Many people believe that it takes drastic big changes to excel in their life. John C. Maxwell stated that "You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine." It's not the grand gestures that make a big difference, it's the small daily changes. This is actually rewarding because change is hard. Instead of attempting to do a full180 on your life (and failing shortly after), commit to making small turns that will eventually get you there and are sustainable. Here are 10 small habits you can start today!
1. Save 5% of Each Paycheck
10% is the standard, but in this economy? Let's be real. It's okay to start smaller. Here is the most important key to this step: AUTOMATE IT. In sounds nice in theory that everytime you get paid, you will log into your account and transfer over 5% into a savings account, but you won't. You will begin thinking about other things you could use that money for so don't allow yourself the temptation. If the money is gone before you receive it, you can't miss it. You pay the insurance companies AND the government before the money hits your bank account, so why not pay yourself? Aren't you just as important? Another point to make is sometimes your pay will change. When you are making $2500 a month and you say "I will automatically save $250 every month", what happens if a pay cut happens? Now you will need to come up with a new number. However, committing to a percentage will AUTOMATICALLY change depending on how much your paycheck is. If you make $100, it'll be $5. If you make $1000, it'll be $50. It'll always be relative to what you are earning, you won't need to think about it, and you'll be in the HABIT of saving money. Overtime you may even adapt a Mindset Of The Wealthy. 😉
2. Set Goals and Review Them
They can be a small as going for a walk this weekend or as big as running a marathon by the end of the year. As human beings, we need something to look forward to or achieve. It provides us with variety and newness. It's easy to set a goal and forget it, but reviewing them on a daily or weekly basis reminds us what we are working towards and what we desire to get out of our lives. When you can keep your goals at the forefront of your brain, you're not only more likely to achieve them, you also receive on a subconscious level a will to push forward. It's almost as if you are telling yourself "I have unfinished business. I have a purpose" When life becomes daunting, repetitive, unfulfilling, and in a desire need for change, goals are here to save the day.
We need something to look forward to
3. Prioritze Your Sleep
I know what you are thinking. "I will commit to waking up at the same time everyday." Wrong. Here's the thing. Have you ever noticed that no matter what time you go to bed, you tend to wake up at the same time? Or perhaps you work the same shift everyday so no matter what time you go to sleep, you'll still have to be up at a certain time. Waking up is not the problem, going to sleep is. Instead of prioritizing your wake time, I want you to prioritize your sleep time. Go to bed at the same time everyday or at least as often as you can. I understand there are days you may work later, have a social outing, or battle with insomnia, but do your best to commit to a bed time that will give you 7-9 hours of sleep every night. If you need to wake up by 6am, you should be winding down by 9:30pm in hopes to be asleep by 10:00pm. I can predict what you are thinking next. "Well some days I don't need to be up at 6:00am. Somedays I can sleep in as long as I want, so shouldnt I be able to go to bed later?" No. Our bodies adapt quickly and one disruption in your sleep pattern can mess up the whole week. Keep it consistent. Despite what people may have led you to believe, there is nothing wrong with being up at 7:00am on a Saturday.
4. Move Your Body
Did you know that being inactive causes health risks? This is why when you are on bed rest, someone is instructed to turn you every so often. This is also why if you are on bed rest for too long, you'll have to do physical therapy to gain your mobility back. Movement is extremely important so commit to moving as much or more than you are sitting/laying. This can be achieved by doing simple tasks like taking short walks or performing a short and sweet stretch routine throughout the day.
