10 Simple Daily Habits to Help Improve Your Life Overtime

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As I think about the 10 simple daily habits to help improve your life overtime, I sit back and think about our subconscious mind. Things that our mind tells us to do without any effort.

The word routine is heard often – morning routine, daily routine, even workout routine. It is a word that defines our mentality to do something the same every time or everyday. So then what is a habit? A habit is a behavior that is repeated regularly. This behavior can be an action, a routine, or a lifestyle. To achieve a well-established habit in your life, it is said that it will take at least 21 days. You can approximate this to about a month of regular repetition.

Habits and routines two go hand in hand. As you work on establishing a routine to improve your life overtime, that routine will start to form habits that you will perform subconsciously or you will feel off if you do not perform that routine or habit. We want to train the mind to set us up for success with good daily habits that can help improve our life overtime.

Routines are important, they can anchor us in daily life. When we are on top of our routines, life feels easier to handle and that sense of managing our day the same, helps us to cope with unpredictable changes. Create a routine that helps you feel accomplished which in turn can help your goal at becoming more successful at what you are trying to achieve.

“Everyone has habits. Some are good; others are not. Considering that we are all defined by our actions, it is important that we lose our bad habits. By doing that, our lives will be much better.”

– Robert Henley, Change Your Habits Now

1. Create a morning routine

Creating a morning routine or ritual, would be one of the first steps in creating successful daily habits. Establishing a habit or routine first thing in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Every morning, be clear with yourself about what you need to accomplish. At that point focus on finishing three or four little, yet fundamental, actions — anything past that, is a reward.

It may seem to be a challenge at the start, but having a morning routine will help significantly in feeling productive the rest of the day. It’ll take some adjusting, but a good morning routine allows you enough time to actually enjoy—and benefit from—your other routines! Which means, starting new habits. And the new habit to start right off the bat, is getting a good nights rest at an earlier time, and waking up about an hour before you need to start getting ready. No hitting snooze. This will allow yourself to begin your day with confidence, self care and reflection, peace and meditation, and to create a positive attitude.

To learn more on check out my blog post about how to create the perfect 40 minute morning routine. 

Check out these morning routine books on Amazon:

2. Dress for success

Why not look good, while you’re feeling good!! Part of your morning routine should involve embodying the energy you want to bring into the world. This has less to do with “looking professional” and more to do with getting yourself into a positive frame of mind. If you work from home, it’s a simple as changing out of your pjs, and putting on a little bit of make up. When you feel comfortable in your own shoes and feel like you can conquer the world, you carry yourself with a different energy and your mindset becomes a very positive one.

3. Keep your home and work space tidy 

This habit/routine may seem daunting to some, but in reality it has MANY benefits to not only your mental space but your health as well. We’re not saying you should deep clean everyday, just do little tasks that help you along the way and keep your home tidy, for example, start your day by making your bed. Then when cleaning day does come, the chores are more minimal. Among those benefits are:

• It keeps you organized – you know where your belongings are and you save time daily by finding your important items.
• Reduces stress – when your space is tidy you are not reminded of all the things that need to be done. When your home is dirty it increases stress on top of your already big to-do list.
• Reduces allergies and the spread of germs – Just by a simple swipe of the counter to clean a morning mess, you are helping to reduce germs that gather everyday. This will help prevent getting sick more often.

4. Read everyday for at least one hour 

Some may say that adding an hour of reading is too much, and others may say it’s not enough. It all depends on your day, and how you want to fit in this very beneficial habit. Reading, anything honestly, can help improve memory and cognitive function, increases empathy and reduces stress, can improve social skills, and actually increase not only your intelligence but your learning capacity as well. Very important reasons why adding this habit to your day can help you long-term:

“By developing and practicing good habits each day, you affirm that you do have control over the very core of your life in the midst of the chaos.”

