Humans are creatures of habit and routine. In other words, we like to be consistent with how we do things. The problem is, sometimes we can consistently do something that is actually harmful to the quality of life we pursue. One way to fix that is to unlearn the bad daily habits we’ve already learned. But that can be hard and time-consuming. Instead, developing new healthy daily habits might be a better fit. If you feel like your life needs a serious upgrade, consider incorporating the following habits into your daily routine!
DON’T SLEEP IN
Rise and shine! Waking up early can do wonders for both your mind and your body. Not only do early risers experience empirically fewer problems with their heart or immune system, but they are also less likely to suffer from depression or chronic anxiety. What’s more, if you wake up early, you will have more time before school or work to get stuff done. The laundry isn’t gonna do itself, is it?
If you’re naturally a night owl, setting your alarm clock to, say, 6:00 a.m. might be a bit, well, challenging. If you want to improve your quality of life though, you might just have to try it.
DRINK MORE WATER
We are lucky to live in a western, developed country with easy access to clean, sanitary water. For some reason though, most people don’t drink enough of it. This happens to be the root cause of many skin problems, and it can also lead to general fatigue, headaches, nausea, or even obesity. Have you heard of kidney stones?
Thankfully, there is an easy way to address this pesky little problem: just drink more water. You don’t have to adjust your entire diet for this; instead, all you have to do is force yourself to drink 1 full glass of water in the morning and 1 full glass of water before bed. Hardly a hassle, right? At first it might be an act you’re consciously aware of, but soon enough you’ll be ditching good-old soda for water.
SAVE MONEY
Money can’t buy happiness… or can it? Our lives revolve around the “M” word, whether we like it or not. Our financial situation can influence our mood and even our physical health. So, if you develop a daily habit of saving money, you can make your life more enjoyable.
There are many ways to go about this, but the simplest is to start monitoring how much money you spend and what you spend it on. This alone will make you more conscious of your finances. For more ways to save money, check out our article here.
I’m not saying you have to give up on all the pleasures in life. Even a small daily sacrifice can help you a bunch in the long term. Imagine you decide to spend $5 less every day than you usually do. After just 3 months, you’ll have saved $450! And this is money that can eventually fund your travel plans, a savings account, a long-term investment, an entrepreneurial endeavor..
EXERCISE
Physical activity is often a cure-all. It protects against heart problems, obesity, anxiety, depression, and all kinds of other ailments. Unfortunately, it can be taxing and time-consuming. It’s also difficult to stay motivated for a long time, so lots of people give up before they’re able to see any positive results.
That’s why it’s so important to make exercising a daily habit. Remember, you don’t have to become Buffster McBugfington overnight. If all you want is to improve your quality of life, light but regular exercises will more than do the trick.
Pick a specific time during the day (for example, early mornings!) and devote it to some kind of physical activity. Hopefully, at some point, regular exercise will become one of your daily habits and a natural part of your daily cycle.
KEEP A DIARY
We all have our personal worries, things that we keep to ourselves. But wouldn’t it be good to be able to vent sometimes? To be able to get all of our emotions “out there” without actually revealing them to the entire world? Well, welcome to the world of diaries. Putting your thought on a piece of paper can help you organize your thoughts and emotions. As such, it can help you avoid a lot of unnecessary stress. Does your coworker keep annoying you? Well, grab a notebook and list all the stuff that makes your blood boil about him or her. This can help you calm down, and, who knows, it might even help the two of you make up.
This is just one of many examples of what you can put in a diary. The point is, don’t feel afraid to just write. Also, make sure you do it regularly (every day or once per week, for example). That way, taking out your diary will become a daily habit and you won’t even need to remind yourself to do it. Now, go and write like you’re Edgar Allan Poe!
READ A BOOK
With all the technology around us, we sometimes forget that books even exist. But they do exist, and they’re just as fascinating as ever. Sure, Netflix might be fun, but it does all the dirty work for you. It leaves nothing to your imagination. When you read books, on the other hand, you can picture the characters and the places yourself. You can even “adjust” some things to your liking. Say you want to make Ron from Harry Potter a tall and muscular brunet. You can just do it! I mean, who’s gonna stop you?
Ok, now that books are officially back in fashion, let’s talk about how you can make reading books a daily habit. It’s actually much simpler than you might assume. For starters, try setting yourself the goal of reading 3 pages a day. Not the end of the world, right? If you don’t end up enjoying it, or you’re always asleep before you’re done, then so be it. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. But if you do find it a nice change of pace, reading a few pages, say, before bed will become an inseparable part of your day.
