating our brains on a daily basis, so I try to read at least a little from a book or listen to part of a podcast. 28. Post on Instagram - I try to post at least one post {almost} every day on Instagram. I love documenting our life this way and it's a great way for me to also focus on the good and beautiful things in our daily lives. 29. Text a Friend - I love texting - it's a great way to keep up with people on a regular basis and to share a little of what's going on in our lives. I have a few friends that I text with at least a few times per week and we often share funny and encouraging things which make me smile. 30. Have at Least One Meaningful Conversation - I'm a huge fan of deep, meaningful conversations and don't last very long without them. So I make it a point to have at least one every day - whether that's with my husband, with my kids, with a friend over coffee, or on the phone. 
31. Clean Up the Kitchen - A clean kitchen makes me so happy. So I make it a point to go to bed with it clean and then to have it completely cleaned after breakfast, too. 32. Hang Out With My Family - I love spending time with my people so much. I just can't get enough of them. So we try to spend at least a little time every day just hanging out - talking, laughing, teasing, working together, and/or doing something fun together. 33. Go to Bed at a Decent Hour - This is highly important. Turn off the electronics, wind down early, and go to bed. A good night's sleep will do wonders for your energy, productivity, stress levels, and overall mood. 
Want some practical help with setting up your day for success? Be sure to grab a copy of my brand-new online course, Make Over Your Mornings. This 14-day online course includes videos, a workbook, and step-by-step projects and is designed to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your routines, invest your time in things that truly matter, and find more joy and peace in the process. If you've ever wished that you could figure out how to get more done, have more organization in your life, and find time to spend on things you love, the Make Over Your Mornings Course is for you. Find out more about it here.
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