Alla fine della giornata, mi rilasso sul divano e ripenso a quanto sia utile svegliarsi presto e vestirsi con calma.

Alla fine della giornata means at the end of the day.

Literally:

• a + la = alla → at the
• fine → end
• di + la = della → of the
• giornata → day

So word-for-word it is something like at the end of the day.

A learner may also notice that Italian often uses giornata when talking about the day as a lived stretch of time, while giorno is the basic word for day. Here giornata sounds very natural.

Because rilassarsi is very often used as a reflexive verb in Italian, meaning to relax or to relax oneself.

So:

• mi rilasso = I relax / I relax myself
• ti rilassi = you relax
• si rilassa = he/she relaxes

In English, we usually just say I relax, but Italian commonly uses the reflexive form here.

You may sometimes hear non-reflexive rilassare, but that usually means to relax something/someone:

• La musica mi rilassa = Music relaxes me

So in this sentence:

• mi rilasso sul divano = I relax on the sofa

Sul is a contraction of su + il:

• su = on
• il divano = the sofa
• su il divano becomes sul divano

So:

• sul divano = on the sofa

This is one of the common Italian preposition + article combinations:

• su + il = sul
• a + la = alla
• di + la = della

Ripensare a means to think back to, to reflect on, or to reconsider something.

The verb ripensare often takes the preposition a when it means to think back to something:

• ripenso a quel giorno = I think back to that day
• ripenso a quello che hai detto = I think again about what you said

So here:

• ripenso a quanto... = I think back to / reflect on how much...

The a is required by the verb in this meaning. English learners often want to translate directly without a preposition, but Italian needs it here.

Here quanto means something like how much or how.

So:

• ripenso a quanto sia utile... = I reflect on how useful it is... or more literally:
• I think back to how much it is useful...

In this structure, quanto introduces an indirect exclamation or reflection:

• Non immagini quanto sia difficile = You can’t imagine how difficult it is
• Penso a quanto fosse bello = I think about how beautiful it was

So in your sentence, quanto is not asking a question. It introduces the idea being reflected on: how useful it is to wake up early and get dressed calmly.

Because after quanto in this kind of sentence, Italian often uses the subjunctive.

So:

• sia is the present subjunctive of essere
• sia utile = is useful in a structure that requires the subjunctive

This happens especially after expressions involving:

• feelings
• opinions
• judgments
• indirect exclamations
• certain dependent clauses

Here the speaker is reflecting on an idea:

• ripenso a quanto sia utile...

That makes the subjunctive sound natural and idiomatic.

A learner should know:

• è utile would sound more like a plain direct statement
• sia utile fits the embedded, reflective structure after quanto

So this is a very useful example of the subjunctive in real Italian.

Because they depend on the expression sia utile.

The structure is:

• è/sia utile + infinitive
• it is useful to + verb

So:

• sia utile svegliarsi presto = it is useful to wake up early
• sia utile vestirsi con calma = it is useful to get dressed calmly

Italian often uses the infinitive where English uses to + verb:

• È importante studiare = It is important to study
• È meglio partire presto = It’s better to leave early

So here both actions, svegliarsi and vestirsi, are infinitives because they are the actions being described as useful.

This is a very important pattern.

With a conjugated verb, the reflexive pronoun usually comes before the verb:

• mi rilasso
• ti svegli
• si veste

With an infinitive, the reflexive pronoun is usually attached to the end:

• svegliarsi
• vestirsi
• rilassarsi

So in your sentence:

• mi rilasso → conjugated verb, pronoun before the verb
• svegliarsi, vestirsi → infinitives, pronoun attached at the end

This is completely normal Italian grammar.

In practice, svegliarsi usually just means to wake up.

Literally it is reflexive, so it looks like to wake oneself, but in normal English we simply say:

• Mi sveglio alle sette = I wake up at seven

Italian often uses reflexive verbs where English does not:

• svegliarsi = to wake up
• sedersi = to sit down
• alzarsi = to get up
• vestirsi = to get dressed

So you should usually translate by meaning, not word-for-word.

• vestire can mean to dress someone, to clothe, or sometimes to wear/fit
• vestirsi means to get dressed

Examples:

• Vesto il bambino = I dress the child
• Mi vesto = I get dressed

So in your sentence:

• vestirsi con calma = to get dressed calmly / without rushing

The reflexive form is used because the subject is dressing themself.

Both are possible in Italian, but con calma is extremely common and very natural.

• con calma = calmly, at an unhurried pace, without rushing
• calmamente also means calmly, but can sound more formal or less idiomatic in everyday speech depending on the context

So:

• vestirsi con calma sounds very natural for daily routine language

It often carries the idea of taking one’s time:

• Fallo con calma = Do it calmly / Take your time
• Mi preparo con calma = I get ready without rushing

It has two main parts:

1. Alla fine della giornata, mi rilasso sul divano

   • time expression: Alla fine della giornata
   • main verb: mi rilasso
   • place: sul divano

2. e ripenso a quanto sia utile svegliarsi presto e vestirsi con calma

   • second main verb: ripenso
   • required preposition: a
   • dependent clause: quanto sia utile...
   • infinitive actions: svegliarsi presto and vestirsi con calma

A simplified breakdown:

• At the end of the day,
• I relax on the sofa
• and reflect on how useful it is
• to wake up early
• and get dressed calmly

This is a good sentence because it combines:

• contractions with prepositions (alla, della, sul)
• reflexive verbs (mi rilasso, svegliarsi, vestirsi)
• a verb with preposition (ripensare a)
• the subjunctive (sia)
• infinitives after an adjective expression (utile + infinitive)