Although I am a personal development blogger by profession, I am in no way a mental health professional. See my disclaimer for more info.
Small daily habits can change your life. Ready to learn all about them?
Did you know that forming habits can be life-changing?
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. On my self improvement journey, I’ve been implementing and working on different habits related to my finances, physical health, mental health, and other important areas of my life. I’ve noticed that these habits help me become a better version of myself.
I want you to witness the same life-altering experience! So, keep on reading to learn all about daily habits and how they can make you a better person.
This post is all about daily habits.
What are habits, and why are they important?
Habits are small actions that you do on a regular basis without even thinking about doing them.
We all have habits — good ones and bad ones.
For example, you might have a bad habit of not letting your car warm up in the winter before you start driving.
Or you might have a good habit of kissing your partner before going to bed.
These little things are so important because they’re actionable steps to help you reach a bigger goal or purpose.
Say you’re trying to trying to spend less time on your phone. You can work toward this goal in a pretty simple way.
In the morning, try to resist the urge to reach for your phone and scroll through social media or your email.
Let’s talk more about how to actually form habits. Yes, it’s great to have them. But to be successful, you need to set them up in a way that works for you.
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Journaling is absolutely one of my favorite ways to practice emotional/mental self care, and my free daily journal can help you do just that.
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How to Form & Stick to Habits:
Alright — before I give you the list of habits, it’d probably be helpful to know how to form and stick to them.
Sure, it’s easy to think of something, but actually putting in the work is something completely different. So I’m here to walk you through everything.
STEP 1: THINK OF YOUR “WHY”
You need to have a purpose behind everything you do. But more specifically, think about why you want/need to form a certain habit.
For me, I need to form the habit of tracking my spending. My “Why” behind this is that I need to save money for college, stop impulse spending, and pay off my debt.
So, your “Why” is basically the reason you’re trying to develop a new habit or behavior. You can (and should) always come back to this during seasons of uninspiration.
STEP 2: DON’T OVERWHELM YOURSELF
I’m telling you right now — you’re going to be in for a big one if you overwhelm yourself by trying to:
- form too many habits at once
- don’t know your intention behind a (new) goal
Take a step back and slow down. There’s no need to rush! If you really want to succeed, you have to take it slow and steady.
Trust me — the growth will come gradually. And over time, you’ll be unbelievably proud of yourself. Let’s speak it into existence!
RELATED POST: How to Avoid Burnout: 9 Must-Know Tips to Stay Productive
STEP 3: STRATEGICALLY INCLUDE YOUR HABITS IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
To make things easier (and more logical), you should put your habits in a specific part of your daily routine.
For example, if you want to start practicing gratitude, you can do so every morning when you wake up.
As time goes on, you’ll get more used to doing it and it’ll become, well, a habit!
STEP 4: FOCUS ON CONSISTENCY
It sounds nice to have lots of habits, but what good is it if they’re not mostly positive?
Just like with pretty much anything in life, you should focus more on consistency and quality than on quantity.
What I mean is, don’t try to form a bunch of habits just for the sake of it. Instead, focus on a handful and truly MASTER them!
STEP 5: DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP
You and I — we’ve been there before. We’ve missed a day of budgeting, dieting, or some other new habit and we beat ourselves up over it.
I know that feels appropriate in the moment, but you’re only harming yourself in the long run.
Instead of letting these moments slow you down and possibly move in reverse, acknowledge that it’s okay to miss a day here and there.
If you expect to be 100% all the time, you’re in for a rude awakening — seriously!
Take this time to reflect and make a decide how you’re going to move forward.
STEP 6: TRACK everything IN A HABIT TRACKER
It’s kind of funny because this is a habit itself: track your habits in a habit tracker.
You should track things like:
- The habit
- Log everyday you work on the habit
- When you want to fully develop the habit
- The purpose (AKA your “Why”) behind the habit
Alright — now that we’ve covered the basics, I think it’s finally time to get into these daily habits.
These are simple, yet effective things you should do everyday to live a happier, more balanced life.
No, you don’t have to do ALL of these. Just take a few for inspiration and include them in your daily routine.
Daily Habits:
- Smile
- Take a deep breath
- Make your bed
- Hydrate yourself with some H2O
- Practice gratitude
- Brush and floss your teeth
- Do some type of physical activity
- Enjoy nature
- Journal
- Engage in self-care
- Do your skincare routine
- Clear your notifications
- Fix your posture
- Shut out negative thoughts
- Compliment yourself or someone else
- Open the blinds
- Do a little spot-cleaning
- Catch yourself when you curse
- Don’t procrastinate
- Make your to-do list for tomorrow
- Check your bank account balances and debt
- Engage in a conversation with a friend/family member
- Work toward mastering a skill
- Do something that gets your out your comfort zone
- Get some type of daily inspiration (Bible verse, quote, etc.)
THINK: Which one of these daily habits will you choose to start working on? Tell me in the comments!
Let’s recap!
We made it to the end of the post!
Today, we talked about daily habits.
These little things are so impactful that they can change your life. I hope you learned a thing or 2 that you can apply to your life.
Please remember to take time to take care of yourself!
I know, in this economy, it can be hard to find free things to do that are fun. That’s why I put together a list of 7 free self care activities to enjoy today!
In the midst of chaos, don’t forget to smile,
DeMarcus – your self care buddy
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This post was all about daily habits.
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