30 Small Habits That Quickly Bring A Massive Improvement To Your Life
Take small steps to have a better life.
Tarzine Jackson / Pexels Colby Kultgen is an influencer who focuses on helping people streamline their daily habits to be more productive. He shares techniques for advancement that are accessible and designed for busy people seeking simple ways to better themselves.
He recently revealed how to “get 1% better every day.”
Here are 30 small habits that can quickly bring massive improvement to your life:
1. Write down what you’re 'grateful' for
“This is the best happiness hack I’ve found,” Kultgen shared.
Keeping a tangible record of things that you appreciate is a great way to acknowledge what you have and what makes you happy. A gratitude list doesn’t need to be composed of anything earth-shattering. You can write down the small things you love about your life, like taking that first sip of coffee in the morning, or listening to birds chirping while you work.
Happiness is a practice. Recognizing what makes us happy allows for even more joy to enter our lives.
2. Switch up your nighttime tech routine
Kultgen recommended replacing your phone with a Kindle at bedtime, saying, “This fixed 90% of my sleep problems.”
Photo: Enes Evren / Canva Pro
The Cleveland Clinic outlined how being on our phones before bed negatively affects our sleep. Phones use blue light, which mimics daylight, meaning that it can make us feel more alert when we want to wind down. Blue light can also disturb our circadian rhythms, leading to disturbed sleep.
Putting down your phone and decompressing in a different way creates a more restful nightly habit.
3. 'Consume educational content' at a faster speed.
You can save time by speeding up. Kultgen cited studies positing that watching educational content at a speed 1.5 times faster than normal doesn’t alter how your brain processes the information, as the retention rate is the same as at normal speed.
4. Read every day.
Read one thing every day, even if it’s just one page or only a few sentences. This action will spark your imagination and get your creative flow going.
Reading is a stress reliever. It also helps you connect to people around you, as various studies have shown that reading increases our empathy.
The bottom line is that any amount of reading is good for your mind, body, and soul.
5. Write a to-do list in the morning.
Kultgen suggested writing down 5 things you have to get done and prioritizing them by importance.
Seeing a list of tasks in front of you makes your schedule feel more manageable, plus, crossing things off your list feels great.
6. 'Automate small tasks.'
Outsourcing certain actions, like autopaying at least some of your monthly bills, can preserve your time and energy for more difficult things.
7. Fall asleep quickly with body scan meditation.
Meditation is a practice that seems intimidating to start, yet the actual act of meditating isn’t as complicated as you might think.
If you have trouble turning your mind off at night and falling asleep, body scan meditation is one tactic to try.
8. Go to bed earlier.
Push your bedtime up by 30 minutes to ensure getting a full night’s rest.
Keeping a set schedule for when you go to bed is great sleep hygiene. Having a consistent bedtime can help you maintain a routine and feel better the next morning.
9. Ask for what you want.
Advocating for yourself can feel like a huge hurdle, something that lends itself to avoidance rather than facing the challenge head-on. But you can’t get what you want if you don’t ask. Speak up for yourself and make your needs clear: The worst thing someone can say is “no.”
10. Make plans with friends.
Kultgen advised being proactive when it comes to staying connected with friends.
“Life happens and it’s easy to drift apart when you’re busy,” he explained.
Photo: Elle Hughes / Pexels
Your plans don’t have to be anything huge. Meet up for a walk or your morning cup of coffee. Catch up on the phone while you’re cooking dinner. Keeping up friendships is vital to our happiness.
11. Save content that means something to you.
Kultgen suggested keeping a swipe file of things that resonate with you, whether it’s a photo that moved you or an article you want to look back on.
Collecting what matters to you in an accessible place is a solid reminder of what’s important to you, and it’s a sweet way to give yourself some self-love.
12. Write down one story every day.
After recording one memorable moment each day, you’ll have 30 new stories to share in a month’s time.
13. Put your phone away when you’re working.
Cut out distractions completely by leaving your phone in a separate room from where you’re working. That way, you won’t be tempted to swipe through social media.
You might find that taking your phone out of the equation helps you focus on the task directly in front of you.
14. Commit to a creative practice.
Getting into something creative is a hugely valuable habit, one that nurtures your inner world and helps you blow off steam.
