10 Tiny Habits You Can Practice Every Day To Create A Better Life
If you want to create a better life for yourself, it’s all about the small stuff — tiny habits that, when practiced every day, can lead to big gains over time. Here are 10 tiny habits you can practice every day to create a better life.
1) Make your bed
Creating a successful business or living a healthy life are lofty goals. You might have to turn some dreams into reality before you can realize them. But there are some tiny habits you can practice every day that will go a long way toward helping you achieve those goals.
For example, what if when you wake up in the morning, your first task is to make your bed? It may sound silly, but just getting that one task out of the way on most days will leave you feeling more energized and ready to tackle other work.
How about setting aside 10 minutes at lunch for exercise? Or taking 10 minutes each evening for meditation? These daily routines don’t have to be huge tasks; they’re simply tiny steps toward a better life.
Making your bed in the morning is a tiny habit that can make a big difference. In fact, an Ohio State University study found that making your bed can actually make you feel better, more relaxed, and even improve how you look.
If you want to turn around your day or kickstart yourself into doing other positive activities, starting with making your bed can be one of them.
2) Meditate
Making your bed every morning will be one of those tiny habits that will make a big difference over time. While it may seem insignificant, it could become part of a daily routine that establishes discipline and consistency — and can save you valuable minutes each day.
After all, how many times have you gotten out of bed because you forgot to pull up your sheets? How many times have you dressed in wrinkled clothes because there was no time to iron or smooth out your clothing?
That’s why practicing good habits like making your bed can lead to a better life — it gives you more time to spend on important tasks rather than trivial ones.
If nothing else, they’ll become muscle memory and before long, they’ll become second nature. This seems like a simple habit but it takes more discipline than you think.
It also has far-reaching benefits. Experts say daily meditation can lower blood pressure, boost immunity and even help us sleep better at night.
If you’re serious about creating a better life for yourself, consider adopting a daily meditation practice. There are plenty of free resources out there to help get you started. Here’s an intro to meditation course from UCLA (it’s free!).
3) Do one thing at a time
Multitasking makes us feel more productive but it actually slows down our productivity. As Harvard professor Leslie Perlow said, Multitasking not only reduces our effectiveness, it makes us more anxious and less able to cope with stress.
So turn off your cell phone, sign out of social media, close your email and focus on one thing at a time. This will increase your efficiency by 200%! Who knows?
With everything going on in your life, it’s easy to get caught up in your head and stress over what you need to do next. When you try and multi-task, though, you aren’t doing either task as well as possible. When doing one thing at a time, our brains are forced to actually focus on one thing.
That alone gives us more control over tasks; while they may take longer, we tend to give them our full attention when not trying to juggle two or three tasks at once.
And besides all that, multitasking simply isn’t a good use of time for anyone — there is some evidence that people who regularly try and juggle multiple tasks might have an increased risk of dementia later in life!
4) Smile
Think about how smiling can instantly change your mood and outlook on life. This doesn’t just happen in your head; it’s a physical reaction, too. It releases endorphins that help you feel better overall.
The next time you start to get grumpy at work, force yourself to flash those pearly whites at someone nearby and take note of how you feel afterward. Before long, smiling will become a habit — and not just when you’re being paid for it or trying to influence someone!
According to one study, people who smiled throughout their day were much happier than those who didn’t. Even if it feels silly, give a wide grin when you first wake up and right before you go to bed — it’ll trick your brain into thinking you’re happy.
It may not make your life perfect, but it might boost your mood. Alternatively, try writing down 3 good things that happened every day to reinforce a more positive mindset and train yourself to pay attention to (and be thankful for) things going well.
Studies show that those who smile more are generally perceived as more trustworthy and are more likely to be hired. Not only will it make others see you in a better light, but research shows that smiling can improve your overall happiness. And if you’re happier, then you’ll have even more to smile about. That sounds like a win-win to us!
5) Work in bursts of 25 minutes
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time-management strategy that relies on timed intervals and sets. The idea is to spend 25 minutes working on one task, then take a break for 3–5 minutes before beginning another 25-minute block.
After four such blocks, you get a longer break of 15–30 minutes, in which you can do whatever you like — make yourself lunch, catch up with friends on social media or listen to music. According to Pomodoro, frequent breaks keep your mind fresh and focused, while also helping prevent burnout due to long periods of intensive work.
If you’re just starting out with Pomodoro (or even if you’ve been using it for some time), check out these five tips that can help improve your results. If you’re not looking to make your new, better habits into a full-blown lifestyle change, but want to get more done during your workday, try doing intense bursts of 25 minutes of work.
The famous CEO of Virgin Group Richard Branson spends 90 minutes a day going through emails but schedules his meetings and calls around blasts of 25 minutes of working on one thing at a time.
If you want to learn how Richard Branson gets more done in 90 minutes than most people do in an entire day, check out my previous post on bursts for productivity.
6) Drink water
Hydration is important to you physical and mental health. It is recommended that you drink at least 64 ounces of water a day, but many people struggle to reach that goal. Carry a water bottle with you wherever you go and try your best to consume all of it every single day.
