20 Positive Habits To Transform Your Life Today
Our daily lives require habits and routines. Habits can help you reach a goal, be more productive, or live a more balanced life.
James Clear’s Atomic Habits explains that building habits don’t have to be difficult or alien. You can choose progress-promoting habits.
How do you form habits that last?
Remember that the goal should be progressing, not perfection.
1. Perform for at least two months.
According to psychologist Phillippa Lally, it takes about two months to form a new routine. After two months of consistency, the new behavior is more likely to become automatic.
2. Start with a simple task
If you want to become more physically active, you can begin stretching for one minute and then gradually increase your stretching time.
3. Consider again
After two weeks, verbalize your habits and the rationale behind them. This can help you to remember why you began and maintain your motivation.
4. Perform it for oneself
When you concentrate on yourself, you improve your productivity and problem-solving skills. This is because your willpower is rooted in you and not in others.
20 Positive Habits To Transform Your Life Today
1 — Read 60 minutes a day.
I recognize that you are too busy to read. Or maybe you simply dislike reading.
However, you won’t get off so simply.
Reading is essential for cognitive development. However, you already knew this.
What do you think? Reading will also improve your ability to think and write.
“But I still don’t like to read.” There are many things in life that we dislike, but we still perform them.
Instead of telling yourself that you dislike reading, learn to enjoy it by reading daily.
And one day, as if by magic, you will love to read.
Further Reading: How To Love Reading: 3 Simple Ways To Make Reading a Habit
2 — Walk 30 minutes a day.
You are not in control of your life if you cannot MAKE the time to go for a daily stroll.
Even without the health benefits, I walk. Certainly, walking keeps the body moving and is healthy.
But I walk every day because it breaks up the monotony of our lives.
We cannot deny that life is predictable. And there is no problem with that.
When you step outside, however, you are forced to become one with the world.
It enhances the senses. You may travel alone or with others. You are capable of having a conversation. Or, you can simply take in the scenery.
3 — Daily journaling or writing for thirty minutes
Every day, I need to organize my thoughts.
I achieve this by writing. This helps me to concentrate on what is important. This is why I developed the habit of keeping a journal.
Even when I’m not writing articles, I maintain a private journal. My journal is not intended for others.
Additionally, journaling is an excellent method for becoming a better thinker and person.
4 — Establish three to four daily priorities.
This is one of the most effective methods for increasing productivity. We are all aware that concentration is what yields results.
Lack of focus? No results. So how do you focus? By restricting your options and activities. Elimination is essential.
Every day, week, and year, you must have a crystal-clear understanding of your goals.
Develop a habit of regularly focusing on what matters.
Every day, do three to four vital (and little) tasks that will get you closer to your weekly and yearly objectives.
Further Reading: 5 Tips To Take Control Of Your Focus
5 — In the morning, drink water.
Did you know that during sleep you experience mild dehydration?
The body is rehydrated by consuming water immediately upon awakening.
Daily consumption of water helps regulate body temperature and provides nutrients.
Additionally, staying hydrated improves your mood and sleep.
The consequences of water, huh? Attempt to consume a glass of water in the morning to improve your health.
Try the following to make this a daily practice:
- Add a reminder to drink water on your phone
- Leave a glass of water by your bedside table so that you can drink it upon awakening.
- Carry a full water bottle with you.
6 — Practice Appreciation.
Keep a gratitude journal. Meditate. Or discuss the day’s highlights with your family over dinner.
Whatever method you find most effective, express gratitude every day.
Gratitude reframes our circumstances. It drives out discontent.
It focuses our attention on the positive aspects of our lives. It promotes attentiveness and deliberateness.
And it better situates our perspective in relation to the universe and the world around us.
Practicing gratitude every day is a daily discipline.
Because we need gratitude most when it is most difficult to find.
7 — Using Your Phone Less in the Morning
What is your first action upon awakening?
You pull out your phone.
There are numerous beneficial things we can do in the morning, but checking our phones is not one of them.
