Hey there! Today I am talking about the 6 simple habits that have improved my life! Recently, I have been reflecting on a lot of changes in my life and how these changes have affected myself and those around me. Many things in my life have recently changed. My passions, my career choices, my goals, and my aspirations have all changed within the past couple of months.
Therefore, I have become more aware of what habits that are currently aligning with the person that I am striving to become, and the habits that are no longer suitable and or taking me in the directions of my goals. Of course, as time goes on habits will change and new ones will be added. But, these 6 habits are ones that have positively stuck with me as the years have gone on! They have changed my life for the better, and they keep me on the right path to furthering and developing my hopes and aspirations.
6 Powerful Habits That Have Positively Improved My Life
1. Sunday planning
Planning:
This has always been a big one for me! I absolutely love to sit down every Sunday evening and plan out my week ahead. I sit at my desk, with some tea or some healthy, collagen hot chocolate (recipe here!) and I plan out my weekly schedule, goals, daily tasks, and to-do lists. I even plan out my meals for the week ahead as well!
Planning my week is so critical to me because it gets me motivated, prepared, and, honestly, excited for the week ahead.
I first write down the tasks that are a higher priority, like work, school, preplanned events, etc. I then schedule in smaller projects that I want to work on around the bigger tasks that I already have written and set in stone. This ensures that I am giving myself enough time and preparation to complete the tasks that are the most vital and important to me! Without doing this, I am less likely to accomplish as much as I wanted to get done for the week ahead.
Revisions:
Another thing I love to do is look back a the previous week and see what worked the best for me! And, of course, what did not work the best. That way I can plan accordingly this new week, and come up with a better system and plan of action.
It wasn’t until I began implementing these weekly reviews and weekly planning habits that I saw my productivity levels begin to skyrocket! If you feel stuck, unmotivated, overwhelmed, or in a plateau, I highly suggest adopting Sunday planning and revisions as one of your habits!
2. Organizing and decluttering
When it comes to organizing and decluttering my life, I tend to start small and then focus on bigger items and things that I want to get rid of. Clutter is something that drives me crazy! And in my house, I feel that everything needs to have a spot and place where it belongs.
Each week, I always begin with workspace and my bedroom. I am constantly cleaning out my desk drawers and throwing away or recycling everything that I no longer use or need. I started donating my unwanted or unused clothes, throwing out makeup and hair products and even getting rid of decor items that I no longer wish to have around my bedroom and around my house.
Creating this habit is not easy, I understand that a lot of people struggle with letting items go and getting rid of things they don’t need or necessarily want anymore. But, I’ll have you know, decluttering and organizing my workspace has allowed me to declutter and organize my mind and thoughts as well. I work 10x better in a clean and tidy area compared to a workspace that is crowded and just a complete unorganized mess.
Once you begin developing the habit of decluttering the spaces around you, you begin to apply that same mindset to everything around you!
Your daily schedule becomes less hectic and filled up tedious tasks and jobs and your to-do list becomes more precise and focused, rather than being filled up by every little thing that you could think of to plan out your day. My tip is, begin with the physical items. The papers on your desk, the clothes on your floor, the scary desk drawers that you haven’t looked at in months. See how you are progressing from the smaller things, and go from there!
3. Waking up earlier
There is something about waking up before anybody else in my household that is so calming and peaceful! I have been an early riser (between 4 and 5 am) since high school! Crazy I know, but mornings have always been the most productive yet relaxing time for me. I love the fact that I can get so much done before the day even officially begins for most people around me. Typically, I get my workout in first thing in the morning. After that, I dive into working on my to-do list and planned tasks at full speed!
I have a block of time, between 6 am and 10 am, where I work on my bigger assignments and projects. Such as blog posts, editing, email writing, and school assignments. Then, by 10 am I am either finished or nearly finished, and I have the entire day to focus on other things besides work!
Waking up earlier has led me to have more structured, focused and productive days than ever before!
If you often struggle with waking up early, I find the best thing to do is to reevaluate the way that you are spending your time in the morning and begin your day with something that you enjoy! It could be walking, meditating, reading, working, or whatever brings you joy!
On the other hand, if you are most productive at night and prefer later evenings compared to early mornings, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Waking up earlier just works for me and keeps me focused and organized throughout the day! ☀️It has greatly improved my life for the better, so if it’s something that you can see your self liking and thriving with, then I highly suggest just trying it out for a couple of days!
