Build These Habits Into Your Daily Routine To Improve Your Life
Today, I will share 15 daily habits that improved my life. They can improve your life too!
By following these tips, you will be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you are today. That’s the essence of self-improvement and the foundation for achieving your goals in life.
Or, as philosopher Will Durant once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
With those thoughts in mind, let’s get moving so you can start improving!
Disclosure: At no cost to you, I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
15 Good Daily Habits To Improve Your Life
1. Get Up Early
Early morning is a relative concept. A musician or professional chef working late into the evening may not get up early compared to me. I start my day at 5 am.
Thus, whatever early means to you, consistently get your day started at that time. Make an early start part of your daily routine.
2. Eat A Healthy Breakfast
Most nutrition experts agree that breakfast is the day’s most important meal. My experience suggests the same.
When I met my future wife in my early 30s, she couldn’t believe I didn’t eat breakfast. With her encouragement, I started to do so.
Having a good breakfast calmed my morning nerves. Also, a good breakfast left me less vulnerable to starvation by lunchtime. Which often led to overeating the wrong things.
3. Adopt A Positive Attitude
Stay upbeat and practice positive self-talk. Avoid negative thoughts because they often become self-fulfilling. Your life balance depends on it.
Yes, I know there are days when being positive is difficult. When that occurs, stand or sit up straight. Put a smile on your face and strive to dress and look your best.
Why?
You can control your physical actions more quickly than your mental ones. Often, your mind follows your physical behaviors.
Furthermore, take your state of mind to a higher level. Check out this online course about:
4. Accomplish Something Right Away
One of my rules of thumb is never to start a day with a problematic or vague task. Doing so risks getting off to an unproductive start and setting the wrong tone.
As a result, I like to start the day with an essential but more straightforward activity. Then, once completed, I set my productivity in motion. Thus, I’m ready to take on more challenging tasks as the day progresses.
One exception to this rule is creative thinking and brainstorming. Some of my best creative thinking happens early in the day when my mind is fresh and uncluttered.
Speaking of clutter, let’s tackle that topic next.
5. Keep An Organized Work Area
Keep organized whether you use a table, desk, kitchen counter, or chair at your local coffee shop. A clutter-free space is vital to make the most of your work day.
For example, I work at a desk in my home office. Typically, there are only two things on top of that desk.
First is my laptop. Second, any materials I need for what I’m currently working on. Everything else is filed or stored elsewhere.
Why?
A cluttered workspace is distracting. Furthermore, unrelated items on your work site lead to higher stress from the feeling of having so much to do.
6. Clear Your Computer Tabs
The same principles apply to your computer. So, make it a point to open only the tabs related to your work.
7. Clean And Organize Something
I get unsettled when my house, garage, or basement rooms become cluttered or dirty. Yet, there is too much to tackle at once.
As a result, I break cleaning and organizing down into small tasks that fit into my daily habits.
For example, I might take 30 minutes to wash the kitchen floor one day. Then, the next day, I clean the bathroom. Then, on another day, I wash a window or two.
Rinse and repeat, keeping each daily cleaning or organizing task to no more than 30 minutes. Make it a daily habit; your living space will always be clean and decluttered.
I’m sure you get the idea. Otherwise, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not do anything.
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8. Take Short Breaks
We are all busy, days get long, and energy levels fall. Thus, to combat fatigue, take short breaks.
My favorite break is closing my eyes, taking deep breaths, relaxing, and letting the tension drain from my muscles. I do this for up to a minute several times a day.
Try it. It’s rejuvenating, and a break like this will take you to a better place, if only momentarily.
9. Exercise
Carve out 10 minutes a day for exercise. For example, I like to take long 3-5 mile walks. But on most days, that takes too much time.
Thinking I need to do a long exercise program often leads me to do nothing. So, every day, I strive for 10-15 minutes of exercise.
Here are some tips that work for me:
- A short walk around the block
- 100 lightweight bicep curls
- Stretching out my muscles
Then, on my days off, I will get a long power walk or jog to fit into my schedule. Thus, I don’t bog down my daily goals checklist with long exercise routines.
10. Say Or Do Something Nice
As a kid, one day, I said something rude in front of my Dad. Honestly, I don’t remember what I said.
He looked at me and said, “If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything.”
They are wise words that I have never forgotten. So take that thought one step further and strive to say and do something nice for someone every day.
People appreciate your kindness. You will feel better about yourself; the sky is your only limit when you feel good.
11. Get Outside Your Comfort Zone
A structured day is a positive aspect of life. However, keep your daily routine from turning into a rut.
Thus, look for a way to step outside your comfort zone. Most importantly, doing new and different things is one of many excellent ways to learn.
For example, introduce yourself to someone you don’t know at work. Strike up a conversation with a neighbor you have avoided for a while. Try a different exercise. Go to a club or city meeting.
Finally, everyone’s comfort zone is different. So, it’s up to you to decide.
12. Learn Something New
As I said, getting outside your comfort zone is a great way to learn. Furthermore, learning something new is one of many excellent daily habits.
Continuous and lifelong learning is essential for mental well-being.
Therefore, make a point to learn something new each day. And do so beyond your years of formal schooling.
13. Eliminate Or Defer A Purchase
I write a lot about personal finance and money management on this site. So, I must add a money-related objective to ideas for your daily routine.
Examples of daily habits to save money:
- Make your morning drink at home
- Brown bag your lunch
- Avoid impulse buys
- Defer a big-ticket purchase.
Remember, reducing or eliminating small expenses adds up over time. Furthermore, deferring larger purchases may decrease your interest in whatever you want after a few days.
14. Reflect And Journal
Take a moment each day to reflect and write in a journal. Doing so is one of the best daily habits to form.
Tracking your thoughts can be as simple as writing down one thing you did well and documenting one item or area from the day to improve.
Do this before you go to bed. The timing allows your mind to work over these items while you sleep, thus creating a subconscious self-improvement zone while resting.
15. Go To Bed At The Right Time
Last on today’s list of daily habits is to go to bed at the right time.
However, the right time will be different for everyone. More importantly, sleep experts recommend going to bed at the same time every night.
Thus, optimize your bedtime to ensure you get enough sleep.
Okay. That concludes my discussion of 15 good daily habits. Stack the ones you like into a 30-day challenge for the best month ever.
Okay. That’s all I have. So, please allow me to offer a few parting thoughts.
15 Good Daily Habits To Change Your Life: Wrap-Up And Resources
Daily habits are the foundation of long-term success. They make it possible to achieve your life goals no matter what they are.
Here’s a summary of what I covered for quick reference.
- Get up early
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Adopt a positive attitude
- Accomplish something right away
- Keep an organized work area
- Clear your computer tabs
- Clean and organize something
- Take short breaks
- Exercise
- Say or do something nice
- Get outside your comfort zone
- Learn something new
- Eliminate or defer a purchase
- Reflect and journal
- Go to bed at the right time
Second, recall and reflect on what I said earlier. Strive to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you are today. Doing so is continuous self-development for getting what you want out of life.
Third, accelerate your progress by diving deep into this excellent course about developing a winning mindset. Because how you think has a profound impact on your success.
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Before taking off, you might like some of our other articles about:
Turning Your Goals into Reality
Good luck, and thanks for reading!
Author Bio: Tom Scott founded the consulting and coaching firm Dividends Diversify, LLC. He leverages his expertise and decades of experience in goal setting, relocation assistance, and investing for long-term wealth to help clients reach their full potential.