Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions with your life?
Like you’re just going through the motions of your day, and all you do is work, eat, watch TV, and repeat? You are not alone.
Many people are living life on auto-pilot. They do the same things every day but expect a different outcome tomorrow.
Life only gets better if you are deliberate about your habits.
Design your day, month or year with specific goals in mind. Pay attention to your daily routines and behaviours; they set you up for better or worse.
F.M. Alexander is right:
”People do not decide their future, they decide their habits and their habits decide their future.”
Until you change something you do today, you will never change your life tomorrow. And knowledge of good habits doesn’t change us; we have to practice them to get different but better outcomes.
Don’t just read; act on what you know.
These are a few habits that have a massive return on investment in life. Focus on one habit at a time. You don’t have to disrupt your current schedule. Start small and make the change one habit at a time.
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Start your day on purpose: identify your MIT’s (most important tasks) the night before and start ticking them off first thing in the morning.
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Tackle high-value tasks before 12 pm.
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I can’t stress lifelong learning enough. Read for at least 15 minutes every day: your life will be 37x better in a year.
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Saving is good but investing is better. Invest a percentage (you choose) of what you earn in a less risky index fund. Put compound growth to work.
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Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Water your brain. If your water level is low, your brain cells shrink, and you also get brain fog. Coffee doesn’t count.
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Add more whole foods, fiber and vegetables to your diet. Prioritize your health; the next 10 or 20 years of your life depend on it.
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Nurture meaningful and strong social connections: your happiness depends on them.
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A side hustle can help you figure out what you want to do with your life. Spend some time exploring your curiosities.
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Learn to question common sense — we don’t question our beliefs, assumptions and beliefs enough. To find better answers, ask why.
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Audit your content sources once every month. It saves time and improves knowledge acquisition.
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Design a starting ritual for your work; it reduces your decision-making process and saves cognitive energy for important things.
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Spend more time in nature. It’s a simple habit that improves your mood and mental clarity.
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Whatever you do, find time to move every day. It doesn’t matter how long. It improves blood circulation and helps you think better.
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Don’t speed read or skim every book or insightful article. If your aim is knowledge retention, read slowly.
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Try sprinting at least once a week: It will strengthen your cardiac muscles and improve blood circulation.
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Sit with yourself for a few minutes a day to declutter your brain. It can reduce stress.
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Start a new day as if you have something new to learn, and chances are you will. Keep an open mind for growth purposes.
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Early to bed, early to rise. Your days will feel longer if you can get to bed earlier than usual.
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Cut back alcohol and caffeine in the evening: a good sleep depends on it.
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Group your worries into two: those you can control and those you can’t. Do something about what you can change and stop stressing about things you have no control over.
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Don’t sweat the small, unimportant details. For everything you worry about, ask yourself: will it matter tomorrow, next month or year.
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Design a morning routine that works for your mind and body. Start your day on a good note.
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Start a hobby or passion project outside work that makes you come alive.
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Read at least one profound essay to improve your perception of life and live it every day.
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Create a motivational playlist for your exercise routine: something to look forward to can help sustain the habit. “The right playlist can transform your experience of exercise,” says Kelly McGonigal.
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Spend a few minutes every night to write down your worries or thoughts as they appear.
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Start a lifelong learning habit: tune into relevant essays, documentaries, videos, books and courses.
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Cap your daily most important tasks: 3 at most.
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Try the one-tab work habit to improve your focus: don’t open another tab when working until that specific task is complete.
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Limit the news: focus on a few credible sources and turn off news notifications.
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Declutter your personal workspace before you call it a day.
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Repressing your emotions makes you worry more; talk about them, speak to someone about them or tell your loved ones how you feel.
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Appreciate the even smallest everyday experiences: they can improve your mood. Be more present and observant.
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Spend quality time with people who empower and bring out the best in you; your happiness depends on it.
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Don’t aim for 10,000 steps a day; it’s not sustainable. Aim for a consistent walking habit; the goal is to make it to do it every day.
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Stop spending too much time in your head. It robs you the present and increases stress and anxiety.
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Distractions are everywhere. Record them to block them and watch your productivity soar.
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Take full responsibility for your happiness; no one can make you happy forever. Do more of what makes you come alive.
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Change things up once a month; use a different route, read a book you usually ignore, talk to a stranger, or surprise someone you love. It puts your brain to work and makes you think.
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Finally, remember what Gretchen Rubin said, “What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.
This article originally appeared in Medium.
Great Quotes…I needed that.
Very refreshing…!!!..I will try it…thank you so much…👍🤩
Excellent article!!!
