9 Tiny Habits That Will Change Your Life For the Better

Over the past year, I’ve been making tiny changes to my daily routine in an effort to improve myself in areas that I feel could use some work. Now, every time I make one of these micro-habits part of my life, I notice a significant improvement in my overall health and wellbeing. As 2015 rolls around, here are the 9 tiny habits that I’ll be building into my routine to prepare me for the next 12 months – and hopefully set me up for success in years to come!

#1 - Get enough sleep

Sleeping well is important to your health. In addition to making you feel more alert, a good night's sleep can boost your immune system and help protect against disease. A good sleeping routine will also put you in a better mood, and make it easier for you to focus on work. Make sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Use an alarm clock if necessary to make sure that you're getting enough sleep each night, because most people need a consistent wake-up time in order to get enough rest. Turning off screens 1 hour before bedtime is also very important, because looking at any light before going to bed has been shown to disrupt our body's natural sleep cycle—keeping us up later than we intended.

#2 - Meditate every day

Meditation has a wide range of benefits, such as increasing our focus and concentration, lowering stress levels, helping us to be more creative, improving our memory and promoting overall happiness. The best part is that you can practice meditation anywhere - even just sitting up in bed or on a bus or train will do. It doesn't require special clothing or equipment - just a few minutes of your time. As well as some dedication (it's much easier to not do it than it is to do it) you'll also need self-control, which takes practice too! If you've got ten minutes spare every day for 21 days that's all you need to start noticing positive changes in yourself. No excuses.

#3 - Drink more water

Staying hydrated can help keep your mind and body sharp. If you’re not getting enough H2O, your brain cells shrink and your thinking slows. This is why you need to take a break every once in a while, too: not only does it give your muscles a chance to relax, but it also helps reduce stress by letting off steam. So drink up! The recommended daily water intake for adults is about 8 glasses per day (3 liters), which translates to approximately 6 cups of water or other healthy beverages like tea or coffee per day. So if you know that's how much you should be drinking every day then there's no reason not to drink more than that amount!

#4 - Eat breakfast everyday

Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism and sets you up for a more successful day. Get in a routine of eating breakfast every morning and don’t skip it even if you’re on vacation. Having some protein like eggs will help you feel fuller throughout your day and less likely to snack mindlessly. A 2015 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who eat breakfast every day are nearly 17% less likely to be overweight than those who don’t. Whether you want to lose weight or just feel better, get into a routine of eating breakfast each morning and watch how your body feels over time!

#5 - Exercise for 30 minutes every day

If you want to change your life, you have to exercise. Plain and simple. No amount of self-help books will get you where you want to be if they aren't backed up by an active lifestyle that includes some form of exercise. If a 30-minute session is too much, start small—just take a 10-minute walk around your neighborhood once or twice a day and set that as your goal for several days in a row until it's easy to extend it to half an hour. It may not seem like much now, but small changes in activity will add up over time and before long you'll look back and wonder why there was ever any question about what must be done for true success.

#6 - Spend less time on your phone

An average American spends 4.7 hours a day on their smartphone, and other research has shown that one in three people use their phone while they're having sex. These numbers should be shocking, but they probably aren't. We all know people who live most of their lives on their smartphones—I'm certainly guilty of it—and it's not just because we love using our phones for mindless entertainment; it's because we often have to. It's just too easy to get sucked into social media, games or whatever else is on there instead of focusing on what we're doing in real life.

#7 - Journal everyday

Just because you don’t have a lot of time doesn’t mean you can’t create a routine around your journaling practice. Every night before bed, set aside 10 minutes to write down three things you are grateful for. This will lead to greater awareness of what is going well in your life and give you an opportunity to think about ways that gratitude can impact your work and personal relationships as well. #6 - Meditate every day: If something feels like a chore, then it probably won’t get done consistently. The point of doing these habits daily is not just because they can change your life for good but also so that they become habituated into your daily routine.

#8 - Face your fears

Everyone has fears, but you may not be aware of what some of them are. They’re sneaky like that. Sometimes we assume we’re not afraid of certain things when really there is a whole spectrum of fear that we hide from ourselves in order to protect our ego. The more vulnerable you allow yourself to be in life, by owning your struggles and asking for help when needed, the less room there is for fear to fill your space. Which brings me to my next point...

#9 - Do yoga or stretch regularly

The stress we live with today (both work and personal) often makes our muscles tense up, especially in places like our neck and shoulders. This kind of tension is at its worst when you're stressed out, which happens when you hold your muscles rigid. Yoga or stretching is a great way to release that tension—and regular practice can actually help prevent that tension from ever building up. A recent study published in Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who exercised for 90 minutes a week saw an improvement in their mood and ability to relax even after a stressful event. The best part: Both yoga and stretching are free and easy to fit into your schedule.