10 simple healthy habits that will change your life
“We are what we repeatedly do therefore excellence is not an act but a habit.”
Today we’re diving in to one of my favouriteeee topics: building habits.
These 10 simple healthy habits that will change your life are a few of my favourite habits that I’ve implemented into my daily routine that have had a huge impact on my energy, mindset, and health.
1. Make your bed in the morning
I picked up this habit from Tim Ferris after reading his book the 4 hour work week. It might not seem like much, but making your bed in the morning can give you a small sense of accomplishment and set you up for the rest of the day. This simple task can also kickstart a chain of other good decisions during your day. So make your bed friends!
2. Develop a morning routine
This can look different for everyone. Maybe for you it’s practicing yoga every morning, maybe it’s journaling while enjoying a cup of coffee, or maybe it’s carving out time to sit down and enjoy breakfast with your family.
Whatever it is creating a morning routine will give you time for yourself to ease into the day with the right momentum and energy. This also may be the only time for the rest of the day you can have a bit of solitude, so enjoy it!
3. Schedule time for exercise
With our busy schedules it can be easy to skip out on that workout you were considering doing after work. Rather than planning to exercise when you “have the time,” schedule your workouts into the calendar.
Exercise is SO important for a healthy body and brain, especially if you spend most of your day sitting at a desk. Not only will giving yourself the time to exercise help you stay more focused during your workday, but it will also help improve your sleep, energy and stress levels. (I like to schedule time for exercise in my morning routine.)
4. Drink more water
PLEASE! Most people do not drink enough, yet water is SO important for our mood, immune system and overall health. Staying hydrated with plenty of water (not sugary sodas, water.) will have a huge positive impact on how you feel.
Drink a full glass of water first thing in the morning to rehydrate, and keep a reusable water bottle by your desk to drink throughout the day. Feeling bored by water? Jazz it up by adding some lemon or orange slices, fresh mint or cucumber!
5. Start a meditation practice
Don’t shy away, I know meditation can sound a bit intimating, but spending at least a few minutes each day to sit, breath and be still can have a hugely positive impact in your life.
We live in a world where we are constantly stressed and activating stress hormones in our bodies, which can have a negative impact on our health. Taking the time to breathe and meditate helps you de-stress and signals to your body that you’re safe.
If you’re new to meditation, start with just 1-minute of deep breathing everyday, or a try a guided meditation app like headspace.
6. Keep your space tidy
A tidy space=a tidy mind. Keeping your space clean and organized will leave your mind in a calmer state. Keeping your space tidy also makes it easy to know what resources you have, and helps to save you time in the long run. (no more searching endlessly for that notebook you know you put somewhere!)
7. Express gratitude
You can express gratitude by saying what you’re grateful for out loud or writing it down in a journal. (I like the 5-minute journal) Expressing gratitude has been shown to change your brain chemistry to focus more on the positive things in your life, become more mindful, and be more giving to others.
8. Use visualization
I recently started implementing this habit in my daily routine after watching a documentary on Food Matters TV. When you visualize a future situation, your mind will record it. (Basically, we can trick our brain into thinking the situation already “happened.” Cool, right?)
Now I’m not saying if you visualize yourself riding a unicorn on mars that it’s gonna happen for
9. Get a daily dose of nature
Feeling stressed and anxious? GO OUTSIDE. (but like, real outside…not walking around in Times Square.)
Spending time in nature can instantly restore your energy and lower stress. There is nothing more peaceful and natural than spending time surrounded by trees and soaking in a bit of sunlight.
I work this into my morning routine and take my dog for a walk in the forest path each morning before starting my day.
10. Make time for downtime
Life can be busy, trust me I know. But as the saying goes we were’t put on this earth just to pay bills and die. So remember to carve out some time for yourself to do the things that bring you joy.
Make time for brunch dates with friends, a hike in the mountains, or that trip to Thailand you’ve been wanting to take. Give yourself permission to enjoy life.
Your turn!
I’d love to see you implement some of these habits (if you aren’t already) into your daily routine! Are there any other additional healthy habits you love? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello Jess,
I love your article, you always provide valu for your readers.
I pretty much have a similar routine. But one extra habit I recently added, I listen to Hoʻoponopono, it’s a Hawaiian problem solving process you can find it on YouTube.
Hi Julia, that sounds really interesting I’ll definitely check it out! 🙂
In the morning I like to open the blinds and crack the window open, to hear the outside and to breath with one hand on my heart and the other on my stomach. This way my mind focuses on gratitude and just being.
When I’m overwhelmed I like to practice the tree pose, keeping my hands as branches and moving them to the left, to the right, visualizing I’m just a tree dancing in the wind. Then I just need to close my eyes for 7 sec. It gets super hard to mantain balance, so you only focuse on your balance.
I also like to visualize whenever I’m taking a shower that the water is washing away my worries, the low energy accumulated from the day and getting charged with a new one like a battery.
Hi Mika, Thank you so much for sharing! I LOVE all these amazing habits! I think I will try to implement them myself 🙂
Hi Jess 🙂 For me is pretty similar to your healthy habits. But sometimes is difficult to stick to them on a regular basis. How do you do it on difficult times? When you are busier than normal or just on a down moment?
Lots of love from Berlin!
Hi Marta! I absolutely find it difficult to stick to sometimes. There are times where I’ll fall out of my routine but what is important is to just get back to them when you can without judgement. It also helps to pick 2-3 things on the list to make “non negotiable” that you will do every day and then once they become a natural habit you can work on some other habits to build!
I live in a basement apt so i do not get a lot of natural light. One of the first things I do when I wake up is I open my blinds. I also like cracking the window open if it is raining and listen to the pitter patter of rain. For relaxation i visualize a safe place in my mind. Mine has a waterfall and a beautiful garden.a very peaceful visualization i take with me anywhere and during stressful times i bring up that safe space to help relax.
Final thing, at night when I am winding down, i like to turn off my lights and instead put on dim lamps so my brain knows it is time to prep for sleep. I also take candle lit showers at night. I get all of my products lined up where i need them and turn off the lights and away i go. I find the harsh bright light of a regular bulb too bright and wakes me up which is no good for bed time. 🙂
Hi Jess! Thank you so much for sharing! I love the idea of cracking open a window to listen to the rain-definitely one of the most relaxing sounds!! A candlelight shower sounds so relaxing in the evening, I’ll absolutely have to try that!