There are plenty of large-scale issues you want to change in your life. You want a better job, more vacation time, a healthier diet, and so much more. But what if the real changes happen by altering small habits?
Both negative and positive habits can build up over time to create large consequences. If you can learn to stop the bad habits and produce better ones step by step, imagine the effects it will have!
Create Deadlines
The last thing you want to do is feel like you’re back in stressful college days when you’re cramming for a deadline. However, scheduling things–even small tasks–make a huge difference.
Google Calendar is definitely a favorite for this topic. Make your schedule fun by color coding and blocking off times for tasks, events, and reminders. By seeing a visual representation of your day, you will begin to feel more accomplished, organized, and rewarded.
Fix Your Posture
Your posture affects way more than your neck and back muscles. Having chronically bad posture can lead to a decline in organ health and even emotional health.
Focus on keeping your neck vertical, your back straight, your shoulders relaxed, and your center of gravity aligned with your feet. If you can put this into practice regularly, you will suffer much less physical and emotional stress over time.
Limit Social Media
Limiting your social media time is more than just limiting your presence. It’s important to set time limits if it becomes a bad habit, but it’s also vital to unfollow what doesn’t bring growth.
If your scrolling leads you to shame, discomfort, or any other regressive feeling- get rid of it! The unfollow button is there for a reason, so use it!
Social media should be an inspiring, connecting place, not a competitive one. You know your weaknesses best, so try to adjust your social media presence based on that.
Prioritize Sleep
It’s hard to let go of FOMO or that one extra episode of your favorite show before bed. However, taking little steps to better your sleep habits is vital.
The right amount of sleep helps your body and mind run smoothly. Prioritizing sleep is the easiest way to get back to a healthy lifestyle.
Start small by saying no to that extra episode, auto-playing YouTube videos, or Instagram scroll. A little self-control goes a long way!
Ask Deep Questions
Instead of asking people, “How are you?” just to hear them respond, “Good”, ask them something that will make them think. Ask them how they are doing physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Not only will this lead to a more interesting conversation, but it will also allow you to dig deeper into your relationships. By showing others that you care about how they are doing, you become someone they can trust. And boom! Incredible friendships are formed.
Practice Sitting in Silence
This may sound like one of the easiest small habits, but it’s actually quite difficult. Nowadays it’s so easy to distract yourself when you’re bored, upset, or avoiding things. The real strength is when you can learn to comfortably sit in silence over time.
If you can learn to be still, you can learn to appreciate so many things about life. This space that you open up will allow you to heal, observe, and live more than you have before. It’s not going to be comfortable at first, but starting this habit has major benefits in the long run.
Practice Appreciation & Gratitude
No matter how bad your day is, practicing appreciation and gratitude can benefit you greatly. Your mind searches to prove what you believe, so if you believe life is terrible…it is terrible. But if you actively look for beauty, your brain will rewire itself to naturally appreciate things over time.
These small habits are tiny but mighty when it comes to the grand scheme of things. Remember, nothing drastic happens over night. You have to take small steps every day to see a huge reward later on.