What a great joy in my heart to share this to the entire public on how Dr Osato cures me from herpes1&2 with his herbs, I never believe it will work because the doctors keep saying there is no cure but I was desperate and needed to get this thing out of my body. I saw a comment online testifying how Dr Osato cure her from herpes and hpv and i contact Dr Osato and explain my problem to him and he prepare the cure and send it to me through UPS,which i use it just the way He instructed me and thank God today am a beneficiary to these cure. I went to my doctor for a checkup after 14days of taking the herbs and I did a blood test which i tested Herpes1&2 Negative and my doctor booked me for another appointment after 4 weeks to confirm my result and i retested again after 4 weeks and my result was still Negative and my doctor assured me that the virus is completely gone from my system. So I will tell you all who are looking for a cure to his/her HIV/AIDS and HERPES that Dr Osato took research before he could finally get the solution to it and a lot of people are benefiting from him right now. He also cured my Uncle and his wife from HPV. Dr Osato heals with natural herbs. Please i urge you to contact him now through his email address: osatoherbalcure@gmail.com or WhatsApp him on +2347051705853. His website is osatoherbalcure.wordpress.com and he is capable of curing HIV/AIDS, HERPES, HPV, HSV1&2, COLD SORE, CANCER of all kinds,DIABETES and so many other infections.
Such a nice article! It just popped up on my browser . A big round of applause to the writer 👏
Simply Super, Applicable n Easy to Implement..
Thank You
Many good tips! Thank you
Very well articulated. I follow most of the enunciated steps, but I was not conscious about them till I read them in black & white
It looks to me like doing 16 when you get home can help prevent the threat of dealing with 36 when you are out trying to live your life.
Refreshing…… Started my first change.. hoping to be consistent and include more of it to my lifestyle
Thx a lot..post more👍
Hi good day to author.
It’s very interesting and useful tips to everyone for every days and every situations in life.
Thanks for sharing very good article.
God bless you
I like this
Enough to change ones life.
Hi Mr. Oppong! 🙂
Thank you for the inspiring article! We all need ideas and reminders to better ourselves.
I think you may have used the wrong phrase for number 9. Question common sense… Common sense is logical sense, why question something that is logical?
Maybe you meant to say be more open minded, think outside the box instead?
I’m uncertain as to whether the author was going for the following, but here’s my take, for what it’s worth: Common sense, while great for keeping you from stepping in front of a bus, does lead many people to believe that being cold & wet causes colds, and being raised by gay parents increases the chances one will be gay…or that opposites attract (but don’t birds of a feather flock together?).
I think the intent was to question commonly held beliefs rather than common sense. In other words, question things you take for granted as true or worthwhile. Don’t just follow blindly. Ask yourself why. For me it might be, “Why am I eating this food I don’t need to eat? Because I paid for it or don’t want to waste it? If I question that I have new choices, like giving the food to a neighbor or just throwing it out because my health is more important money.
Very interesting.
I have a drug problem and common sense tells me that I need to slay that dragon in order to work my way through this list. I think this article is going to help me succeed. Thank you.
40 habits are too many. Summarised it in three
Mabagre Sleep, eat and exercise.
Rest will follow
😂😂😂
good post
shrinking brain cells was a good motivator
Thank u …was in need of such advise
I really appreciate you.
Thanks so much…. I’ve saved it to use one habit at one time. I’ll always keep it in my mind. Thanks a lot🤗🤗
Great
A great article indeed.
God bless
Awesome article and very true
Thank you so much for these…very very important points for life and living well
Very nice article
Good
I practice many of these but some are new. Where did you find ..37x better for reading 15 minutes a day? Does it have something do do with relaxing?
This is based on the compounding effect of marginal gains. By compounding a daily 1% improvement over 365 days, you get a 3778% improvement over one year.
Thank you! Now I have your wonderful habits, I will need to figure out how to do them while working straight nights, but that will be a good project to start off with!
This article was quite an eye opener.
Thanks for sharing 👍
Will try to practice this since it makes sense in a world filled with fake news.
Such an empowering article. Thanks for tips, I will work on a few things.
Wow!!! 🤭🥰
Wow!!!🤭🥰
Very very empowering.
Many good tips! Thank you.
Nice. Start small first and be consistent.
Thank you.
Thank you for really making my morning!
Good share mate. Quite useful👍
Wonderful reminder of good ideas gathered in my 76 years on this little blue planet. Like a bouquet of flowers from out of the blue….
Thank you so much author for an excellent life changing article. Definitely small changes in daily routine will contribute significant changes in the quantity of life.
These are wonderfully described. Perfect reminder for my pre-retirement, my next phase and reprioritization of days. Thank you!!!!!
Thanks for all those tips! Definitely going to try and get my life to mean something to me!
IMO if you simply do the 3 MIT in life and exercise a little these simple 2 will reduce stress and change your life tremendously. Great article. Little steps are the easiest to take and sometimes take us the furthest.
