6 Easy Actions to Add Peace and Calm to a Busy Day

Calmness, for some, might be an inborn personality trait, but it can also be a demeanor you learn.  Certain habits can help maintain your equilibrium even when life is bustling.

Scandinavians in general seem to be good at this.  The Danes practice hygge (pronounced hoo-gah), and it can protect your energy and add comfort to every day.  Try these six behaviors to boost your mood and bring balance to your activities.

6 actions for peace and simplicity

1.  Manage your light.

If you live where winter is long and gray (like it was when I lived in Denver, Colorado), you can't just wait for sunshine and warm weather in order to feel human.  You have to treat light like medicine.

You know how inviting a warmly-lit café can look on a dark afternoon?  You can create this attractive look at home.  Add dimmer switches to overhead lights, and use a mix of lamps to create pools of light, especially at eye level.  Keep curtains and shutters open as long as you can.  Light a candle (even if it's a small inexpensive votive*) at every meal.

TVs and other electronics put off a cold, blue light.  That's not the inviting glow you want.  So keep them off unless you're actively using them, and turn phones face down.

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2.  Enjoy a pause.

The Swedish practice of fika (pronounced fee-kah) gets translated in the U.S. to drive-thru Starbucks with a pastry, but that's not it at all.  Fika is a deliberate break.  Yes, it involves a hot drink and a sweet treat, but it's about slowing down and connecting with friends, family, or colleagues.  It's a time to bond and catch up.

Of course, you can fika on your own too.  Use the time to relax and reflect, or you can read, write in your journal, or connect with a friend by writing a note or letter.

3.  Calm your space.

Scandinavian interiors are famous for being simple and intentional, but they aren't minimalist for the sake of creating a certain aesthetic.  The point is to enjoy enough – not too little and not too much.  The Swedes call this balance lagom (pronounced law-gom).  Items must earn their place through utility or beauty, because every item you add to your environment steals a bit of your attention, and visual noise makes your brain work harder to filter out the unimportant.  It's not about creating a sterile, posed, artificial simplicity.  It's about comfort and calm.

In my house, this looks like furniture that is used every day (not just for display or to fill a space), and fewer, larger pieces of wall art.  There's a naked dining table, with other tables holding only a lamp and maybe a framed photo or a plant.  My kitchen counters are topped with a fruit bowl and a jar of cooking utensils, and the bathroom counter is equally clear.  I organize with:

• a bowl near the entry for keys and mail
• a shelf in the entry closet for shoes
• a calendar hung inside a closet door
• a magnetic caddy on the side of the refrigerator for a pen and notepad
• a set of handwoven seagrass baskets for craft supplies
• an accordion file for bills to pay, this year's pay stubs, receipts for tax purposes, and current investment and insurance statements

A five-minute reset before bed every night returns items where they belong.  My home is far from sterile – it's just a comfortable space that functions well with minimal stress.

4.  Go outside.

In our culture, it's possible to spend all day inside, except perhaps when you walk to and from your car.  Practice what the Norwegians call friluftslive (pronounced free-loofts-liv) – the open-air life.  You don't have to hike or camp.  Sit on your porch with a cup of tea, or read a book on a park bench.  Yes, it might be cold, so bundle up!  Cold or wet is no reason not to get outside for the few minutes it takes to walk around the block or even just stand under a tree.  Treat nature as your daily dose of vitamins instead of a weekend event.

It's easier to keep things in perspective when you make time to look at the sky.  It's energizing, yet calming, to take deep breaths of fresh air.  And being around living, growing (even if dormant) things is the perfect antidote to all-pervasive tech and AI.

5.  Drive less.

Did you know that in the U.S. there are more registered passenger vehicles than there are licensed drivers?  In 2022, 21% of U.S. households owned three or more vehicles.  The total miles driven per year is rising faster than our population, and the majority of those miles occur in urban areas, even though there's public transportation.

This is so different from the Scandinavian countries (and others, too, such as the Netherlands), where there are bicycles and pedestrians everywhere, plus a fantastic rail system.  Movement becomes a normal part of everyday life, instead of something you go to the gym for.  And it's a great stress reducer.  Less driving means less traffic, less road rage, and cleaner air.

I'm a 60-something woman with bad knees, so I'm not realistically going to start walking everywhere.  But I do combine errands and appointments so that I only drive a couple of days per week.  When I drive, I park a little further away so I walk more.  My husband often rides his bike the 4½ miles to the school where he teaches.  And when we drive the 100-mile round trip to see our kids and grandkids two or three times per month, our little car gets over 40 miles per gallon of gasoline.

6.  Protect your evenings.

Preserving leisure time isn't laziness.  Think of it as fuel – a recharge that lets you work with more energy and efficiency the next day.

Scandinavians seem to have a cultural respect for stopping.  They seem better at placing a boundary between work time and everything else.  Evenings are for hobbies, friends, and relaxing, not for answering email, watching the news, bingeing on Netflix, or doomscrolling until the wee hours.  Isabella Chase, writing on thevessel.io, observes that "stopping on purpose makes the rest of life feel less like a treadmill and more like a walk you chose."

Give it a try.

If you want to try these hygge activities (without moving to Denmark), add one tiny habit each day.

Day 1: Light.  Dim overhead lights.  Use one or two table lamps and a candle or two, if you like.

Day 2: Pause.  Take a 15-minute fika.  Put phones away, and ask yourself (or a partner) one question that has nothing to do with logistics.  What made you smile today?  What are you thankful for?  What are you looking forward to?

Day 3: Simplify.  Clear one space you use or see often.  Keep it naked, or return only what gets used daily.  Practice keeping it this way.  Also take five minutes before bed to reset your living space by putting things away where they belong.

Day 4: Outside.  Get at least 10 minutes in nature, no matter the weather.  This can be in a park, in your yard, or on your porch or balcony if it's pouring rain.  Name three details you notice.

Day 5: Move.  Replace one short drive with walking, biking, or the bus.  Or stay home, if possible.  Choose one or two days per week for appointments.  If you must drive, park further away and walk the last bit.

Day 6: Boundary. Turn off inputs like email, news, and social media after a certain time in the evening (perhaps 8:00 or 9:00).  Read, listen to music, watch a movie, or work at a hobby.  Unwind from the day.

A new rhythm

A calmer life isn't only possible on vacation.  It's something you can create in your own home every day.  These simple choices are available right now:  softer light; a real break; a room that doesn't make you feel stressed, guilty, or crowded; a daily dose of nature; less driving; quieter, gentler evenings.

Scandinavians aren't the only ones capable of this.  They do have traditions that support these practices, but we can adopt these habits in our own lives.

If your week tends to be noisy and busy, choose one of these habits and try it today.  Peace and calm don't have to be so rare.  You can learn and practice them until they become your normal rhythm.

Did you enjoy this post?  Then you'll love my book Minimalist Hygge: Creating a Life of Simple Comfort and Joy.  It's part of my Minimalist Basics series, and in our fast-paced and ever-changing world, it will offer you a way to counteract the chaos.

Hygge is about much more than being warm and cozy as snow falls outside.  It's a mindset that celebrates the art of slowing down and savoring the everyday pleasures of life.  Hygge can be present in the newness of spring and as life winds down in autumn.  Even on the hottest days of summer, the comforts of hygge are available to us.  Hygge can mean being with your loved ones or being happy on your own.  Hygge can be still and quiet or active and full of fun.

Hygge may have originated in Scandinavia, but it's an idea that deserves to spread throughout the world.  It's a perfect fit with both minimalism and gratitude, and if you're interested in either you'll love the insights shared in this book.