Despite how tempting these devices are and how simple it is to roll over in bed, grab your phone, and begin scrolling, we must resist this temptation.
Both our happiness and efficiency are at stake.
Looking at your phone first thing in the morning is an excellent way to release stress hormones, fill your mind with anxiety and negativity, and prepare yourself for passivity — consuming rather than production.
We also lose what I consider to be the most valuable hour of the entire day.
By guarding this hour and avoiding your phone, you will liberate a substantial amount of time and mental energy. It is the ideal time to incorporate new habits into your daily routine.
Spend the first hour of each day immersed in positive input and avoiding anything negative.
Further Reading: How To Stop Social Media Addiction
8- Set Personal Deadlines
Creating daily deadlines for yourself is one of the best habits you can establish.
Most people dislike deadlines and the pressure that comes with them, but if you change your perspective, this can be beneficial.
Having an objective in mind when completing a task can have a significant impact on your day.
Instead of not knowing when something should be completed, give yourself a timeline with a due date.
Due to my propensity for procrastination, deadlines have been incredibly helpful to me in the past.
There are certain tasks that I probably would not have completed without a strict deadline.
There are several significant advantages to working under pressure. Accountability is a major factor.
If the deadline passes and the task has not been completed, you must accept responsibility.
Do you have a trustworthy individual as your accountability partner? If not, consider asking a trusted family member or friend for assistance.
This accountability allows us to determine why the task was not completed by the deadline and how we can improve in the future.
Having a deadline can also aid in building momentum. Knowing that you have a deadline in mind can help you stay motivated and reduce distractions.
Further Reading: 23 Goal Setting Tips and Tricks To Boost Your Productivity
9- Organize
Cleaning, organizing, and making the bed make us feel better. It helps us be more efficient, sleep better, and get along with our spouses and kids.
Two hours a day for ceiling-to-floor cleaning is probably unrealistic. And daily cleaning?
Nah. Sweeping, picking up items, cleaning up spills, and rinsing and loading the dishwasher can make a huge difference.
First, it keeps the mess from escalating, preventing us from lashing out at our husbands, children, or ourselves.
When starting this habit, set a timer. Before bed or before watching TV, spend 15 minutes going through your house.
Straighten cushions and clean countertops. Rinse your plate after eating and make your bed when you wake up. You’ll feel better.
Further Reading: 11 Simple Rules For Living An Organized Life
10- Prep the night before
Preparing for tomorrow before bed is like getting up early.
Change them to shift your day.
The night before, prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What takes 10 to 15 minutes before bed may take 20 to 30 minutes in the morning.
Normally, you’d make sure backpacks are ready, keys are on the counter, and everything is set for tomorrow’s success.
Further Reading: 9 Sleep Habits of Successful People To Become More Productive
11- Spend wisely
Successful people’s top habits? They’re smart investors. Automatic spending is habitual. Swiping a credit card at every whim can quickly become a dangerous mess.
Take a break from spending to develop good money habits. This can be difficult, but you’ll be surprised how much more you think before using your card.
Daily banking and budget checks are essential. 5 minutes a day spent checking it can catch problems quickly.
When you spend, put cash back in your wallet or coins in a jar. Save “extra” change. See how fast it accumulates
Further Reading: How to Stop Your Toxic Money Habits and Get Rich Quick
12- Go outside
In today’s society, more people are indoors than ever before. Set aside a few minutes each day to disconnect from technology and enjoy the outdoors.
This micro-habit could be as easy as opening a window and listening to the sounds of nature for a few minutes. Alternatively, if you have more time, take a brief stroll around your area.
There are so many benefits to the outdoors, and it’s easy to overlook them if you don’t routinely engage in outdoor activities.
13- Perform a compassionate act.
While many of the habits we develop are centered on self-improvement, this last one alters your life via acts of kindness toward others.
Kindness does not have to be time-consuming or expensive.
Simple acts of kindness, such as complimenting a stranger, opening the door for someone, or letting someone go ahead of you in line, will brighten the day for both you and the recipient.
