Inside: Working on these types of habits will have a dramatic impact on your life and well-being.
Many of us are on a quest for self-improvement. We want to improve our mental well-being, our physical state, and our productivity – but we continually put off the things we need to do to make those goals a reality.
By incorporating certain types of habits into our lives, we can make a dramatic difference in our ability to achieve those goals.
Habits effectively automate our lives in a positive way and take the effort out of performing a task; when something is a habit, it’s virtually automatic.
But what types of habits will really make a difference?
While each one of us has different goals and ambitions, there are some common threads that tie us all together – and some types of habits that can radically change virtually all of our lives.
Types of Habits You Should Implement Now to Transform Your Life
Not sure what types of habits can benefit you? There are a few different types of habits that can have a tremendous impact on your life.
Those types of habits include…
1. Productivity Habits
One of the types of habits you can incorporate into your routine that’ll radically change your life are habits related to productivity. If you want to accomplish more, make progress toward your goals, and make better use of your time, developing productivity habits will help.
By cultivating habits that can help you be more productive, you’ll be able to achieve more than ever. And since habits become easier to carry through every time you practice them, before long, you’ll find yourself crushing your goals and getting things done on autopilot.
Examples of productivity habits include:
Implementing the one-minute rule.
If something is going to take you one minute or less to do, go ahead and get it out of the way – don’t procrastinate and put it off until later. Knocking quick tasks off your to-do list is a great way to build momentum throughout your day.
Set goals/priorities each day.
When you wake up, write down three things you absolutely must accomplish during the day – and make those three tasks a priority. By getting into the habit of setting goals and achieving them, you’ll build the momentum you need to aim higher and reach farther.
Review the week and plan ahead.
Set aside a specific day each week to reflect on the prior week and plan for the coming week. Organizing your thoughts and getting into the right mindset will have a big impact on how smoothly your week goes.
2. Growth Habits
When it comes to the types of habits that can benefit you in a big way, growth habits are another great option. Growth habits are all about helping you develop and learn. We should all be on a journey of constant improvement. By keeping our minds active and challenged, we’ll all be better off.
Some growth habits you can incorporate into your routine include:
Learn something new.
Whether it’s an interesting fact or something related to a career or a personal passion, there’s no shortage of things to learn. And thanks to YouTube, podcasts, and books it’s easier than ever to find helpful content on a variety of topics.
Spend five minutes using the Duolingo app.
Want to learn French, Spanish, or pretty much any other language under the sun? Duolingo is a free app that can help make it happen. Commit to spending five minutes each day practicing and you’ll be surprised to see how much progress you make.
Read five pages/one chapter of a book.
Depending on how much time you have, and how much you enjoy reading, challenge yourself to achieve a reading goal every day. It doesn’t matter what you’re reading – you’ll benefit from building a reading habit in a big way.
3. Health Habits
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The overwhelming majority of us have already mastered a few health habits. Brushing your teeth each morning, taking a multivitamin, washing your hands after you use the bathroom – those are all great examples of habits that have become automatic for many of us.
By incorporating habits into your routine that support your health, you can take some of the stress out of staying on top of your well-being – and make your annual physical a little less intimidating.
A few health habits you can try include:
Drinking at least eight glasses of water.
Staying hydrated is critical for our health, but many rely on anything but water to satisfy their thirst throughout the day. By prioritizing water instead of endless iced coffees or diet sodas, you might just be surprised to see how much better you feel.
Take a walk.
Walking is a great way to lose weight, maintain cardiovascular fitness, enjoy some fresh air, and burn off some energy. Put on a podcast or well-loved playlist, lace up your shoes, and take a stroll around your neighborhood. It’s a great way to start your day or decompress at the end of the day.
Recently, I purchased a walking treadmill to help me get more steps in regardless of the weather. I use it with a standing desk and it’s helped encourage me to exercise more often.
Go to bed by a certain time each night.
If you aren’t regularly getting 8 hours of sleep each night, establishing a specific bedtime is an easy way to change that. Creating a great evening routine can help you to sleep better so you wake up feeling better prepared to take on the day.
4. Social Habits
With all of life’s distractions keeping in touch with friends and finding time to socialize can be a real challenge. However, our social bonds are critical to our health and well-being – and it’s important to make them a priority.
An easy way to do that? Incorporate a habit or two into your life that focuses on strengthening those connections.
Some social habits you can try include:
Call an old friend to catch up.
To be a more intentional friend, work on strengthening your relationships. A great way to do that is by giving a friend a call. Life can get busy and it’s easy to take people for granted. Being purposeful in contacting friends to catch up will help to deepen your relationships.
Establish a regular outing with friends.
