5 tips for surviving a really bad day

We all have them, those horrible-no-good-very-bad days. It’s impossible to avoid them but here are some tips to help you get through them:

• Eat something awesome first thing in the morning. Food is a huge part of who we are and it’s a huge part of how we feel. Research also shows that how we feel in the morning affects our mood throughout the day. When we’re having a really rough day we try to eat what we enjoy, but make it something strong and energizing (vs. you know, downing scoops of ice cream, which we love, but which wouldn’t give us the sustained energy we need.)
• Listen to your best “pump me up” music. When you listen to music you like, your body releases dopamine, which is associated with pleasure and motivation. We all have those songs that get us going and when we’re having a rough day, we have a few favorites. You can check out some of them here, on our Pump It Up Spotify Playlist.
• Make a plan to do something you absolutely love. Research shows that having something to look forward to makes you happier. So on a rough day we try to make a plan to do something we like. We can’t always do it the same day, but having something great on our calendar gives us something to look forward to: a yoga class, lunch with a friend, anything at all, as long as it’s something we really enjoy doing.
• Do something to make progress, however small. One of the worst things about really tough days is that they feel like we’ll be stuck in them forever. But willing yourself to get a lot done and just work through the bad day isn’t enough — we try to tackle some really small tasks that make us feel like we’re making progress: we organize our desks, clean up our office fridge, write emails we’ve been putting off, anything that gets a specific small task completed. Research shows that feeling productive makes us happier and we can totally vouch for this.
• Over-share gratitude. According to numerous studies, gratitude leads to feeling happier and not the other way around, so this is our most trusted and most helpful “bad day gone happier” strategy.