It feels lovely to do something good for another person.
And I’ve read several accounts of how a little act of kindness impacted the recipient’s life.
You never know what impact you may have.
Find a simple way to improve someone else’s life every day, and you will reap the rewards as well.
14- Drink more water
Take in at least one glass of water first thing in the morning. The majority of us, throughout the course of the day, are so preoccupied with our work that we forget how important it is to keep ourselves hydrated.
We may consume a large amount of caffeine in an effort to maintain our alert state, but regrettably, we do not drink nearly enough water.
Additionally, if you make it a daily practice to drink more water, it can assist boost your energy levels and contribute to an improvement in your performance.
15 - Review The Day In Question
We prepared in the morning, and now, in the evening, we ponder.
Reviewing is the finest approach to advance. As Seneca did, you should evaluate your day and deeds each evening.
As he put it, “When the light has been turned off and my wife has fallen silent, cognizant of this habit that is now mine, I evaluate my entire day and go back over what I’ve done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by.”
Was I adequately prepared? What could I improve? What do I know today that will be useful tomorrow?
16- Every morning, make your bed.
This may appear to be a minor habit with no real impact on how you live, but believe me when I say that making your bed can have a significant effect on the rest of your day.
Making your bed the first thing you do when you wake up creates an instant routine for each day.
This routine establishes order and routine in your day and provides your brain with a satisfying sense of accomplishment before you’ve even brushed your teeth or had a cup of coffee.
This small habit will not only create a nice, purposeful start to your day, but it will also create a nice, relaxing end to the day — after all, who doesn’t love crawling into a well-made bed after a long day?
17- Take a day off from social media.
Most of us regard our smartphones as extensions of ourselves.
We pick them up for no apparent reason and then scroll through social media apps for extended periods of time without even realizing it.
Many people don’t even use their social media handles and instead spend their time scrolling through the feeds of others.
This does not imply that you should abandon social media platforms; rather, you should use them sparingly.
You can begin by deciding to abstain from social media for one day. You will eventually be able to limit your screen time and set time limits for using social media apps.
You will consciously choose to spend less time on social media once you realize you are not missing out on anything by being offline for one day.
18- Make Single-Tasking a Habit
At any one time, our brain can only focus on one thing.
According to current studies, just 2% to 2.5% of the population can multitask successfully.
While it may feel good to fool yourself into thinking you are multitasking, you are decreasing your efficiency and ability to focus.
Multitasking is bad for our brains because it causes disruption and makes it difficult to filter out irrelevant information.
Multitasking can cause you to lose focus, be less productive, and make mistakes.
If you are not among the 2% to 2.5% of the population, why not focus on one task at a time?
It is beneficial to both your brain and your work. You can complete your work more efficiently and effectively.
Make a list of the tasks you need to complete each day and begin working on them in order of priority. Finish one task before beginning another.
Further Reading: How To Stop Multitasking And Become More Focused
19- Smile
When you’re happy, you tend to smile. However, it is a two-way street.
We smile because we are happy, and smiling causes the brain to release dopamine, making us even happier.
While not wholly conclusive, researchers discovered that the link between smiling and happiness could be attributed to the “facial feedback hypothesis,” which states that facial expressions may have a minor influence on emotions.
That doesn’t mean you have to walk around with a phony smile on your face all the time. But the next time you’re feeling down, try smiling and see what happens.
Alternatively, try starting each day by smiling at yourself in the mirror.
20- Try not to compare yourself to others.
It’s easy to compare yourself to others, whether it’s on social media, at work, or even in a yoga class. The end result?
You may feel more dissatisfied, have lower self-esteem, and even suffer from depression and anxiety.
It takes practice to stop comparing yourself to others, but it’s well worth it for the sake of inner peace and happiness.
Start with some of the other suggestions on this list, such as deep breathing and journaling, to help draw your attention inward to yourself. You could also talk to a therapist for some perspective.