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Great article, definitely these smal habits can change anyone’s life…thank you for sharing such an incredible article
I was having herpes 2 on my private part. I have had them for about 2 and a half years. I am so scared that my friends are going to laugh at me, if they find out that I have herpes on my private part and due to the virus my boyfriend broke up with me. I have been to Doctors 9 times to get it treated. They all came back negative. I have also been using Tea Tree Oil and Warner (I freeze them at home) and they seem to be keeping the smaller herpes small but they can’t seem to treat the larger ones. They didn’t get any Bigger, but then they didn’t shrink as much. They get smaller a little part at a time. At least they are getting smaller! As soon as I see a new herpes appearing, then I treat it. At the moment I have been using Tea Tree twice a week and then using Warner every 2 weeks. I was wondering if there was any other information about how to get rid of it. Sometimes it gets sweet when Scratching it most times! I want to get rid of it so badly! Until i stubbed into DR MAGGIE Daily post on remedy for herpes diseases has posted by Sarah lifted from Dr MAGGIE daily post as advice to Mathew and George about the great herbal doctor how he has helped them get rid of these infectious diseases, and how this great herbal doctor called DR MAGGIE healed them; So that was when i switch for natural remedy to see if there could be any help by herbal remedy. That’s how I was cured. contact him on his email.(drmaggieherbalhome82@gmail.com) or WhatsApp: +14097946086
This article was highly interesting, as a few of the entries have already been lifelong practices! For starters, as a teen, our dad made us look up three new words out of the Dictionary EVERY DAY! We had to tell him each night the words we looked up, how to spell it, what the meaning was, and we had to use them in a sentence! By the time I went to college, I had the highest reading comprehension score of any applicant! And in my church, my pastor told our congregation, that I was the first person he’d ever met that could tell him the meaning of a word without looking it up!
I read my Bible 15 or more minutes a morning. For a wonderful prospective on life read from the Book of Proverbs each day, as there are exactly 31 Proverbs in The Bible, so one can be read each day for an entire month! Some will make you laugh and smile while some will awaken and challenge you– to be more thankful and appreciative of and for life–and others!
Finally, I found that reading the Book of Psalms (Songs) brings calm, joy and rest to your mind! Thank you for the article!
Very helpful article.I’m impressed.Habits are really thoughtful.Thanks from the bottom of my heart to the one who wrote & published this article.I must save this article.
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Since 2 year I had started reading articles on internet, it took me 2 year to drop comment on something good content 😊.Well explained & useful, thank u for sharing 🙏.
Hi, I have never posted a comment appreciating an article in internet. But, after reading yours, I couldn’t wait to post this comment to appreciate your work.. so thoughtful of the author to put together such a list of useful habits. very true that it’s not us that decide our future but our habits. Care to explain “question your commonsense”?? It’s hard to understand.
There are 3 other good habits you can mention in your list
1. Ahimsa.. don’t hurt anyone even with words
2. Satya .. always speak truth .. make it a habit. But, truth need not be told harshly.
3. Brahmacharya .. abstinence.
implementation of your list requires lot of self discipline. For self discipline, one needs to regulate their sexual intercourses to save energy. To regulate sexual activity, one needs to make sex also a habit.. not whenever and wherever the urge pops up.. but only once in regular intervals of time.. like only Saturday nights.. rest of the nights practice abstinence.
Thankyou.
What a great joy in my heart to share this to the entire public on how Dr Osato cures me from herpes1&2 with his herbs, I never believe it will work because the doctors keep saying there is no cure but I was desperate and needed to get this thing out of my body. I saw a comment online testifying how Dr Osato cure her from herpes and hpv and i contact Dr Osato and explain my problem to him and he prepare the cure and send it to me through UPS,which i use it just the way He instructed me and thank God today am a beneficiary to these cure. I went to my doctor for a checkup after 14days of taking the herbs and I did a blood test which i tested Herpes1&2 Negative and my doctor booked me for another appointment after 4 weeks to confirm my result and i retested again after 4 weeks and my result was still Negative and my doctor assured me that the virus is completely gone from my system. So I will tell you all who are looking for a cure to his/her HIV/AIDS and HERPES that Dr Osato took research before he could finally get the solution to it and a lot of people are benefiting from him right now. He also cured my Uncle and his wife from HPV. Dr Osato heals with natural herbs. Please i urge you to contact him now through his email address: osatoherbalcure@gmail.com or WhatsApp him on +2347051705853. His website is osatoherbalcure.wordpress.com and he is capable of curing HIV/AIDS, HERPES, HPV, HSV1&2, COLD SORE, CANCER of all kinds,DIABETES and so many other infections.
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