It’s a familiar feeling: Your day has just begun and the light at the end of the tunnel feels like a pinhole. Hopelessness ensues and your attitude plummets – but it doesn’t have to be that way! Maintaining joy isn’t always dependent on your schedule, it’s dependent on your attitude and your approach. Here are six simple solutions to control the chaos and conquer the day with a smile.

1. Have Something to Look Forward to: Treating yourself with something you enjoy after work makes the light at the end of the tunnel all the more brighter. It doesn’t matter what it is – exercise, food or a movie – as long as it gives you that morsel of hope you need for the day.
2. Leave Work at Work: You made it this far in life, hopefully nobody’s forcing you to do homework anymore. So, if you can, leave your work at the desk and don’t bring it home – that’s your time. Use the free time you have to focus on yourself, not 11:00 a.m.’s business reports.
3. Have a Morning Routine: If you arrived to work with a crinkled shirt and a lot of bed head, chances are you’re already set up for a rough day. The easiest, and simplest, remedy is to wake up earlier. By developing a routine that works for you, you’ll have less to think about in the morning and set a solid precedent for the rest of the day.
4. Stay in the Moment: Contemplating a laundry list of tasks while in a meeting will do you no good. Take things as they come and focus on one thing at a time. Juggling complex tasks bogs down your productivity and will only do you worse. Staying in the moment and sticking to the task at hand is your best recipe for efficient and stress-less work. 
5. Just Say “no”: While some things may be out of your control, nobody is obligating you to say yes to everything that comes your way. In order to be at our best, we need to look after ourselves first. If that means saying ‘no’ for some well-deserved me-time, say it.
6. Exercise: This comes as no surprise – that’s because it works. If a busy schedule leaves you wound up, let it out at the gym after work. By working out, you’ll convert all that stress and anxiety into endorphins, which will leave you feeling much better than if you went straight home.

While the days themselves won’t get any easier, the way you approach them can. If you need a break or a mid-day pick me up, you know just what to do.