Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Cuando ya estoy despierto, siento que el día es mejor si empiezo con un buen hábito. - When I am already awake, I feel that the day is better if I start with a good habit.

cuando ya estoy despierto = when I am already awake
– Describes a state (being awake) that is already true at that time.
– It implies: after I’ve woken up, once I’m up and awake…
cuando me despierto = when I wake up
– Describes the action or moment of waking up.
– Focuses on the transition from sleeping to waking.

In your sentence, the idea is about how the day feels once you’re already awake and starting it, so the state (estoy despierto) sounds more natural than the action (me despierto).

What does ya add in cuando ya estoy despierto? Could we just say cuando estoy despierto?

You can say cuando estoy despierto and it’s still correct.

Ya adds the nuance of “already”:

cuando estoy despierto = when I am awake
cuando ya estoy despierto = when I am already awake (no longer sleeping, that stage is finished)

Ya emphasizes that a change has taken place: you were asleep before, and now that’s over. It gives a slight feeling of “by the time I’m awake…”

What exactly is despierto here? Is it a verb form or an adjective? Why not despertado?

In estoy despierto, despierto is an adjective meaning “awake”.

estar despierto = to be awake
despierto / despierta are common adjectives.

There is also a past participle despertado from the verb despertar, but in modern usage:

estar despierto is the normal way to say “to be awake”,
estar despertado is either not used or sounds very unusual/overly literal.

So:

✅ Estoy despierto. = I’m awake.
❌ Estoy despertado. (not natural in everyday speech)

Why is it siento que and not me siento que?

Spanish distinguishes between:

sentir + noun / clause = to feel (sense, perceive, believe)
- Siento que el día es mejor. = I feel / I have the impression that the day is better.
- Siento alegría. = I feel joy.
sentirse + adjective / adverb = to feel (a certain way)
- Me siento bien. = I feel well.
- Me siento cansado. = I feel tired.

Because here you’re talking about a thought/impression (that the day is better), you use sentir que, not sentirse:

✅ Siento que el día es mejor…
❌ Me siento que el día es mejor… (ungrammatical)

Why is it el día and not mi día?

Both are possible, but they sound slightly different:

el día = the day in a general, more objective sense
– You’re talking about the day itself, as a period of time.
– Feels like a general statement or habit: In general, the day is better if…
mi día = my day (more personal, subjective)
– Focuses on your experience of the day.
– More like: my day goes better if…

In Spanish, using el día for this kind of general statement is very common and natural:

Siento que el día es mejor si…
= I feel the day (in general) is better if…

Why is it el día es mejor and not el día está mejor?

This is the usual ser vs. estar difference:

ser is used for general, more permanent, or characteristic descriptions.
estar is used for temporary states or conditions.

Here, you are describing how the day is (in general) when it starts with a good habit, so Spanish uses ser:

El día es mejor si empiezo con un buen hábito.
= The day is better (as a kind of general rule).

If you said:

El día está mejor,
it would sound more like a temporary state of the day, as if the day has changed condition compared to earlier. It’s not wrong, but for a habitual, generic statement, es mejor is the natural choice.

Why do we use the present indicative after cuando and siento que, not the subjunctive (cuando esté, sea mejor, etc.)?

Two points here:

Cuando ya estoy despierto
- This describes a real, habitual situation: what normally happens when you are awake.
- For habitual actions and general truths, Spanish uses indicative:
  - Cuando estoy cansado, tomo café. (not cuando esté cansado for a general habit)
Cuando esté despierto would be used in a future or hypothetical context:
- Cuando esté despierto, te llamo. = When I’m awake (later), I’ll call you.
Siento que el día es mejor
- Here, siento means I feel / I think / I have the impression.
- When you state what you believe to be a fact, Spanish usually uses indicative:
  - Siento que el día es mejor. = I feel that the day is better (I see it as a reality).
Siento que el día sea mejor (with subjunctive) can appear in contexts of emotion about something uncertain or evaluated, but with this meaning (I think the day is better), indicative is the standard choice.

Why is it empiezo con un buen hábito? Could we say empiezo un buen hábito or empiezo a un buen hábito?

The verb empezar works in a few patterns:

empezar + noun = to begin something (an activity/event/etc.)
- Empiezo el trabajo. = I start work.
- Empiezo el proyecto. = I start the project.
empezar a + infinitive = to begin to do something
- Empiezo a leer. = I start to read.
- Empiezo a hacer ejercicio. = I start to exercise.
empezar con + noun = to start with something (as the first element in a sequence)
- Empiezo con un café. = I start with a coffee.
- Empiezo con un buen hábito. = I start with a good habit.

So in your sentence, empiezo con un buen hábito means “I start (the day) with a good habit”.

✅ empiezo con un buen hábito (start with a habit as the first thing)
✅ empiezo un buen hábito (start a habit—like forming a new habit)
❌ empiezo a un buen hábito (this structure is not used)

Why is it un buen hábito and not un bueno hábito or un hábito bueno?

The adjective bueno has a special short form buen that is used before a masculine singular noun:

buen
- masculine singular noun
bueno in other positions

So:

✅ un buen hábito (short form before the noun)
✅ un hábito bueno (normal form after the noun, more neutral/emphatic)
❌ un bueno hábito (incorrect; before the noun you must use buen, not bueno)

Meaning differences:

un buen hábito = a good habit (very normal, default way to say it)
un hábito bueno can sound a bit more emphatic or contrastive, like “a habit that is good (as opposed to other habits)”.

Why is there no yo before estoy or empiezo? Is it optional?

Yes, the subject pronoun yo is optional in Spanish, because the verb ending already shows the subject:

estoy, empiezo → clearly first person singular (yo).

So you can say:

(Yo) estoy despierto.
(Yo) empiezo con un buen hábito.

Normally, Spanish speakers omit subject pronouns unless:

They want to emphasize contrast:
- Yo empiezo temprano, pero él empieza tarde.
Or to avoid ambiguity.

In your sentence, Cuando ya estoy despierto, siento que el día es mejor si empiezo con un buen hábito, the subject is clear from context and verb endings, so leaving out yo is the natural choice.

Can we change the word order, like Siento que si empiezo con un buen hábito el día es mejor? How flexible is the order?

Spanish word order is fairly flexible, and your alternative is grammatically correct:

Siento que el día es mejor si empiezo con un buen hábito.
Siento que, si empiezo con un buen hábito, el día es mejor.

Both versions are fine and natural; they just change the focus slightly:

Original: first states the day is better, then adds the condition (if I start with a good habit).
Alternative: first highlights the condition, then the result.

What you generally shouldn’t do is separate el día es mejor in a strange way, like:

❌ Siento que el día, si empiezo con un buen hábito, es mejor. (possible, but a bit awkward in speech)
❌ Siento que el día es mejor si con un buen hábito empiezo. (grammar is okay, but this word order sounds poetic or unnatural in normal conversation)

For everyday speech, these are the most natural:

Siento que el día es mejor si empiezo con un buen hábito.
Siento que, si empiezo con un buen hábito, el día es mejor.