Micro habits are much more manageable. Who doesn’t have time to do just one pushup a day? Or two minutes of jumping jacks?
To help you out, I’ve put together this list of the best micro habits that you should practice. Build them up slowly into your routine, and soon enough you’ll notice small yet marked improvements in your life.
Micro Habits to Change Your Life
| # | Tip |
|---|---|
| Discover What Kind of Life You Want | |
| 1 | Define your goals. What do you want to achieve in life? What are your priorities? |
| 2 | Make a plan. Once you know what you want, figure out how to get there. |
| 3 | Take action. Start working towards your goals today. |
| 4 | Track your progress. Keep track of what you’re doing and how it’s going by writing things down. |
| 5 | Make a promise to yourself. Write out an oath in which you swear to act towards your goals and never give up. |
| Clear the Mental Obstacles in Your Path | |
| 6 | Get out of your own way. Don’t let fear stop you from starting and achieving your goals. |
| 7 | Be confident that you will accomplish what you set out to do. |
| 8 | Become aware of the excuses you tell yourself as a cover for procrastination and laziness. |
| 9 | Just do it! Don’t overthink things; just take the first step and keep going from there. |
| 10 | Stop comparing yourself to others and start living your own life. |
| Start Saying “Yes” More Often | |
| 11 | Say yes more often. When someone asks you to do something, say yes! |
| 12 | Take on new challenges. Remember, a new habit is much easier to keep than the one you’ve been working on for years. |
| 13 | Allow yourself to succeed at something new. |
| 14 | Learn from rejection and criticism by taking it in stride and listening to what other people have to say when you’re being tested or challenged in some way. |
| 15 | Don’t say no until you’ve thought about what it is that you’re saying no to. |
| Train Your Brain | |
| 16 | Think positively. Affirmations are great for repeating positive statements to yourself when you need a little cheering up or motivation. |
| 17 | Use visualization techniques to imagine yourself achieving your goals. |
| 18 | Solve your problems by first thinking about them before acting or speaking. |
| 19 | Challenge yourself to learn something new every day. |
| 20 | Take time for yourself to relax and recharge. |
| Start Eating Better | |
| 21 | Start eating better by planning your meals and thinking about how much you’re eating. |
| 22 | Limit high-calorie snacks like sugary candy bars, pastries, and potato chips to once a week or once every other day if you can’t resist them. |
| 23 | Make it easy for yourself by keeping healthy food around the house and at work. |
| 24 | Drink more water. It’s great for your skin, hair, and overall health. |
| 25 | Avoid eating late at night. |
| 26 | Try to eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods. |
| 27 | Eat breakfast every day to start your day off right. |
| 28 | Cut down on processed meats like beef, pork, and chicken. |
| Get Moving | |
| 29 | Get moving just a bit every day by taking walks or riding your bike to work. |
| 30 | Start with small goals that are easy for you to achieve, so you’ll have an easier time reaching the ones that follow. |
| 31 | Set yourself up for success by creating a “just right” exercise schedule. |
| 32 | Stay motivated with workout videos, music playlists, or podcasts that keep you energized and excited to move more. |
| 33 | Don’t sweat the small stuff; just do your best and don’t worry about it if you can’t do every rep or set of every exercise perfectly. |
| 34 | Make sure you’re lifting weights that are challenging for you. |
| 35 | Take a break when you need it, and don’t feel guilty about it. |
| 36 | Celebrate your accomplishments along the way, no matter how small they may seem. |
| Get Organized | |
| 37 | Declutter your space to get organized. |
| 38 | Stay on top of things by being tidy and cleaning up after yourself throughout the day. |
| 39 | Keep a schedule for yourself that lists things you need or want to do each day of the week, and mark them off when they’re done. |
| 40 | Get a planner, a calendar, or an app to keep track of your appointments, deadlines, and events. |
| 41 | Make a list of things you need to buy at the grocery store, so you don’t have to spend time thinking about it later. |
| 42 | Sort your clothes by color, type, or season to make getting dressed in the morning easier. |
| 43 | Create a “to-do” list at the end of each day that lists everything you accomplished. |
| 44 | Get rid of clutter to make your home more comfortable and functional. |
| 45 | Form good habits by following a routine that’s easy for you to stick to. |
| 46 | Organize your thoughts and ideas by writing them down in a journal or notebook. |
| 47 | Make it a habit to do one thing each day that helps you get closer to your goals. |
| 48 | Remove distractions from your environment so you can focus on the task at hand. |
| 49 | Use labels and folders to keep your paperwork sorted and organized. |
| 50 | Make your bed at the start of each day. You’ll be surprised the difference it makes. |
| 51 | Set aside time each day to deal with tasks that you’ve been procrastinating on. |
| Start Saving Money | |
| 52 | Stop wasting money on things you don’t need. |
| 53 | Create a budget so you can see exactly where your money is going each month. |
| 54 | Use cash instead of credit cards to limit your spending, especially if it’s not in the budget. |
| 55 | Give yourself an allowance for entertainment expenses each week or month to not overspend. |
| 56 | Make a goal to save a certain amount of money each month or year. |
| 57 | Sell things you don’t use or need anymore to make some extra cash. |
| 58 | Invest your money in a way that will help it grow over time. |
| 59 | Compare prices before you buy anything to ensure you’re getting a fair deal. |
| Build Stronger Relationships and Social Skills | |
