Life is one big balancing act and I’m almost positive that doing these five things each day increases my chances of having a good day by about 99.9%.

1. Wake up early. That doesn’t mean you have to wake up at the crack of dawn. Some of your workdays may start at 8 and others don’t start until 10. Wake up early for your schedule – whatever that may be. My morning routine is pretty low maintenance, but I try to give myself some extra time to tidy up while I’m making breakfast. Tip: Don’t give in to the snooze button. Those nine extra minutes aren’t worth the chaos that is sure to follow.

2. Eat breakfast. I try not to eat super late at night, so naturally, I wake up hungry. Not only has eating breakfast helped me to maintain my weight, but it also gives me the energy I need to take on the day. I always try to eat some form of protein which usually means scrambled eggs/egg whites or peanut butter otherwise, I’m ravenous before lunch. And if you’ve heard of the term hangry – that’s me.

3. Do not give in to road rage. I used to make a pretty hellish commute to and from work everyday and it seriously effected my mood. There would be fingers flying (from other people, duh), horns honking (okay, this one is totally me) and brakes slamming. Thankfully, I take a much easier route nowadays, but that doesn’t mean I don’t run into the crazies. I try to ignore the commotion and focus on getting where I need to go. I’m sure my blood pressure thanks me.

4. Stay on top of your inbox. Letting your inbox fill up leads to stress, missed deadlines or opportunities and burned bridges. There is nothing worse than when someone blatantly ignores your requests. I make a point to respond to all of my emails, even if it means sending a quick note saying I got your email and I will get back to you in “x” amount of time. Tip: I recently went through my inbox and removed myself/unsubscribed from any unwanted mailing lists. It is so refreshing to know that the only emails I will be getting are from companies I want to hear from.

5. Make “me” time. For me, this can mean a good workout at the gym, an hour of reading before bed or a walk around the neighborhood rocking out to my favorite Pandora station. No matter what you determine as “me” time, make it a point to schedule it in (writing it in my planner helps me to visualize that as a goal for the day).

What do you do to make sure you have a successful day?