I love the word savour! Savour as in ‘to enjoy food or an experience slowly in order to enjoy it as much as possible’.

I want to savour as many aspects of my day as possible: to suck the marrow out of life as Thoreau (via Dead Poet’s Society) put it. It’s impossible to savour things when you move too fast. And yet… mornings with kids, dogs, family, cats, commute, work colleagues…. is it possible to slow down and savour them? Or are we doomed to dip our toes only slightly in the warmth of a well-made breakfast only to grab the bag, thrust a letter into whomever needs a permission slip that day and race to the workplace before breathlessly beginning a day of work that we need to do to afford to do the nice things in life?

I could give you a romantic, florid, descriptive, beautiful retelling of a perfect morning, with teacups and saucers, homemade bread, elegance and a gentle walk to school or work. To be honest, you’d possibly read it and laugh. I know no one who isn’t either retired or an Insta Influencer who lives like that. The idealized morning with gentle wafting curtains and pristine white towels doesn’t exist for most people.

But I don’t think mornings have to be a complete mess, either. There has to be a mid-way, an achievable level of relax and business that means we can enjoy life and work. Perhaps we need to separate mornings into work mornings and relaxing mornings, since the level of relaxed cosiness we can achieve in each will vary. Definitely mornings can alter throughout the year, and almost certainly will change according to who or what we’re spending them with. What follows are the gems of wisdom I’ve collected from my own experience and that of friends and colleagues over the years. Pick and choose, try and see what works.

And above all remember that savouring.. and you’ll hear that word a lot on the blog over the next few months… takes time, so work on recapturing some of that precious commodity in any way possible.

• Set the alarm sensibly. Too early and the temptation to turn over and sleep will be too great: too late, and you’ll be racing. And nobody but nobody can relax and savour life with a ticking clock in their head. Take note of how long it takes to get ready and add a few minute’s buffer in, for whichever relaxing activity you choose.
• Don’t automatically reach for the phone to doomscroll social. Find an app that works for you as a source of peace in the morning. Are you a Christian? Then the Hallow app has morning prayers or a daily rosary. The Calm app has non-religious meditations of various lengths and kinds, as does Buddhify. Be aware, all of them have a paid for and a free option, so choose carefully.
• Not a meditation-kind of person? Choose a relaxing way to wake up. I have a Lumie Bodyclock Alarm clock that wakes me slowly using a 30-minute light cycle. It mimics a natural sunrise to wake by light and has a choice of sounds to wake to, as well. If you need a cheaper option, leave the curtains slightly ajar, especially in Autumn, Winter and Spring, and let the sun wake you naturally.
• Do as much preparation the night before as possible. If all you have to do is shower, dress and slide your feet into shoes sitting by the door already, then that’s a lot of thinking and processing already cleared from your schedule. When the kids were little, making sure all bags and kits were ready the night before was so useful for me. There is always the Steve Jobs version of simplicity as well: wear the same thing day in and day out, so there’s no need to even think about it.
• Keep morning routines simple, especially during the week. Don’t aim for hour-long soaks, complicated hair or make up especially if you are not a natural morning person. Make room for the rituals that matter by cutting back on basic routines.
• Breakfast, or no breakfast? I’ve tried both and, as long as I know I need to hang out until lunchtime, I can do. But a small bowl of muesli with a milky coffee or a turmeric tea does set me up for the day. I keep it simple, easy and don’t expect to spend a long time eating it.
• Turmeric tea is my current first drink of the day: I like the anti-inflammatory nature and the warmth of the spices, plus also I am concerned that at this age my Nanna got arthritis, so I’m trying to ward off the ill effects of that. I have Pukka Turmeric with plain water and no milk, which I know is not the traditional way to make it, and I know it tastes funny at first, but I’m used to the earthiness of the drink now, and appreciate the heat going down. It also does seem to make my joints feel better, although that may be a placebo in my mind!
• Weekend breakfasts are special: make the effort. I love making fresh soda bread or scones at the weekend. Warmed anything fresh from the oven is lovely, but it is possible to cheat a little and buy ready-made frozen pain au chocolat or croissants that take barely 20 minutes in the oven to cook. I also love going down the brunch root and having toasted bagels with bacon, salmon or pastrami.
• It’s always possible to have good coffee. We have a cafetiere and use flavoured coffee from Dreamy Bean Coffee Company. It takes very little extra time, and the coffee takes as long or as short as we have to drink it. Weekends, of course, we savour the taste at home. Weekdays, though, we have taken the savouring into work, and have fresh coffee as a fika break mid-morning. And days when one of us is working and one of us is off? We drink together at home, although one of us may finish the second cup alone and in peace.
• It’s worth making the effort to sit at the table whether it’s weekend or not. There’s something civilised about eating at a table that lifts any meal. Even if you are just having a bowl of cereal. You can elevate the meal with a napkin, illuminate the experience with candles or simply enjoy a functional mug. I know I said there would be no elegant teacups and saucers… but if they make your heart sing, and you feel more like a capable Victorian Chatelaine with one, then go for it.
• Set the table for breakfast the night before: have a tray that you lay out with knives, spoons, plates, jam or spread, cups or mugs. Once used, pile it on the tray and put next to the sink ready to rinse and repeat that evening.
• Curate your morning watching or listening. If you’re finding the news distressing, turn it off. Find a radio station that plays the music you like, or use classical music as white noise in the background. On warmer autumn days, leave the door open and enjoy the sounds from the garden. If you have company, and they’re amenable, talk. If you’re alone, find a good podcast and argue with them.
• If morning pages, bible studies or creative time is a dream you’d like to achieve, then set the alarm ten minutes earlier every week for the next four weeks and within the month you’ll have 40 minutes to use. 40 minutes is just about enough time to try something creative.
• Busy with kids at home but still need to relax before work? Can you adopt some better practices on the morning commute? If you drive, make your car an oasis of calm. Travelling by public transport? Use earbuds and listen to good books or podcasts to inspire you.

Whatever your morning routine looks like, carve out a couple of rituals that you grant permission for yourself to enjoy mindfully: the warm drink, the woodland path you skirt along, the act of making toast or frying an egg. Take time in the morning to stand with your feet firmly on the ground and make yourself realise that you are here, now, and now is all you have to worry about. Savouring life is about being slow long enough to catch up with yourself. If you can enjoy the whole morning with relaxed breaths and no time pressure, God bless you, you are a lucky person! For most of us, we’ll need to savour a part rather than the whole. Smell the coffee, taste the jam, touch the warm scarf or towel, listen to the birds, the children or the traffic hum. Look at the sky, smile at the fellow travellers, enjoy the whole sensual experience of life as a human being. And be glad.

What elements have you found make for a slower morning and a chance to savour life rather than swallow whole? Do you have work mornings vs weekend mornings, or have you found a way to blend the two so that both have good points to enjoy?

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

Is it too early to think ahead? My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier. Celebrating a Contagious Christmas was written during covid year, but has useful advice on celebrating when times are hard anyway and Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas is a short e-book on keeping Christmas simpler, easier and better for you, your waistline and your budget. It even includes 25+ suggestions for self-care activities over Christmas, as simple as sipping tea, keeping a list journal or lighting a candle. Bigger is not always better for Christmas.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer 2025.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Alisa Anton on Unsplash. I like the pause it seems to hint at: the person, who has stepped out of the shot for a moment, has their book ready to read and hot chocolate on the point of perfection: they’ve lit their candle, and settled down to enjoy a fresh breeze before the autumn winds turn sharp and sarcastic. They just need… what? Their pen? A blank page to write a loved one a letter? Socks, or a throw? I love photos that drag you into making up a story.