11 Best Daily Habits So Small That You’ll Barely Have To Make The Effort

These are 11 best daily habits you need to start today. They’re just so easy that you’ll barely even have to put in the effort for them to make a world of difference.

I’m such a huge fan of the concept that small changes in your habits can lead to massive improvement in your overall life. Time and time again, I’ve proven this to myself. Hence this post about the best daily habits.

And when I say small changes, I mean really small. They will soon become a routine part of your life because they really don’t require you to do much to achieve them.

So this blog post will give you New-Years-worthy resolutions idea that you will actually stick to. Just see how your life gets better.

This blog post is all about the 11 best daily habits to incorporate in your life.

11 Best Daily Habits

1. Use an actual alarm clock

I knowww you’re rolling your eyes at me right now.

The point of getting an alarm clock is to get you out of bed as soon as it rings…. and to avoid scrolling endlessly through social media. I know that you’ve heard this before, but let me be your billionth reminder.

The way in which the first 5 minutes of your day set the tone for the rest of it is insane. Stop rolling your eyes, I know you just did it again. I don’t need to spell it out for you. I can bet that starting your day by scrolling through social media for 45 minutes, having to get ready in 15 minutes and rushing through traffic would get you in a vastly different mood if you had 1 full hour to get ready.

So get an alarm clock. I got this mirror-effect alarm clock. It’s got all the basic functionalities that you need… which is basically just ringing when you need it to ring.

And what should you do with your phone? Anything but have it charging on your bedside table. Put it in the kitchen, put it in a safe, ask your neighbour to keep it for you, I don’t care. Just don’t have it within reach of your bed… or even in your bedroom.

And if you really don’t want to buy an alarm clock and keep your phone, then just put it in another room. You’ll have to get up and turn it off. But have a plan of what to do after so you don’t just start scrolling on the sofa instead of on your bed.

2. Make your bed... or something like that

So what should you do with all this extra time in your hands now that you’ve bought an alarm clock? Make your bed.

Actually, I don’t care what you actually do, but do something productive to your day. Take a shower, take your dog out for a walk, turn on the coffee machine, feed your fish, I don’t care. Just do something.

I guess the best thing I can compare it to is the snowball effect. One small thing leads to another, which leads to another bigger thing. Start your day with one tiny action, and watch it snowball into something bigger.

Another way of seeing this is by thinking of it in this way: the action of completing one task first thing in the morning will reinforce the idea that you are indeed capable of completing a task… and will encourage you to do more throughout the day.

Your day will get better by default. And if your day turns out to be really shitty, well at least you’ll come back home to a bed that is made.

I’d be lying if I told you that this I came up with this. I totally took it from Admiral William H. McRaven in his commencement speech at the University of Texas. You should SERIOUSLY listen to it. It’s full of other best daily habits to include.

3. Do a brain dump in the morning

Another small task that you can do to start off your morning productively is a brain dump.

Basically, a brain dump is a process through which you write down EVERYTHING that’s on your mind. Deadlines, appointments, emotions, worries, stressors, to-do’s, want-to-do’s, dreams you’ve had last night… just everything that’s running around in your head. But the key is to be honest with yourself: include even the things that you’d rather ignore.

By having it all laid out on paper, you have a must clearer idea of what your day should look like. Perhaps, it’ll make it obvious that you have no time to waste and should get to work right away… or it’ll show you that you can actually take it chill today.

And also, having your worries or stressors laid out so bluntly on paper will incentivize you to tackle them so you don’t have them written down tomorrow as well. That bill you have to pay? That person you should say sorry to? The low-pressure warning in your car? Get those out the way.

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4. Dedicate 2 hours of your day of no-distraction work

So this habit was originally titled “wake up 2 hours before you have to start getting ready in the morning, or go to sleep 2 hours after finishing everything (including your night routine).”

Aside from being way too long for a title, I found that a) this wasn’t a “habit so small you’ll barely have to put in the effort” and that b) the point isn’t to wake up early.

The point of this is to have 2 hours of absolutely no distractions to get. shit. done.

So whether this happens to be at 5am, 3pm or 10pm for you doesn’t matter. The goal is for you to focus 100% on a task for 2 hours.

Why 2 hours? Because it will give you enough time to start and finish a pre-defined task. One hour isn’t enough to get a significant task out of the way, and there isn’t enough time pressure if you stretch it to over 2 hours.

And again, the key is to not have your phone around you. AND DON’T LIE TO ME: even if your work requires your phone, you know and I know that there are some tasks that don’t require it.

Pro tip: get this phone lock box. Set the timer for 2 hours and get that task out of the way.

