Some days start on a bad note and then the series of negative events continues. It can start with an alarm gone wrong to a broken lipstick, to a missed metro to a misread email at the office. There are days when everything is going wrong. But by making small choices in your daily routine, you can make a huge difference to your mental health. Just adjust your routine a little.  After my baby turned one, I made these 10 changes in my daily routine for better mental health.

Changes in Daily Routine includes:

Changes in Daily Routine – Morning Time

1) Start your day with yourself, not with the Screen

Today, 90% of the population starts the day with:

  • Being woken up by the alarm.
  • Snoozing it 3 times and thinking about how you don’t want to get up.
  • Interrupted by the constant trin-trin of the pending What’s app messages pouring in.
  • Followed by a quick glance at Instagram or FB to know what’s going on in everyone’s life.
  • Some likes here and there.
  • And then an update on the news.

In my opinion, this is the worst way to start your day by cluttering your mind with information pouring in from all around the world.

Mommies, Why don’t you start the day with yourself. Why don’t you say Good morning to your own mind and body before greeting the world?

Get up and make some lemon water or green tea or chamomile tea for yourself. Sip it with complete consciousness. It’s hardly a 5-minute task but it revitalizes your attitude and sets the mood for the day.

2) Start Positive


After a night of broken sleep, it’s hard to get up active and chirpy. But it’s very much possible to look forward towards the day and be optimistic about it.

Be determined to do something meaningful such as spending time with your children, working out when they are asleep, watching your favourite movie or doing any other thing that gives you a sense of fulfilment.

Make your day meaningful. Make it count in your life. It all begins with a happy cheerful morning.

3) Think of a Thing you will do for Yourself in the Morning

You need to choose a small activity which makes you feel good in the morning. It could be a

It can be any activity- the only objective is that it should make you feel good about yourself apart from your life with children. Start with a small time frame to make it realistically possible.

4) Avoid Toxic People in the Morning

Life is a mixed bag of people with varied natures around us. To have a smooth positive morning, you need a positive environment.

If your boss or any colleague or any family member are an obstacle to your positive day, just avoid them in the morning completely. Do not read their messages and evade any conversation with them. Call it selfish, but it works.

Changes in Daily Routine – During Day

1) Take Breaks

Constantly working can be tolling. Take a short nap break or a tea break or a chat break. Just take a break from your never-ending string of activities.

Go out to take some fresh air and Vitamin-D. It does wonders for your concentration and overall mood. If the day is to busy, go to your friend’s desk and chit- chat for a while.

2) Unplugging from Social Media

Absolute time-off from the screen is a wonderful mental health tool which most people fail to acknowledge today. The benefits of unplugging from social media are numerous but in concise words, Unplugging helps you create room for these 3 C’s:

  • Creativity
  • Connection (between you and your peers)
  • Consciousness (of your and others’ feelings)

So take some time off the screen during the day for a designated time to feel the difference. You can start with a screen-free morning and extend it to a day. If you are on a holiday, enjoy it and go for a screen-free week !!

Changes in Daily Routine – Night Time

1) Set Bedtime Routine

I know it’s difficult to establish a bedtime routine with a child but it’s vital for a purposeful and complete life. Wash your face, wash your baby’s face and set them right for bed, keep aside your phone and turn off the lights in the same time bracket of half an hour every day.

Try to train yourself and your baby for a sleeping routine. Slowly your biological clock will adapt to this schedule and help you sleep better. It might take weeks and there may be lapses sometimes, but that is unavoidable with children. In general, try to make a routine.

2) Think of a Beautiful Day Tomorrow and Plan for It

Lying in your bed, when your child has slept, be assertive to have a positive day tomorrow and think of all the good things you are going to do FOR YOURSELF.

It is important to sleep with a mindset to get up energetically tomorrow. As mothers, we end up getting stuck in a rut of a day but looking forward to doing something for yourself helps you break this cycle of negativity and stay enthusiastic.

3) Start your Day Earlier

I include this as a point in night time routine because most mothers have a tendency to stay up a little late after the child sleeps and squeeze as much time out of the night as possible.

This results in mothers getting up less afresh as compared to their child. If you want to accommodate changes 1- 10 in your life, you must be determined the night before to wake up a little earlier maybe just 15 minutes.

To incorporate these constructive changes in your life, you need some extra time in the morning. Also, you must get up immediately and avoid procrastinating about beginning your day.

Incorporate these changes in whatever abbreviated or elongated version is comfortable to you and suits your routine. But you must give them a try. I tried them after Priaana turned one year old and it has given a significant boost to my health, success and most importantly happiness.

Good Luck and cheers!! Write to me/ What’s app me if you have any more suggestions or questions. I would love to share them with fellow moms and make you a part of this “new mother support”.