The best time to embrace the hygge lifestyle is during autumn/ winter, and with the end of the year fast approaching this is the best time to start learning about hygge and what a hygge life is like. But wait…
What does hygge mean?
Hygge does not have just one rudimentary definition, its more like a concept that embraces ideas of cosiness, mindfulness and wellbeing. Its all about enjoying the small things and gaining happiness from what may seem the most insignificant of experiences.
This post will go through a hygge checklist that you can follow this winter to start finding peace and comfort in completing small tasks.
Some examples of hygge could be when you’re watching the rain fall or roasting marshmallows with your loved ones. But, taking a snap of the heavy rain or focussing the whole night on getting enough videos to create your ‘campfire’ Tiktok video isn’t hygge.
To live a hygge lifestyle you must have genuinely allowed yourself to be in the moment and enjoy it.
8 Ideas to live a Hygge Lifestyle + How to experience hygge
Enjoy making your breakfast
Think about the last time you actually took your time making your breakfast and stayed in the kitchen while you were making it.
Most of the time what happens is is that you put the kettle on and then run around the house trying get things done, come back, quickly pour your coffee or tea into a mug and rush onto doing other things. Life can get busy, and you just need the breakfast to get something in you before you start your day.
But breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day, it is what nourishes and replenishes you after a night of not eating; it wakes up your body to help you start your day.
So for this tip, I’m going to ask you take time to enjoy the process of making that cup of coffee. If you don’t have coffee, take time making your toast or even cereal! Be present, don’t think about what’s going to happen during the day. Leave this time for yourself. If there’s moments where you’re not doing anything, look outside the window and watch what’s happening and take in the moment.
Related:
Positive Affirmations In The Morning To Elevate Your Day
The Realistic Morning Routine For Maximum Productivity
Wear cosy clothes
The pretty obvious way to get into a cosy, hygge lifestyle is to wear some cosy clothes! Get some comfy pyjamas or loungewear and buy a snuggly blanket to snooze in while you’re having your tea and watching T.V. These Studio Ghibli movies are PERFECT for you if you want to experience hygge; the focus on nature and the magical element of it transports you back to your childhood no matter how old you are!
A really simple way of experiencing hygge while you’re out with your friends is to dress in cosy clothes when you see them. If you always go to fancy places with your friends, plan some outings where you’re doing more casual things. When you go there, dress in comfy clothes and don’t care about how you look. It’s all about enjoying the moment with your friends and relaxing.
Don’t listen to music and listen to your surroundings
If you’ve always got your ears plugged in listening to music everywhere you go, put your earphones away and go and have a walk. It may seem boring at first, but over time you will get used to it and will enjoy hearing the everyday sounds surrounding you.
Journal
A really great wellbeing tip that is also awesome for leading a hygge lifestyle is journaling. This winter, in preparation for the coming year get in tune with how you’re feeling mentally, what you think about where you are in life right now and how you want the next year to look.
This post has some unique journal questions that have been created to challenge you and get in tune with your life.
Read Journal Prompts For Self Love (18-WEEK CHALLENGE!) now.
Forget about time
Time is what orders and structures our lives but when you’ve got a lot of things going on time can start feeling restricting. Everyone’s gone through the feeling of ‘not having enough time’ to complete everything, so for your new hygge lifestyle this winter I want you to cancel that feeling in your free time.
That sounds quite odd, let me explain. During the days or few hours that you are free, forget about time. Get into the thought that you have so much time to do things.
When you’re busy in your work/ professional life, you may find yourself starting to put off things that you really wanted to do. You say you’ll do it another day, another day and another day. Doing this now creates a list of things you wanted to do but couldn’t, and will now give you the feeling that you don’t even have enough time to do the things you enjoy.
To ‘cancel’ this feeling, choose something you really wanted to do before and start with that. Do that for however long you like, and if you get bored of it don’t worry about doing something else on your list, just go with the flow and enjoy the rest of the day.
You can try out a 30-day challenge if you’re looking for something you really want to delve into. These twenty-seven 30 day challenges ideas that will boost you to do better in life is a great place to start.
Related:
5 Simple Steps To Control Anxiety When You’re About To Have A Meltdown
Productive Things to do at Home When Bored (That Make Time Fly!)
Do some puzzles, quizzes, creative work etc.
These things are perfect to do during the cold months towards the end of year as it mostly requires you to stay indoors.
I’ve written a post of fun things you can do at home to enjoy your day and experience hygge, click here to read it.
Light a candle and get down with a puzzle or get into your creative mode and do some art or writing. You can also create a vision board, mood board, bucket list, scrapbook whatever you fancy!
Online quizzes are also a really fun way to waste time; try out loads of different ones and do some that you used to enjoy in your childhood! I’m Sasuke in my Naruto personality test apparently…
Dun, Dun, DUN!! No social media? On a night where there will be good food? Nice decor? Perfect Instagram aesthetics?
Yes, that is what you must do.
And the fun doesn’t stop there. Make it a social media-free night for everyone! Take away their phones if you need to. You’ll instantly notice how much more fun it is when technology and social media aren’t involved.
If doing this is really hard for you, start coming off your social media on outings bit by bit over time. For example, when the food comes, ask someone to send their snap to you later. Take 50 pictures instead of 300, put your phone faced down on the table so you don’t see the notifications coming in.
How do I bring a hygge to my house?
These next three tips are going to show you how to bring the concept of cosiness directly into your home so that you are always surrounded by it, without having to do anything.
Purchase candles, pillows, lamps and blankets
These are just examples of objects that create an atmosphere that will help you experience hygge. Think about what you like specifically and what makes you feel cosy. It could be that books make you feel at home and at peace, so why not create a little nook in your home that is all about books and reading?
If quotes inspire you, create some frames and put it up on your wall. Here’s a list of inspiring quotes for women with beautiful backgrounds for you to print out and put up!
Plants, plants, plants!
Another great way to improve your wellbeing at home is to incorporate plants into your home décor. Caring for plants betters mental health and productivity amongst many other things and the process of watering your plants every morning and tending to them is a great form of hygge to experience.
In this post, you can find a list of plants that are great for your mental health and the different benefits of them.
Also, take regular walks – if you have parks near where you live, try to go to them and surround yourself with the tranquillity of nature.
Invite people over and play question games
Apart from doing movie nights and other themed nights, create events where everyone has to speak to each other. The best way to do this is through question games such as this.
These games inspire interesting conversations and can open and enrich minds. They’re also really good ice-breakers if you’re finding it hard to engage the group in something.
Even if you don’t do the things on this list, this autumn/ winter focus on creating a hygge lifestyle that suits you. Prepare yourself for the coming year at you own pace and appreciate the little things that make life so beautiful.
The further you delve into this lifestyle, you will find more and more things that you previously thought were insignificant but now bring you happiness. This approach to life will make you more positive and open, and help you live every day in a way that will bring you joy.
What’s your favourite way to experience hygge? Leave a comment below!
