No matter your age, it is never a bad time to start forming healthy habits. Habits are the building blocks of your daily routine. A new habit may be a small change, but it can have a large impact on your overall productivity and satisfaction.
1. Eat Breakfast
The adage about breakfast being the most important meal of the day exists for a reason: science supports it. Web MD claims that eating breakfast kickstarts your metabolism, providing you with energy and focus to tackle the day. When you start the day with nothing in your stomach, your body does not have a source of fuel to burn, leaving you feeling tired and not operating at full strength. Taking the time in the morning to eat a healthy breakfast ensures that you are giving the day its best chance and setting yourself up to be the best version you can be.
2. Read a Book Each Month
Not everyone has time to read every single day, but setting a goal of reading a book per month should be attainable for people at all stages of life. According to Healthline, not only does reading strengthen your brain and keep you sharp, but it also exposes you to new ideas and perspectives. No matter the genre of book or magazine you choose to read, chances are that you will learn something new or begin to consider a topic in a different light.
In addition to all of the scientific benefits it provides, reading is simply a great way to focus in the morning before your day begins or to wind down when the day is coming to an end. You can read spontaneously as the desire comes to you, or you can make a schedule breaking down your days by the number of pages you would like to get through.
3. Set Goals
Setting goals is a great habit to form to help think about the future and the steps you can take right now to get what you want. If setting a long-term goal feels intimidating, start small. When you wake up, think of one thing you hope to accomplish that day. This could be something as simple as taking the dog for a short walk, finding a new song you enjoy, or complimenting a stranger. The more small things you follow through on, the more you will trust yourself to accomplish whatever you set your mind to. Eventually, you can work your way up to bigger goals with the confidence it takes to achieve them.
You can hold yourself accountable by keeping a journal with a goal tracker. Once you have begun to set your sights on more ambitious tasks, having a physical or digital record can be helpful to break it up into more manageable chunks. Overall, goals are a commitment to invest in and proof that you can show up for yourself.
4. Rephrase Negativity
If you tend to think or speak in a negative way, retraining your brain to spin things in a positive light can be a more uplifting approach. For example, when an event gets canceled, instead of lamenting the opportunity you are missing out on, try thinking about all the things you can now do with that free time. While you should still take time to feel negative emotions as they come, making an effort towards positivity can help you adapt to situations and be a more enjoyable person to be around.
5. Limit Time Online
Social media and the internet have many benefits, but it also has many costs. According to Forbes, the more people use social media the less happy they often are. While you may not want to avoid it altogether, setting timers that are built into apps like Instagram can help bring your attention to how much time you are spending on the sites and alert you when it’s time to log off.
Taking time to turn these practices into habits can make small improvements to your daily life and overall wellbeing.
