“My alarm didn’t go off!” Meaning you hit snooze too many times and now you’re late. You opt to skip breakfast, but spill coffee all over yourself driving to work. Then upon arrival to work you realize you forgot your computer at home. And to top it off, it’s dark and rainy making you less than productive, even for a Monday.
To sum it up: You have had a terrible, no good, very bad morning. BUT that doesn’t mean you have to ruin the rest of your day (or anyone else’s) with a bad attitude!
Here are some ways to boost your mood and have a kickass afternoon:
Blast the Jams.
Music can be an instant mood booster. Whether your thing is acoustic covers or 80’s rock-bands, create a playlist for your day and use it to focus on your task list. Just try not to belt out some “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston (as hard as it might be).
Donate Your Time.
Or money. Research shows that the act of giving stimulates the brain the same way it would when you reward yourself other ways (think food cravings). Allot some time for a project you are passionate about, or make a donation to your favorite charity and you will start to feel better.
Get Outside.
If you can get a good sweat session in at lunch, great! But if not, just a 5-minute break walking around outside can increase your positivity. Mixing endorphins with soaking in a healthy dose of vitamin D can be a game changer.
Get on Facebook.
It might be frowned upon where you work, but take a quick glance through your college photo album and laugh at yourself. Really, any photos that make you incredibly happy. Better yet, find a video of puppies, because who doesn’t love puppies!?
Grab Another Cup of Coffee.
Pair it with some dark chocolate, sit back and enjoy. Many studies show that cocoa raises your serotonin levels, a.k.a. your happiness. But do we really need an excuse for more coffee and chocolate?
Reschedule.
That meeting you are already dreading is definitely not going to put you in a better mood. Reschedule for later in the afternoon, or even tomorrow. You don’t want to add to your negativity and your coworkers will thank you later!
We all have bad days and we all deal with them differently; we hope at least one (or all) of these tips helped to improve your mood.
But, just in case it didn’t here’s another puppy video!
GIFs Source: Giphy.com