4. Exercising once a day
Moving my body every single day has become such a positive habit that has improved my life for the better! Over the years, I would follow set plans that were given to me by numerous trainers. But lately, I have found what works for me and what does not. I no longer do the exercises that I dread to do. Why put in minimal effort on the exercises that you hate when you could put in 100% effort doing the exercises that you know you love?!
After realizing that, I no longer have a specific shape in mind or a way that I want to look. I just strive to be healthy overall and move my body once a day! It is a powerful stress reliever, and this mindset gets me excited and happy to work out, instead of dreading it. It’s a very useful method to use if you are in a rut or plateauing in your workouts!
Anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour, I write up a workout that I actually want to do and I complete it! I no longer feel like I have to work out or exercise. Even if I just get in 30 minutes of walking around my neighborhood. It makes me happier and I feel good I still feel great about it!
5. Gratitude list
“Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.
If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.”
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Each day, I reach towards a separate journal or notebook that has only one purpose. This notebook is solely for creating my gratitude list and reflecting on previous lists throughout the year. Since I began writing a gratitude list every day, my entire perspective for that given day completely changes! I began writing in a gratitude journal last September and I am so happy that I did!
It is the best way to stay mindful of the good things in life and to document your growth throughout the months and the years.
One habit of mine, that I will touch on later, is to always find a new, positive perspective on any situation. No matter how hard or bad the situation is, keeping a gratitude journal has enabled me to write down the things I am still grateful for. And it had helped me stay focused on the positives rather than the negatives. There is ALWAYS something good that will come out of something bad! You will always be able to find the positive in it, but sometimes it’s harder to search for it than other times.
My way of going about this is extremely simple!
Some people prefer to do this in the morning, but I actually like to do this at night before I go to bed! Nobody likes to go to bed and reflect on the day in a negative light, right? So, with that, I use one page in my notebook.
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I write down 3 things that I am grateful for
This can be anything! The people you hung around, the food you ate, the weather outside, the fun things you did or tasks that you accomplished! Whatever you are grateful for. You can always keep it basic. Appreciating the little things in life, like the weather or the breakfast that you ate, really improves your overall mindset and mood as the days and years go on.
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I write down 3 things that I look forward to tomorrow bringing
If something exciting is going on, if there’s a goal I want to accomplish tomorrow, or if I’m just excited about staying in sweatpants all day. I write it down. It sets the tone for tomorrow allows me to focus on the positives that a new day brings! Even if the previous day was not the greatest, there is always something positive to look forward to for the next day!
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I write down 1 goal or 1 prayer that I hope to be resolved or worked on
I write down one specific goal that I want to work very hard on accomplishing for that day. Whether it be for work or school. Or I write down a prayer for tomorrow. Whether it be about my health, my current jobs, or my future career, I write it down and allow my self to never forget it.
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I write down any 1 prayer request from another person
I always write down a prayer request for another person! Whether I was asked to by a certain person via email or in person, or if I just know that someone is going through a rough time. I write down a quick prayer for them in hopes that the more it is requested, the more likely it will happen for them in their favor.
That’s it! It’s simple and quick, but it creates a mighty impact on my mood and the tone for the day ahead!
6. Focusing on the solutions, not the problems
Focusing on the problem just wastes valuable time and energy! You won’t solve a problem by dwelling on it and letting it consume your thoughts and determine your actions. Seeing only the negative outcomes and negative sides of the problem could be what is holding you back from ever finding a solution. Instead, I see people blame others, complaining, and calling a situation negative before it before they even give themselves a chance to work on it and figure it out.
Developing a new perspective on a not so positive situation is a habit that has improved my life tremendously!
When a problem or set back comes up I think to my self, this happened, but what is the good that will come out of it. I ask myself, what is that I am going to learn from this and use to my advantage so I make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Lastly, I make a mental list of the 3 positives that are related to this issue or problem.
It all begins with acceptance and forgiveness for yourself. If you can forgive yourself and accept the situation for what is it then that is your first step to solving the problem. Instead of trying to go around it and attempt to cover it up, acting like it never happened. When you can accept it, that is when you can change it. Otherwise, you’re wasting time stressing and dwelling on the problem when you could be using that time to fix it.
Always remember, whatever the situation is, it will pass. Sh*t happens in life and it’s up to YOU to decide if you’re going to rise above it or let it defeat you. Don’t waste your time dwelling on the negative viewpoints of the situation. Treat it as a stepping stone and a learning experience that is making you stronger and that is essential to your growth and success.
There will always be obstacles and hurdles to jump over, but you’re the only one that can control your reactions and the actions you take moving forward.
☀️What are some habits that have greatly improved your life? ☀️
I would love to hear them in the comments!!
xo, Cydney
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