Simple Luxuries To Elevate Your Daily Routine

Living a beautiful life doesn’t have much to do with money or status. At the core of living a life you love, it’s about making a conscious effort to do what makes YOU feel happy and special every day. Choosing to make ordinary moments and your daily routine more distinct will bring you joy and lift your spirits. It is not a “one size fits all” venture and what makes one person feel motivated or inspired would be entirely different for another. Tailor the particulars of your daily routine to your own personal taste and affinities.

Here are a few ideas to enhance and improve your mood, attitude, outlook and overall way of enjoying your daily routine.

Repurpose Your Favorite Coffee Cup

I brought back a colorful mug from Mexico which is no longer safe to drink from but I couldn’t let it sit idly in the cabinet. So I found a way to appreciate it and admire it on a daily basis. I filled it with beautiful colored pencils and a few pens and I find I enjoy using them daily for one thing or another. It is an excellent way to use a coffee mug that has been damaged or poses a potential health risk.

Drink Juice in a Glass or Crystal Flute

Wine and champagne glasses are not just for celebrations. Use them for your water, orange juice or soy milk throughout the day. Holding a beautiful, delicate glass in your hand reminds you of when you purchased it and how you wanted others to feel when they used the beautiful vessel. You deserve the same experience…every day.

Buy Yourself Flowers

There is no excuse not to have a pretty vase of flowers sitting on the table or in your foyer, welcoming friends and family to your home. You can purchase fresh bouquets everywhere. From the grocery store to the big box retail store when you buy your cat litter and cleaning products. They will last a week or more if you care for them properly.

Indulge in a Great Tea

I love plain old Lipton tea but you owe yourself the opportunity to travel the world through the tea choices in your daily routine. Everyone has a favorite and finding your signature tea, much like your signature cocktail, which can change with the wind or the season, is a gift you give yourself every afternoon. Enjoy a cup of Camellia sinensis (aka tea) or tisane (herbal tea) with a small tea biscuit, set on a pretty tray accompanied by your favorite teapot.

It takes a few minutes of your time to brew and set up the special display, but the effort and timeless ceremony is something you deserve to experience daily. Use it as an opportunity to take a few moments to slow down, rethink the day and add some fun and lofty goals to your inspiration board. It’s also a nice time to sit outside, look out the window from inside and perhaps journal a few positive thoughts.  

Invest in Beautiful Stationery

Emails are efficient and a quick text can answer a question on the spot but nothing says “I’m thinking about you” like a handwritten letter. Even better, make a personal phone call. Create a list of people you should follow up, connect or check-in with. Or those that may have fallen by the wayside over the past year due to the virus. This is the time to rebuild your network, strengthen your family ties and reestablish friendships that may have gotten placed on hold during the pandemic. All of these require a personal touch.

It’s amazing how much better you will feel when you don’t have the burden of guilt hanging over you. Investing in note cards, perhaps a beautiful writing pen and updating your contact list to make that important call will be a relief and a blessing to yourself and others (include in your daily routine and notice how you feel). You will most likely receive much more than you give because that’s how kindness works. 

Buy a New Lipstick

This may not work for everyone but it certainly works for me! It’s incredible how a little pop of color makes me feel more alive, even when working from home. My girlfriend who is a personal shopper and works at a high-end retail store gave me three very expensive lipsticks that I was hesitant to use because they were so beautiful and I didn’t want to “mess them up”. One day I realized they were useless sitting in my drawer and have since brought them out and use them every day. The little orange trio makes me smile and I think of her each and every time I swipe the creamy wash of color across my lips. Thank you, Evelyn!

For more information check out The Protocol School of Texas. You may also like Beach Etiquette While Social Distancing. For more of Diane’s etiquette tips read her posts on Inc., subscribe to her articles on The Huffington Post, “like” The Protocol School of Texas on Facebook, and follow her on Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.