“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us” – John Dryden
Doing something every day is such a powerful way to form a habit that I thought I would share a list of 24 habits that are worth doing on a daily basis. Note: These are divided into morning, day and night although some could obviously be under different headings.
The Morning
1. Wake Early: I am a big fan of waking at 5am and spending time working on myself before going to work. I have written more about this habit
here.
2. Exercise: when I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week I found it was very easy to tell myself I will exercise tomorrow instead. Setting the expectation of daily exercise removed this as a potential excuse and I have since reaped the benefits of this daily habit.
3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals: each day I try to get closer to achieving my short, medium and long term goals. Starting the day by reviewing or rewriting my goals means that I have better awareness of them throughout the day. As Robin Sharma says:
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.
4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: in the morning a whole day of endless possibilities lies ahead. I motivate myself to play my best game by reading and listening to inspirational books/
audio books.
5. Visualise the Day Ahead: I like to take a few minutes to shut my eyes and visualise what I want happen in the coming day. It’s amazing how often my desires become reality when I do this.
6. Write a “To Do” list: I like to write out a list in my diary of the important tasks I need to do that day. As they are completed I put a line through them. So simple, yet so effective.
7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.
8. Take a Multivitamin: I try to eat a well balanced diet, but taking a multivitamin daily reassures me that I obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals that I need (**Update: see comments).
9. Tidy Up: a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and fuzzy thinking. I find it’s best to stay on top of things by tidying up each day.
10. Take Time to Look Good: it’s a reality of life that people judge us by our appearance. I take a few minutes each morning to ensure I go out into the world looking the best I can.
The Day
11. Put First Things First: Many people have their day controlled by tasks that are urgent , but not necessarily important. Examples include interruptions, some email and some phone calls. The habit of putting first things first is about organising and executing your life around your deepest priorities.
12. Connect with Nature: I find spending time outdoors in nature is great for my sense of wellbeing. I have written about this
here.
13. Blog: blogging makes me think and write – two things that I can’t get enough of each day. I have written more about the benefits of blogging here.
14. Snack Well: I substitute the chips, candy and chocolate with fruit, vegetables (carrots and celery are great to chomp on) and nuts.
15. Be Proactive: being proactive means showing initiative and taking the responsibility to make things happen. Whenever I want something to happen, I ask myself: what can I do to make this happen?
16. Ping a Friend: I try to send a quick email or text to a friend each day. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends when I am extremely busy.
17. Save: I save at least 10% of each paycheck. A great way to find the money to save is to break it down to a daily amount, for example $10-15. By taking account of the
Latte Factor I find it easy to save this much.
The Evening
18. Have Family Time: on a typical workday I won’t see much of my partner and son, so I believe it’s important to, at the very least,
be there most evenings. Family time is about
quantity and
quality.
19. Floss: This is essential to reduce tooth decay and gum disease. Why wouldn’t you want to have the best smile possible?
20. Wind Down: I try to switch off the computer and the TV about 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime and let my brain have some down time after a long day. I sleep far more peacefully when I do this.
21. Review My Day: I find this is a great way to hold myself to account for taking action throughout the day. Did I get closer to achieving my goals? Did I complete my to do list? Did my day go as planned? If not, why not?
22. Read: I love to read and do so continuously throughout the day. I find it is especially good to read just before to going to bed. Just makes sure it’s a relaxing book, and not one about nuclear physics (see habit #20).
23. Say I Love You to My Family Members: don’t just assume that your family members know you love them. I say these words to my partner and son at least once per day.
24. Go to Bed At A Reasonable Time: the first habit of this list (waking early) begins by going to bed at a reasonable time and getting a good nights sleep.
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