5. Drink Water
Plain, sparkling, or flavored. Just drink it. It can feel overwhelming consuming the recommended quantity of water so let's keep it simple. When you wake up, drink a cup. When you eat your lunch, drink a cup. When you eat your dinner, drink a cup. Purchase a 32oz waterbottle, fill it up, and keep it with you throughout the day. Remember the "out of sight out of mind concept?" Well, when the water bottle is constantly in your face, you are more prone to drink it without even consciously thinking about it! Your brain will do the work for you. Here is a video about all the wonderful benefits associated with drinking water: https://youtu.be/Jaeqiz3ECKM
6. Limit Procrastination
There are psychological studies that investigate our reasons for procrastination. It’s not even about being “lazy”. Some of the most busy, ambitious, and motivated people you know, procrastinate. At the root of it, procrastination is the brains defense mechanism against harm. You are afraid you will fail, you won’t get the outcome you desire, you aren’t adequate enough for what you are dreaming to achieve, or that you know will cause you stress. This can be as big as starting that Podcast to as small as packing for your trip this weekend. Our brain doesn’t want to do things that bring up comfortable feelings. Take a moment to think about the kind of things you procrastinate on. You will see a correlation. Here’s the problem. The things you are putting off take up mental space. Just because you are not doing them doesn’t mean they are free from your mind. Picture this. You need to make a doctors appointment. You could take 5 mins to do it now and be done with it, or you can put it off until next week. Well, everyday from now until next week in the back of your mind you will be thinking “I need to make that doctors appointment” so you are actually putting yourself though days, weeks, months, and sometimes even YEARS of stress, for something you could just do now and be mentally free from for days, weeks, months, or even years to come. Doesn’t the latter sound better? Trust me, we ALL suffer from procrastinating. No one is exempt. Bold statement, but true. However, we can really excel and propel ourselves in life by limiting how often we face this frog. So just eat it. Everyday when you are deciding what to do for the day, pick your hardest task first. Do it before you do anything else. It’ll be a HUGE relief and everything else you have to do after that will feel like a breath of fresh air AND you’ll get more accomplished with your life. No more of this “Man, had I started 3 months ago, imagine where I could have been by now”. Theres delayed gratification and there’s delayed regret. Be sure you understand the difference. Productivity can be a beast of its own, so here are 8 Game Changing Tips To Increase Your Productivity.
Procrastinating on tasks occupies your mind.
7. Limit Time On Consumption
Social media (yes, YouTube too), Newspapers, CNN, ABC News, etc. All of this is an input of information from other people, often negative, uninspiring, comparative, and otherwise, and while you may not be consciously aware of it, subconsciously you are negatively impacted which shows itself by your output. Consume what you need to consume and get out of there. Maybe you wanted the highlights of the debate. Maybe you needed to follow that restaurant to get the free appetizer. Perhaps you needed to learn how to record better videos. Get it and get out.
8. Spend Time In Nature
This seems like one of those statements you roll your eyes at. Yeah yeah, I know, everyone says go outside. What’s the big deal? Well, try NOT going outside at all, and see how you feel. Don’t even open a window. In fact, put up some black out shades. Lack of sunlight and even fresh air impacts our physical and mental well being more than we realize. Seasonal depression anyone? It’s a thing for a reason. You don’t have to spend all day out there. You don’t even need to go out when the sun is at its highest peak. Go for a morning stroll, sit on your balcony, go outside for a minute on your lunch break, or at the bare minimum, open the blinds and/or windows in your home and just take it in for a moment.
9. An act of kindness
One a day if you’re ambitious! An act of kindness is one of the things in this world that both parties can equally benefit from. You go out of your way to tell the random girl at the supermarket that you like her shirt. Unless you have bad luck and turns out she hates that shirt and is only wearing it because her partner suggested it was cute and dared her to wear it outside to prove someone would compliment her on it, she’s going to feel good about that. And you’ll feel good for making someone else feel good. And whats even cooler about that, it’s like a domino effect! Now she will feel the need to pay a compliment to someone else in the future. It’s like the rules of a drive thru. Someone paid for your meal, so you pay for the next person. “Pay it forward” When people make you feel good you desire to make others feel what you feel. And when we can spend more of our days in this state of bliss, better things happen for us. Your output is your input.
10. Practice Gratitude
With so much crap in the world, its hard to remember the good things going on. You see what you focus on. While we can’t change the external world, easily. We CAN change our internal world. Therefore two people can experience the SAME thing and have very different reactions. Let’s say you both got fired. One may see it as a blessing to do something different and more rewarding with their life while the other may see it as unjust and sulk in that bitterness. The event did not change, the way you interpreted it, changed. Gratitude can help us paint a more positive picture in our mind. So, in the morning before you get out of bed, while you are brushing your teeth, or maybe when you are in the shower. Just mentally or verbally list off some things in your life you are grateful for.
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