Whether your friend group meets up at the local pub for trivia every Tuesday night, grabs brunch together on Saturday mornings, or plans a monthly get-together hosted at someone’s house, making it a habit will make it more difficult for plans to fall through.
Check in with one friend a day.
If you have a wide social circle and can’t possibly keep in touch with everyone on a regular basis, try just sending one text a day. Pick a number from your phone and reach out to see how they’re doing. You’ll brighten their day – and yours, too.
5. Self-Care Habits
Taking care of our mental well-being is just as important as maintaining our physical health, but many of us put it on the back burner as we juggle the seemingly endless list of tasks on our to-do lists.
By making self-care a habit, you create space to pause and intentionally spend your time on something that can benefit you in a surprisingly meaningful way.
A few great self-care habits you can incorporate into your routine include:
Practicing gratitude.
It can be easy to lose sight of all of the blessings in our lives when we get overwhelmed. By making practicing gratitude a habit and simply acknowledging three things you’re grateful for each day as you enjoy your morning coffee or tea, you’ll lift your spirits and shift your mood in a positive direction.
Journal.
Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you process big changes, capture important memories, and more. Even if you’re only writing a small paragraph today, it can – and will – add up over time. Starting a journal will also give you a written record you can look back on later and see the progress you’ve made.
Learn to say no.
Many of us stretch ourselves thin because we can’t stand the thought of letting others down. By making saying “no” a habit to protect your schedule, it’ll become easier to set appropriate boundaries and preserve your well-being.
6. Purposeful Habits
Creating intentional resolutions in your life keeps your why front and center. It’s important to create goals and habits that are meaningful to you. Getting really clear on what matters most will help you to form habits that support them.
Reflecting on your beliefs and how they impact your life can be a transformational practice. Here are some habits that will help you to be more purposeful.
Read & Reflect.
Spending time reading and reflecting on what you’ve read can bring clarity to your purpose. Reading not only helps you to gain knowledge but also allows you to explore other people’s points of view and can challenge your thoughts.
Meditate or Pray.
In a world that is often loud, distracting, and chaotic, make time for calm habits and stillness. Start a habit of meditating or praying for a few minutes each day. Initially, it may feel difficult to quiet your mind, but with practice, it will get easier. As you become more comfortable with it, you can extend the time.
Volunteer.
Think about the causes you care about and the needs in your community. Look for ways you can serve and give back. Not only will that help to fill a need, but you’re likely to feel happier when you make a positive difference in the world. Find ways to share some of your time to help other people.
What types of habits do you currently incorporate into your life? Comment and let me know!
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Recently I have been dog sitting for my daughter whose dog can only be alone for 5 hrs. at most. In my current job I often stay longer than my schedule 5 hrs. With my commute I can only work 4 hrs. and get back to care for the dog in time. Setting the 4 hr. boundary has relieved stress in my job-life, and I feel less unhappy. Now if I can keep saying no to extra tasks that keep me longer than I want to work I can see the health benefits.
Love it! I have the health habits of exercise walking and drinking water. I love Duolingo and I’m always learning for my blog and my other job. I have found the productivity tips like the one minute rule ready do change your life! And I make sure to have spiritual and creative habits too 🙂
In fact this is nice and productive for someone who is ready to change for great❤️!
Wow! This is very helpful. Thanks a lot.
Thank you! I enjoyed reading this.
very well said
Amen, enjoy this, very thankful
That’s really helpfull.
I drink a glass of lemon water with a dash of pink salt right after after I meditate for ten minutes. Then I do affirmations!
Beware of pink salt. It contains bromine and competes with iodine in thyroid receptor sites; blocking thyroid hormone from getting into cells.
I used pink salt for a decade and when testing my serum iodine it was 25 instead of 55. My bromine was 3.0 instead of <0.5. Nos my iodine is 57 and bromine 2.7- it’s so hard to get out of the body.
Thank you, I use the pink crystal salt. ugh guess that’s goin to the trash.
Bundle of thanks ❤️ For sharing a nice, helpful and productive information
Nice idea 🙏🏻
Very good. Surprisingly it looks like I’m in pretty good shape. I walk a lot but maybe I can be more mindful when I walk and use it Moreno de-stress than to just get to the bus stop. I try to remind myselfnto be grateful but doing it in the morning with coffee is a great idea. I was learning Spanish on duolingo but stopped. Time to get back to it. I read my angelscope everyday and search for recipes on Pinterest. I think after reading your article I could do it in a more organized and meaningful manner. Thank you!
My husband and I practice sharing with those who have needs. Whether it’s donating our time or money to help others, or it’s bringing in our neighbor’s trash cans, or picking up a grandchild from school, or bringing a dessert to a friend, we just do it. We find little things every day to make life more pleasant for another person or animal.
