What if we told you there are only five simple habits to implement into your daily routine to improve your life? You’ll find yourself feeling more productive, organized, stress-free, and will have higher energy levels.
Welcome to Snapreads! Today, we’re going to break down five simple daily habits you should track if you want to improve your life drastically.
Starting with the one habit that will make you see immediate results to habits that dramatically enhance your life in the long run, let’s get started!
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
⏱ 14 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Make Sleep a Priority
There is this ideal image that we have in our heads. We believe that sacrificing hours of sleep will impress our bosses and show off the people around us because those few extra hours let you get more work done.
When people think about which habits they need to implement more in their lives, they rarely prioritize sleep. But if you ever want to up the ante of your life and see guaranteed results, a good sleep schedule is beyond crucial.
When getting a good night’s sleep becomes a habit, you’ll find yourself experiencing lower levels of stress, you’re more focused, you’re able to concentrate more, and there have been studies that reveal sleep helps weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. And for the day ahead?
Your energy levels will be going through the roof! No more feeling drowsy, exhausted, and forever have the looming temptation of wanting to go back to sleep.
Eight hours of sleep is said to be the ideal amount, but every person and their internal clocks are unique. Try to go for seven hours of sleep and take note if you feel more productive and energetic. If you don’t like the results, go for seven and a half hours, and do this until you find the healthy amount of sleep that powers you through the day.
This is what happens when your body gets the sleep it needs: Your immune cells are getting enough rest to fight off colds or the flu. While sleeping eight full hours isn’t going to make you lose weight, it can keep you from gaining weight.
When you’re not getting enough sleep, this hormone called ghrelin’s production increases, known as the “hunger hormone” that boosts your appetite. And another hormone by the name of leptin, which is responsible for telling you that you’re full, is produced less.
So imagine that: less leptin and more ghrelin are the recipes for late-night snacking and binge eating.
Learn Something New Every Day
If you’re looking to change your life dramatically, then this step has the most immediate effects. Learning something new every day becomes a habit when you mark it into your schedule that you’re going to set some time aside to read and gain knowledge.
This new hobby will be an amazing stress reliever that can help you break out of your typical behavior pattern as it gives you something else to think about other than your current problems.
And when you’re confident in your newfound knowledge and all the cool, little facts that you picked up, you’ll feel more confident and trust more in your ability to tackle tasks.
The benefits your mental health reaps from this are wild. Just the act of setting goals and achieving, even something as simple as learning a new word, has a positive impact on your mental and emotional well-being.
Then there’s the social part of it. When you’re learning a new thing every day, not only is this a great conversation starter but because learning is such a social activity, you’ll be connecting with other people.
And then it comes down to being selfish. In this particular part of your routine, you want to be selfish! This is the perfect excuse to have some time for yourself, but we’ll touch more on that in the next points!
So whether it’s in the form of reading a book, a blog, watching a useful and entertaining video, or listening to audiobooks or podcasts, by continually learning things, you’re broadening your horizons.
You are finding motivation where you never encountered it before, increasing your creativity, and seeing all these new ideas coming out of nowhere!
Indulge in “Me Time” Away from Social Media
Social media has taken up so much room in our lives that we don’t realize how loud and imposing it is until we let go of it. Suppose the average person has five social media accounts and spends about two hours every day scrolling through social media.
In that case, it shows how much we need to implement a social media detox. Every day, for just a few hours, separate yourself from your phone, laptop, and tablet, and reconnect with the world around you by doing activities you love.
Consider this your “me time,” the time you’re carving for your mental health to unwind, for your self-esteem to grow and thrive, and to declutter your mental stress. The more time you spend on social media, the more likely you are to develop depression.
Make it at least so that you have a moment for yourself every day. Crank up the music, take a bubble bath, cook a comforting meal, go back to practicing that hobby you love, whatever makes you happy!
Activities that create a feeling of relaxation, comfort, and fun provide an effortless source of endorphins releases than during other forms of exercise.
And if you decide to take up something like dancing and listening to music, you’re giving your brain ammo to boost creative thinking and cognitive function.
And you know what a social media detox will do? Instead of constantly comparing yourself to others’ seemingly picturesque lives, it will allow you to be more appreciative of the amazing things you have.
It’s easy to look at and admire celebrities and influencers’ lives online and forget how fortunate we are. This gratitude practice is a sure way to create positivity in your life and improve your mental and physical health.
Related: How to Gain Clarity In the Noisy World World We Live In
Find Ways to Eat More Greens
Want to lower your mortality risk and increase your vitamin intake? Then find a way to eat more greens into your diet throughout your day. And if you’re not open to munch on raw spinach, broccoli or kale, then add it to your eggs or pasta to still reap all the vitamins, minerals, and secondary compounds that you’re missing out in your diet.
What’s so amazing about green vegetables is that they’re almost always low in calories, so you can indulge as much as you want without being concerned about putting on any extra weight.
A fun way to add various healthy alternatives into your diet is to make small gradual changes. So if you’re eating foods and snacks that are high in calories but are low on their health benefits, switch to using healthy oils for cooking them, such as avocado and olive oil.
And instead of sugary options, experiment with natural sweeteners such as fruit or honey.
What will this do? Healthy greens are fuel for your body. They’ll increase your productivity, improve your mood, and give you more energy. Suppose you make it a habit to add vegetables to your diet regularly.
In that case, you’re letting in vitamin K, Magnesium, Calcium, B vitamins, and all sorts of essential nutrients that will make you feel full for half the calories! One extra serving of greens per day– just one– can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by a whopping 11%.
It can be challenging to modify your diet, especially if you’re concerned with adding other new habits into your routine on your quest to improve your day’s quality, but taking care of your body should always be a priority.
So instead of an after-dinner dessert, mix up a healthy smoothie or even have a bowl of oats with fruits to satisfy sweet-tooth.
Prepare for the Next Day
Do you know the consequence of a good daily habit that improves your life? The next day becomes so much easier.
So make it a habit to get your things ready for the next day the night before. Not only will this boost your productivity, but you’re also earning extra time for yourself by reducing stress and potentially making mistakes.
Preparing for the next day can be anything from not procrastinating your tasks and leaving them be tomorrow’s problem to setting out an outfit for the next day or packing your lunch the night before to save time.
The truth is no one is a good decision-maker in the morning, especially when they’re stumbling out of bed and looking for their keys before they’re late for work.
By getting on top of things and gathering everything you need, such as wallet, purse, keys, laptop, lunch, and personal items, you’re leaving less room for error.
If you want to “win” this daily habit game, then make an organized to-do list the night before so that you’ll hit the ground running when you wake up the next day.
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