One of the things that I love the most about journaling and the journaling community is the atmosphere and feeling that go into getting your thoughts down on a page. Then, add in the stress release of bullet journaling, feeling organized, and getting the running to-do list of groceries, errands, and work down out of your brain and on to the paper as well. Journaling is literal therapy you carry around with you on-the-go. Some of the best feelings is setting and establishing the tone and ambiance of journaling. Enter hygge. Hygge is not a new concept on the blog because it is a light feeling of happiness from self, things, surroundings and places, and even people. This post has a free 30 day hygge journal notebook prompt, and it contains some hygge tips for setting up your journaling atmosphere. Pick what you need from the 30 prompts or check out the 7 days of prompts to get you started and feel inspired in any notebook.

December 2020 is upon us! No matter how you have felt about the past year with everything that has happened, December is always a mood. It is a distinct vibe. Perhaps you run to set up holiday decorations or maybe you are a person who might be feeling some ease because this year the same holiday gatherings-at work or at home-may or may not be happening. It is definitely an odd time. I like December because it brings about this idea of reflection, and I also love the idea of deciding here in Michigan to cozy up for the winter. In this post, you will see my December planning pages as well as some of the things I am doing to make December more enjoyable with cozy accents and decorations. You will also see my mood meter as I make sure to check-in with myself as to how I am feeling each day.

I am always on a mission to find more comfort and joy in life. Naturally, I became more curious about how I could infuse my classroom and the act of teaching with more comfort and cozy as well. I stumbled upon the word “hygge” on Pinterest after posting a few photos of rainy days, coffee cups, and twinkle lights as backgrounds. I love all things cozy, but the idea of taking this idea of coziness and comfort into the classroom didn’t hit until I started to read more and post more about hygge. I really don’t envision my classroom at school being filled with candles and everyone sipping peppermint tea like we are at a cafe, but I do see how some of the mantras from the practice of hygge can transfer over into the classroom and create an atmosphere of happiness. I think it is also important to consider the importance of comfort and cozy in the role of online learning. While I know many of us can’t makeover entire corners of our homes and online learning classrooms, some of the ideas in this post can apply to make ourselves feel a little more at ease while teaching from home. Hygge is about comfort. I am hoping that some of the ideas with hygge in this post lead to more happiness in my classroom and home, and therefore, lead to better wellness for me and my students.

According to The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living (The Happiness Institute Series) by Meik Wiking, “The word hygge originates from a Norwegian word meaning “well-being.” For almost five hundred years, Denmark and Norway were one kingdom, until Denmark lost Norway in 1814. Hygge appeared in written Danish for the first time in the early 1800s, and the link between hygge and well-being or happiness may be no coincidence” (ix). Let’s start with how you pronounce hygge. To sound it out, you would say “hue-guh.” Like the hues of the sun and guh rhyming with duh. Hygge is “about an atmosphere and experience, rather than about things” (vi). In short, hygge creates an atmosphere of calm and comfort in everyday things and experiences we all identify with naturally, and then these feelings create a sense of happiness.