It can be something simple: Drawing a few pictures each day or listening to music you love. It doesn’t even have to be artsy. You can cook a new recipe or plant in the garden, anything that relaxes you and lifts your spirits.
Photo: Tomaz Barcellos / Pexels
15. Keep track of your schedule minute-by-minute for one week.
Kultgen believes that this method helps people see where their time is actually going.
16. Let yourself be bored.
Spending time doing nothing gives your mind space to decompress. Being bored can inspire your imagination.
So, lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling. Let your mind drift. See what comes to the surface.
17. Listen more often than you speak.
Listening well is a muscle, one that helps you connect to others and builds up your emotional intelligence.
Plus, you’ll gain insight into other people’s lives the more you listen, helping you feel connected.
18. 'Create more than you consume.'
It might seem like scrolling through social media on our phones helps us relax, yet really, the opposite is true. We often end up comparing ourselves to what we see online, which only serves to make us feel depressed and isolated.
Photo: Jorge Fakhouri Filho / Pexels
Doing something small that inspires you is a much better way to spend your time, and it boosts your mood.
19. Offer more compliments than complaints.
It’s easy to feel negative about the world around us, especially when so much feels out of our control. Complaining keeps us in a negative headspace, whereas recognizing small things we’re grateful for lifts us up.
Practicing a generosity of spirit makes us feel good about ourselves and shows that we appreciate the people we’re in community with.
20. Donate what you don’t need.
Take an hour and go through your closet, culling the clothes you haven’t worn in a while. See if you have any canned food that you just won’t use that you can bring to a food bank.
Donating goods that you have no use for is a great way to spread kindness and support for those in need.
21. Delete apps you’re not using.
Another way to clear out some mental space for yourself is to clean up your phone. Get rid of apps you don’t use. It will help you feel less tied to technology and more connected to the world around you.
22. Reach out to old friends.
Reconnecting with people you’ve lost touch with is always a valuable thing to do.
Taking the plunge and being the one to reach out to someone you’ve fallen out of touch with feels vulnerable. It’s also a brave way to care for yourself and the people you love.
Human connection keeps us fulfilled. It’s vital to our mental health. So, let someone know you’ve been thinking about them– It will mean the world.
23. Don’t say ‘yes’ out of obligation.
It’s okay to set boundaries and say no to people, especially when it’s something you truly don’t want to do. Take care of yourself by taking care of your time and protecting your peace.
If it doesn’t feel like a resonant experience, don’t say yes.
24. Monitor your ‘information diet.’
“Junk info hurts our brains like junk food hurts our bodies,” Kultgen shared.
We’ve all gone down the doom-scrolling spiral, and it never feels good. So, curate your intake and take care of your mind and your heart.
25. Don’t do things just to tell others about it.
Staying true to yourself is one of the most important things you can do. Showing up authentically, rather than doing things because you think you’re expected to, is a much healthier way to live.
26. Revisit past joys.
Think back to something you used to do that made you happy. Try doing that activity again and see how you feel.
Photo: Nina Uhlikova / Pexels
Going back to the things that nourish us can rekindle our passion and remind us of who we really are.
27. ‘Don’t compare your behind-the-scenes to everyone else’s highlight reel.’
Comparison culture has become an insidious part of our lives, but you don’t have to get caught up in how other people are living.
Stay true to yourself and live the version of your life that serves you. Remember, no one is perfect, even if their Instagram is.
28. Read for pleasure.
Kultgen quoted Naval Ravikant, who said, “Read what you love, until you love to read.”
Reading connects us to other worlds, both imagined and real. It opens our minds and helps balance our mental health. Look into a subject that inspires you and learn a little more about it.
29. Take care of your health.
“Your body is a house that you have to live in for 80 years,” Kultgen shared. All of us have different bodies and varying physical, mental, and emotional needs, so find what works best for you in terms of true self-care.
30. Leave everything better than you found it.
Taking care of ourselves, along with caring for the people around us and the environment we live in, is an essential part of living well.
Don't underestimate the impact small habits can have on your life.
Our lives our busy and there's not always a ton of time to devote to our self-improvement, but as Kultgen has illustrated, little changes can make an incredibly huge difference.
Commit to one small change a week and the benefits will undoubtedly be massive.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers mental health, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.