If it helps, consider drinking ice-cold water so that you’re more likely to have an ice cold glass of H2O whenever your thirst kicks in. Staying hydrated improves your mood, your energy levels and keeps you from overeating.
Drink a full glass of water before every meal, and keep a tall water bottle on hand to sip throughout the day. Incorporate other liquids — such as coffee or tea — in place of calories from high-sugar drinks like soda.
While you’re at it, drink plenty of water when eating to prevent overeating; studies show that drinking two cups of water before meals can help with weight loss. By staying hydrated, you will boost your metabolism and be less hungry overall.
Just keep in mind that too much caffeine (more than 500 mg) can upset your stomach and make it harder for you to stay full if you eat soon after drinking caffeinated beverages.
7) Eat breakfast
Breakfast sets up a healthy routine. Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast tend to be leaner than those who skip it, and weight loss is easier when you don’t go long periods of time between meals.
Eating a balanced breakfast also keeps your energy levels steady and increases your metabolism throughout the day. It may even help you make better food choices. Eggs, yogurt and fruit smoothies are all good breakfast options, but also try experimenting with different types of oatmeal or other types of whole grains — you might find something you like more!
Breakfast doesn’t have to mean a plate full of bacon, eggs and sausages; oatmeal and whole-grain toast can fill you up just as much as any other breakfast if it’s prepared right.
If you aren’t hungry when you wake up, don’t force yourself to eat. But if you are hungry, it’s smart to fuel your body with some calories before jumping into your day.
Eating breakfast — which should consist of about 400 calories and 20 to 30 grams of protein — can help keep blood sugar stable and energy high for hours. Studies also show that people who skip breakfast are more likely to gain weight.
So regular breakfasts may be helpful in keeping off excess pounds as well as increasing concentration and mental clarity. Learn how to make a healthier morning meal by choosing fruits and whole grains over sugary cereal or processed pastries.
8) Listen more, talk less
Listening is a powerful act. When we listen, we’re forced to take a step back from ourselves and our own thoughts, putting us in a position to truly understand another person.
It’s amazing how much more productive life can be when you approach it from a place of understanding and empathy rather than one of judgment or attack.
The next time you find yourself about to speak, ask yourself if what you’re about to say will actually add anything of value — or whether you should keep your mouth shut for once.
If you want to create a better life, start by practicing good listening skills. We all want to feel heard and understood — and it’s often a simple matter of being quiet and letting people do that for us.
If someone tells you about their day, really listen; don’t just wait for your turn to talk. If a friend is venting about something they disagree with at work, resist your urge to interject or comment and instead ask clarifying questions to make sure you fully understand what they’re saying (like: So you disagreed with…? or How did that make you feel?).
If a coworker asks your opinion on something, don’t immediately jump in with your own suggestions unless asked. There’s a reason why people who listen more often than they talk are generally more well-liked, and it goes beyond basic politeness.
Hearing someone else’s point of view actually teaches us about how they perceive things, which in turn expands our own world view (not to mention, opens us up to new friends). So pay attention to what others have to say; you never know when you might learn something.
9) Take breaks
Everyone has his or her own definition of what makes for a productive day — but it’s hard to be motivated and creative when you’re running on empty. If possible, build in some downtime during your workday so that you have time to do something unrelated to work.
Whether it’s taking a walk around the block, reading articles from your favorite websites, or even watching cat videos on YouTube (guilty as charged), taking breaks is an essential part of maximizing productivity in any setting.
It helps remind us what we like about our job while also giving us an opportunity to get away from our desks and keep us fresh and energized.
Taking breaks is just as important to your brain as it is to your body. Many people run through life with one goal in mind, whether that’s work or family, and they lose sight of their health as a result.
But if you don’t take care of yourself physically and mentally, your ability to accomplish much of anything will be reduced. As productivity guru David Allen says: Your body fuels your engine — if you run out of gas, you can’t operate at peak performance!
How we feel affects how we perform in every aspect of our lives. By taking a break from whatever you’re doing, you can re-energize both physically and mentally for future challenges.
10) Be grateful
Nothing brings happiness quite like a grateful heart. If you can wake up each day and truly appreciate your life and all it has to offer, you’ll see that everything is just as it should be.
Set a daily routine of gratitude and watch how your perception changes. For example, when getting dressed in the morning, reflect on what clothes you have to wear today and consider how fortunate you are to even have clothes at all! Counting your blessings is a great way to practice gratefulness every day.
Gratitude is one of those things that we can all appreciate in others, but it’s not always easy to do. Not only does cultivating gratitude make us happier, but it also helps us sleep better and even boosts our immune system.
The easiest way to start practicing gratitude is by keeping a journal of three things you are grateful for each day. While there are other ways to be grateful, nothing says that you have to limit yourself to just three items.
In fact, some experts recommend writing down everything you’re grateful for on specific days throughout your week (these are called gratitude journals). Here are a few other suggestions: Think about what you have going for you in your life today — and tell someone else about it.
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