Fill Your Day With Hygge

I have had a most beautiful Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK. The sun shone, the sky was a most magnificent azure blue, we had nothing much planned, and the weekend was free to unfold magnificently.

I very often find some of the most hyggely moments of my life are those I haven’t planned for: the impromptu barbecue, the coffee grabbed in haste one afternoon and then downed at leisure when the heat, companionship or view prove too attractive to leave too quickly. I truly believe you con’t plan to have a hyggely time: hygge happens, it’s not a condition to be forced. Indeed, if we sit around waiting for it, we’ll be sadly disappointed. I bet there are days or evenings that you have looked forward to for ages, thinking it would be relaxing or wonderful or just hygge and were disappointed. The temperature wasn’t right, or someone in the group had had bad news, or you were trying to get to know people and hygge is very difficult with people you don’t really know.

It’s also really difficult if you haven’t got the house and your life set up to promote (note; promote, not create) hygge. If, when you sit down to enjoy your well-earned coffee, your house is too untidy to allow your brain to relax, that inhibits hygge. If you never ask friends over to entertain them, if you set out goals for entertainment (we will eat, then we’ll go to the firepit, then we’ll sing Kum Bay Yaa…) then you are not setting up your life to be conducive to hygge.

Fortunately there are steps you can take to help boost those hygge feelings. I called this post ‘Fill Your Day With Hygge’, and that’s actually a bit cheeky of me because nobody could live forever in a 24/7 hygge state. It’s just not possible. What I really mean is that you can establish rituals and shortcuts that will foster hygge, and create a lifestyle where hygge will more naturally happen. It doesn’t cost money, you won’t need to shop for anything, all it takes is a little thought, a little elbow grease and a lot of mindfulness as you go about your business.

Over the next few posts, I’ll be looking at different times of the day, looking at what makes them stressful, how we can change our approach to them and how we can make space for the quiet, peaceful, happy, secure feeling that is hygge to enter in. More hygge leads to more happiness, leads to a more relaxed person, leads to a better quality of life. And who wouldn’t want that?

Hygge and happiness go so well together. If you’d like to read about the small things that have helped me to be happier, my new book is available from Amazon. Happier is all about how to use the small details in life to make you happier. You can get it at Amazon.

I also think the principles of enjoying life and making the most of small details is an important part of How to Hygge Your Summer , my second book which contains my advice on having a hyggely time at home and outside, and which is also available in ebook and paperback version. You can find details about all my books, and how to connect with me on social media on the Start Here page of my blog.