– Stephen Guise, Elastic Habits

5. Walk or exercise 30 minutes every day 

This is one habit that takes some time to incorporate daily, but one that can start at a slower pace and work towards a more frequent routine. As we all know, exercising or moving your body has many health benefits. And professionals suggest we only need 30 minutes, and preferably every day. The best time to incorporate working out, or walking is in the morning to get your blood circulated and boost your mood and metabolism. While suggested to workout in the morning, getting into the gym or outside is beneficial just as much at any time of the day. However you can include it into your busy schedule. Other health benefits include:

• Heart health
• Weight loss
• Reduces stress
• Mood booster
• Increase productivity
• Improve self confidence

6. Journal 

Journaling is, personally, one of my favorite daily habits. Every morning after meditation, and making my coffee I sit down at my desk and journal my thoughts for the day. It can be short or long, depending on what I want to release. I also use it for manifestations and goal tracking. With this being the way that I incorporate journaling, you can spin it your own way. Waking up and journaling immediately, or right before bed. The best thing about routines and habits is that you make them your own. Surprisingly there are several health and mental benefits to journaling: It can help with achieving goals, gaining self confidence, improves writing and communication skills, reduces stress and anxiety, and can help strengthen memory.

Check out these journals from Amazon!

“Replacing just a few key negative habits with a few positive habits can easily be the difference difference between being mostly unhappy and being happy almost all of the time.”

– Tynan, Superhuman by Habit

7. Eat well and stay hydrated 

Eating and drinking is of course always needed throughout the day, but what you choose to eat and drink is the important part. According to the CDC, there are many benefits to eating healthier vs a, for example, fast food lifestyle and making sure you are drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. Benefits including:

• May help you live longer
• Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
• Keeps your from being dehydrated
• Supports muscles
• Boosts immunity
• Strengthens bones
• Lowers risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers
• Helps the digestive system function
• Water flushes body waste
• Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight

One helpful way to make sure you are incorporating this very beneficial daily habit, is to make sure you are preparing easy lunches and dinners ahead of time, while also packing easy to-grab, or to-go snacks. Keep a large water bottle, or flask with you that you can easily refill, or use zero sugar flavors to add to your water if water seems to become boring to you 😉

8. Plan your day 

One great habit to get into, is the habit of planning your day and looking over your calendar. Write out each task, each appointment and your to-do list right before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. This specifically ensures we are able to achieve all we want by planning out each day, setting up goals for the day or month, completing important tasks, keeping track of your budget, and even meal planning. Having and carrying a daily/monthly planner like this Daily Designer from Amazon, is a great tool to write in daily. Mine goes with me everywhere I go! 

9. Manage and save your money 

Want to know one of the top habits of a successful person? The mindfully manage their money daily. Spending can be habitual and automatic. When we get into the routine of swiping a credit card at every whim, it can quickly spiral out of control and become a dangerous mess. Make it a habit to check your budget and bank daily, this is an easy 5 minute task that will put your mind at ease if things are going smoothly. While spending cash, stash your change into a jar each time. Or another easy task, is to open a savings account and dedicate a certain percentage of your income into that account. Other healthy money habits include:

• Set financial goals
• Plan your purchases
• Automate your investing
• Save for retirement

10. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night 

This is probably one of the most important daily habits to develop alongside eating a balanced meal. Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Along with this, there are other health benefits like: helping maintain or lose weight, can improve productivity, may strengthen your heart, and supports a healthy immune system. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly and can be connected to depression.

Though sleep lengths are different person to person, the average amount of sleep is 7-8 hours a night. Most of us can’t fall asleep on command, so creating a night time routine can be very beneficial and will help with this habit. Here are steps on creating a night time routine:

1. Give yourself enough time to decompress, maybe with a book
2. Put the gadgets away, as the blue light from technology can keep you awake
3. Plan to take a warm bath or shower, as this can help with calming down for the night
4. do you self-care/skin care routine
5. Climb into bed just right before you are ready to fall asleep

As an overview, here are the 10 simple daily habits you can form to improve your life overtime:

1. Create a morning routine
2. Dress for success
3. Keep your home and work space tidy
4. Read everyday for at least one hour
5. Walk or exercise 30 minutes everyday
6. Journal
7. Eat well and stay hydrated
8. Plan your day
9. Manage and save your money
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night

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