| 60 | Make an effort to socialize with people you don’t know well. |
| 61 | Smile at people, even if you don’t know them. |
| 62 | Talk to strangers sometimes; it can be a great way to get to know new people and make new friends. |
| 63 | Offer to help someone out if they look like they’re struggling. |
| 64 | Take the time to listen to others and pay attention to what they’re saying. |
| 65 | Try to be more understanding and less judgmental. |
| 66 | Spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself. |
| 67 | Let go of relationships that are toxic or draining. |
| 68 | Apologize if you’ve hurt someone’s feelings or made a mistake. |
| 69 | Ask for what you want and need in your relationships without being demanding, entitled, or burdened. |
| 70 | Be conscious of what you say to other people so that they don’t feel put down or demeaned by you. |
| 71 | Make time to spend with the people you love. |
| 72 | Try to plan at least one fun outing each month with your friends or family. |
| 73 | Introduce yourself to the people around you instead of waiting for them to come to you. |
| Take Care of Your Tech | |
| 74 | Back up your computer files regularly, so you don’t lose important information if something happens to your device. |
| 75 | Delete programs and apps you don’t use anymore to free up your phone or computer space. |
| 76 | Keep your operating system and software up-to-date to protect yourself from security threats. |
| 77 | Turn off notifications, so you don’t get distracted by every buzz or ding that comes your way. |
| 78 | Find out how much data you’re using on your cell phone plan and reduce it if necessary to avoid overages. |
| 79 | Unsubscribe from emails that are cluttering up your inbox that you never read, especially spam. |
| 80 | Be aware of online scams and phishing attempts, and protect yourself by being skeptical of what you see on the web. |
- “Upon waking up, stay in bed and perform one to two minutes of meditation where you set your intention for the day to come,” suggests California meditation coach Josephine Atluri.
- Drink a cup of water before your morning coffee to stay healthy and hydrated.
- Make your bed when you wake up to launch your day with an immediate sense of accomplishment, per advice popularized by retired Navy four-star admiral William H. McRaven’s 2017 book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World
- Stretch for 15-30 seconds before you get dressed.
- Write for two minutes in the morning as you drink your coffee. Getting your thoughts down on paper is a proven way to ease your mind.
- Wake up with a “Maui Habit.” In BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits, the Stanford behavior scientist recommends starting days with positive, purposeful statements like “today is going to be a great day.” The small ritual has been proven to help change attitudes and behavior over time.
- Practice gratitude while you’re in the shower. “The shower is probably our last refuge from our devices,” Nawaz says. “So, as you shower, ask who or what am I grateful for today? As you step out of the shower at the beginning of each day, you’re already filling your cup.”
- Perform affirmations while brushing your teeth. Atluri suggests repeating five that you want to embody/strive for or remind yourself that you already are, such as I love my children exactly how they are, I trust my instincts, I am not my mistakes, or It’s okay to be happy.
- Vowing to get more sleep? Move your bedtime up by two minutes “Two minutes you can do,” Nawaz says.
- Charge your phone outside of your bedroom. If you use it as an alarm, buy a cheap analog alarm clock. If you read books on your iPad, get physical books from the library. Your phone is your greatest enemy when you’re winding down.
- Replace one unhealthy snack. Do you tend to have a handful of chips in the mid-afternoon? Vow to replace them with a handful of nuts or other more healthy option.
- Perform a 30-second wall squat while you brush your teeth.
- Want to cut out sugar? Instead of stirring in two teaspoons of sugar into your coffee or tea, stop at one and a half and plan to continue tapering off the sweetener each day or each week. The same incremental technique works for salt, too.
- Start each workday with five long and deep breaths to calm your mind and get ready for the day ahead.
- Read a paragraph of work-related literature every day. Professional writing can be dry and dense, so breaking it up into small, daily sprints makes you more likely to get through it.
- Have a big career advancement goal? Break it down into small pieces. “Strategic thinking starts with data gathering,” says Nawaz. “What kind of data might you gather? Can you spend three minutes a day?”
- Track your work victories. Whether you use the notes app on your phone or scribble it down on a piece of paper, keep tabs of times you had a good idea in a meeting, submitted work before the deadline, or just performed a task especially well.
- Perform 30 seconds of breathing exercises as you wait for your coffee to brew.
- Is there something giving you anxiety? As Emma McAdams, LMFT, explains in this video, a good tactic is to spend 30 seconds to a few minutes doing the activity or being around whatever it is that’s causing the worry to give your brain a chance to adapt to it.
- Spend at least two minutes a day outside in the sunlight.
- Replace one soda or sweetened drink with a glass of water.
- Take a quick at your bank accounts. Awareness of your finances is key to becoming more financially literate.
- Always put one thing away before you leave whatever room you’re in. If you’re overwhelmed by clutter, you feel like you don’t have time to clean but habitually chipping away at the mess, one piece at a time, can make it more manageable.
- Walk up and down a flight of stairs.
- Perform jumping jacks for two minutes.
- Add one more vegetable or fruit to your plate.
- Vow to walk around for two minutes every hour you sit at your desk.