I love ❤️ what you are doing for others.
❤️ it.
Great. Small things to make others happy whether humans or animals bring great joy.
an article that is very helpful and informative. thank you
I really loved and enjoyed reading this very well- written and helpful article, which is coming straight out of the writer’s heart.
Most of these valuable tips are part and parcel of my daily and longer term routines, which really helped me a lot in bringing purpose and gains in my social, spiritual and material gains.
Looking forward to getting started with the right mindset. I always start sorting when I’m in a bad mood. Not very productive.
We have a 3 bedroom house and can only use 1 room! Things have got to change.
Maggie, you can do this! You owe it to yourself and fam to have peace in your home. Set a timer, maybe just do 5 min of cleaning, decluttering, whatever is holding you back. Life is very very short! Set yourself up for success!
Wow, Donna I feel like I’m in the same situation as Maggie. I’m so overwhelmed and frustrated. Like your words of encouragement, though. I’m Donna, too 🙂
I know only one habit if mine that is making me live for today in every situation that is “Giving and forgiving and move on”
I loved most of this article and I feel I need to improve on myself and it’s really hard to keep it as habit because it feels like work but I will try, especially self care, productivity and physical mostly. All in all, good article to help me and many.
waooo!
this has really changed my thinking
about me.
For sure, walking and drinking lots of water,makes me feel better.
however I am yet to deal with the social aspect of my life, interactions
Initially I thought to do list crowds ones head, but it doesn’t. it helps for better actualisation of one’s itinerary.
Thank you! 🙂
I appreciate yours thoughts on self improvement, not many people are doing this, we need it, keep your good work up and around. I am the founder of an organization CREATIVE MINORITY committed for improvement of common folks life in poor countries with the help of creative peoples of the same society,I am looking for like minded individuals, So bad thing about life is that it is not as good as we thought but good thing about life is it is not as bad as we thought
I enjoy reading your articles they give me something to think about everyday and and a new lease online I would like to hear more about the spiritual side I would love to know more on how to go about Reading love passages about the Bible to keep my day going have a great day
confirm my 2023 resolutions to a T.
3 months challenge at a time.
thank you, best to you!
Thank you, great article!
Read God’s word daily
Seek God while he may be found
He is the armour we need to navigate this world in turmoil
Jesus is coming soon
Are you ready?
Amen!
Great article! I really like the “one minute” if it needs to be done….do it. I started the habit of doing one thing at a time and my productivity has increased two fold. Small changes really make large differences.
With gratitude,
Sheldon F.
Hi ,this article is really helpful
One area of weakness for me is calling people. I dread to receive phone calls, and do not call others for fear of being an unwelcome intrusion in their lives.
Yes Dee I’m with you. Prayer and Bible reading a regular, vital part of my day. These help me to face every challenge. Also so important to keep up with friends. I’m retired, so can and do spend ample time on visits and phone calls .
hello, I have similar feelings that I been dealing with. I’m curious if it is related to aging?
I’ve tried leaving a text message giving a time I hope to call
I would only add developing a “mindfulness meditation practice “. For years, I read, but ignored the scientific & clinical scholarly articles on this practice . I now practice meditating 10-15 minutes a day, usually in the morning, before I plan my day. It clears my mind and helps me establish greater focus with my energy. A great article.
Great article. m
Many points were reminders.
I have a list of family and friends that I send some sort of emoji or GIF to daily just to let them know I am thinking about them. They seem to enjoy it and sometimes send one to me. 🙂
As i plan on my year 2023…i bump on to this and feel that i hit a gold mine. This i have to try. All the five are super!
Thank you great article !! help me setup my own way to get my life better .
My self-care is rather negative–I won’t add any more evening activities. Choir rehearsal and a meal or two shared with friends is about all I can handle per week. It may seem selfish to other people to keep getting ‘no’ as my answer, but there are many other candidates for these volunteer opportunities. Of course, this rule can be bent for emergencies.–Anne
Thanks for this. I have various things that I want to make – or have made – into habits, but I never put them into these categories. This helps me think about them in a different way.
This is a nice & simple list. I greatly appreciate the read. I homeschool one of my children, I am going to work with these ideas for my child and I to both incorporate in our daily life. He already has great pride on his 100th some days of consistency with Duolingo. I have a bit catching up to do!
This is very inspiring. Great article indeed. Habits to improve our well-being. This is awesome made alot of sense to me. Thanks
Thank you for it <3
It's a really productive article.
My name is Aldana and I read your blog from Argentina.
Bless
I love this! I actually wrote down the list so I can refer back to it if I need to. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it! Take care. Julie