I’m indeed a morning person, so I get this done between the hours of 5am and 7am. Everyone is asleep, there are no noises, it’s just me and my work. HOWEVER, if you aren’t a morning person, it can be whenever.

5. Do something you really enjoy... you can't pick your job

Once a day, make time for an activity that makes you genuinely feel happy, calm, or any of those lovey-fuzzy feelings.

It doesn’t have to be a 3-hour activity, it doesn’t even have to be 10 minutes.

And for those who are saying “BuT i LoVe My JoB”, yeah, it can’t be that. Not that I don’t believe that you don’t love your job, but just pick something outside of that.

Not to suddenly get all dark and gloomy, but one day, you won’t be at that job anymore. And also, I dare to believe that you are so much more than your job.

So whether it be taking a bath, flipping through an architecture magazine, going to the gym or walking barefoot in the grass, just make time for that.

6. Intentionally breath fresh air

This will be short and sweet. Literally, this task can take as little as 45 seconds.

Take deep breaths of FRESH air. Even if it’s -45 degrees outside, breathe that fresh air.

I’m not saying to just be outside for another task- through which you will breathe fresh air. The walk between your car and the grocery store does not count.

I’m saying to take 45 seconds out of your life to close your eyes, stand still and breathe in the air. Feel how the air goes into your nose and down to your lungs.

7. Pay attention to the foods you actually enjoy

I couldn’t call myself a nutrition blog if I didn’t mention something about nutrition, now could I?

I see so many other people saying to make it a habit to eat a healthy breakfast, meal prep, or pack your lunch the day before or whatever.

I find that a tad hard to keep up for some people. What if you aren’t hungry for breakfast? You shouldn’t force yourself to eat.

What if you get back home really late every day, or you don’t have hours to spare for meal prep?

Here’s an even easier thing you can do. Whenever you eat and whatever you eat, pay attention to the flavours and the textures. Take a mental note of how much you actually enjoy the food.

Does it actually taste good? Am I even hungry? Is there something else I would prefer to eat right now? Is there anything I would add to this to make it better? Is this emotional eating?

You don’t have to take action on any of those answers. You don’t have to stop eating it, you don’t have to prepare something different, you don’t have to do anything.

Just be aware of those answers. That’s all. Your behaviours will subconsciously change in the future.

8. Find a way to have all your meals include fats, proteins and carbs

I’m sharing this habit with you because it drastically improved my eating patterns when I adopted it.

Whenever you eat, find a way to include fats, proteins and carbs in the meal. Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a snack, find a way to balance it out.

It’ll make you avoid so much snacking in-between meals, keeping you fuller and more satisfied for longer. Besides, your body needs it.

I’d say that the only snack where you can disregard this advice is pre-workout snacks. Before working out, you want to have mostly carbs and protein. This is in relation to how fast you digest the food and how quickly you can extract the energy.

But for any other type of eating, find a way to combine it all.

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9. Get your heart beating faster at least once a day

This is another easier version of other best daily habits advice out there. These normally tell you to “workout for 1 hour once a day” or something like that.

My suggestion: get your heart beat up once a day in whichever way you chose appropriate to you.

For some people, this might be going out for a run, going to the gym, going swimming or horseback riding.

For others, this might look like going on a walk with their dog or going up and down stairs at work.

Whatever it is, make sure to just get your heart beat up.

Now, for how long is up to you. Just don’t set yourself up for failure. If you currently do absolutely nothing, aim for 10 minutes. As you get used to that, increase the time bit by bit.

If you already go to the gym for 1 hour a day and get 15,000 steps in, then you’re good.

Whatever it is, just get your heart beating.

10. Walk to the locations under a certain distance.

This one might sound like a stretch to some people, but trust me, it can get quite addicting.

If you have to go anywhere within a certain distance of your choice, go walking. The distance can be of your choice. Whether it’s 5km (3.1 miles) or 200m (0.3 miles), pick something that you can be consistent with.

For me, this distance is around the 2km mark (1.2 miles). So whenever I have to go somewhere within 2km of where I am, I go walking.

11. Treat yourself as you would someone you love

Last but not least, treat yourself as you would someone you love. This is probably one one my favourite best daily habits.

Whenever you do something, ask yourself: Would I recommend this to my daughter? My father? My husband? Whoever I love?

The most common example I run across are people who skip meals because they think they overate the day before. If that happened to your son, would you tell them to not eat today?

If your sister’s boyfriend was speaking to her aggressively, would you tell her to stay with him or to leave him?

If your husband hasn’t worked out a single day in the last 10 years, would you tell him to go to annihilate himself at the gym, or would you tell him to start with a fast-paced walk around the neighbourhood?

Treat yourself as someone you love. Self love baby <3