Simple Habits that will make your life easier…
What can I say.. I LOVE habits. I used to be the kind of person that never followed through with myself. Meaning, I set lofty goals, made new years resolutions, but never seemed to actually DO the work.
I couldn’t figure it out, I had always been a hardworking person, and when it came to keeping promises or commitments to others, there was never an issue.
So, I started to read, to talk to people, and I realized that what I needed wasn’t more “motivation” or a “better work ethic.” The key was starting with ONE good habit, and building from there, continuing the chain of simple habits.
You see, the people that you admire aren’t always people that always wake up motivated, excited, or ready to tackle a long to list. What they’ve done is built EXCELLENT habits into their lives.
When we do things out of habit it’s so much easier than “forcing” ourselves to workout or make the hard phone call, or sign up for the class.
Now, let’s talk about 5 specific habits that we all need.
1. Exercise
Whether you love it or hate it, we all know that exercise is important. And for those who don’t LOVE it, you MUST make this a habit.
It will make your life a million times easier. A slight exaggeration perhaps, but not by much. When I talk to people, exercise often comes up as something that people really dread. But, once it’s a habit you take out a lot of the questioning, second guessing, and debating whether you should go for that run today or tomorrow.
For example, here is what my weekly exercise routine looks like.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday: Yoga + Long Walk
Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday: Weights + Short Walk
Saturday: Rest + Walk
Having this routine in place has helped me immensely! I used to spend so much time thinking about what workout I should do, what time, what day, and having this as a habit has taken away all of the senseless worrying.
Tip: If you don’t exercise at all, then just start with one exercise, one day a week. For example, “On Monday’s I will go to the gym and run on the treadmill for 25 minutes after work.”
Start simple.
Accountability is great too! I don’t LOVE doing weights but my husband and I do it together so we can hold each other accountable.
2. Laundry
When I went to college, I started a habit of doing my laundry on Friday’s after I finished my classes for the day. Today, it’s over a decade since I started college…but I’m still doing laundry on Friday’s. I’ve rotated between Friday and Saturday, but I always seem to come back to Friday afternoon/early evening.
It just seems to work for me.
Laundry should not be stressful. So, if you don’t have a specific day or time for doing laundry, give it a try. Having a specific day and time is key, because when your brain knows that there is a specific time for it to be done, you won’t be worrying or thinking about it at other times.
If you have a big family, maybe do one load a day, at the same time.
Or, if you don’t have as much, just choose 1 specific day, like I do.
3. Reading + Learning
If you’re reading this blog post then I imagine that you’re someone who likes to read, learn, and grow. If that’s true, maybe you like to read, but don’t do it as often as you would like.
Reading is one of the things that I prioritize above almost all other hobbies…and so people are often curious how I am able to read so much.
The short answer is…it’s just a habit.
It would be easier to read than it would be to go a day without reading because it is so much a part of my day.
First, find a time that works for you. Maybe it’s reading for a few minutes first thing in the morning. Or, listening to an audiobook during your commute or over your lunch break.
I personally love reading right before bed. I usually try to read for at least 10-30 minutes, sometimes it’s more, sometimes less, but it always happens.
Like I said before, start small. Start with a page a day, or 5 minutes a day, and keep going until it becomes a habit.
You’ll be amazed how much you can read over the course of a month or even year!
4. Meal Plan + Prep
Having specific habits and routines for food, planning, and prep can make your life so much easier.
If you don’t have habits in this area, try choosing a specific day for each of these activities:
- Meal Planning
- Grocery Shopping
- Meal Prepping
This is what my current schedule looks like. I do my meal planning for the following week on Thursday. This is where I write out what we’ll be having for each meal and what food or ingredients we need to buy to make it.
Then, we do our grocery shopping on Friday evening.
Meal prepping usually happens on Sunday. It helps to cook your most time intensive dinners on Sunday, and then make enough to have leftovers for at least one other meal. By doing this, you’ll cut down on the time spent cooking later on during the week.
5. Hobbies
Another problem that I often hear from readers is that they don’t have enough time for hobbies. Or, there are hobbies that they want to try but usually end up scrolling through social media or watching Netflix instead. If this is you, you can easily change this.
First, decide what hobby you want to focus on.
For me, I’m learning Mandarin so one of my habits is to schedule a 1 hour private class each week. My class isn’t always at the same time, but my habit is that as soon as my lesson ends, I go ahead and book the class for the following week.
Then, another habit is practicing during the week. I find that a hobby can be a good way to transition from work to free time. So, once I’ve finished my work for the day, I usually spend 15-30 minutes reviewing vocab or practicing what I’ve learned in class that particular week.
Whether you work in an office or at home, having a hobby or routine immediately after work can be a good way to make the transition from work to free time.
Takeaway: What is ONE habit that you can start today? Is it exercise, a hobby, meal planning, reading, laundry? Just start with one, and then add in another. Before long you’ll be living your best life, one habit at a time. 😀
