Have you found yourself living in a bit of a rut in your life? I know I’ve been through it. Well, one of the best ways to get out of it is to start introducing healthy habits into your life.
With that in mind, here are 6 of the best habits to get out of a rut and lead a better life.
Go to bed early, get up early
This sounds like an obvious one, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t do this. I’m not saying to have your bedtime at 8 AM and to get up at 4 AM. Such as something like setting your bedtime before midnight and waking up before 8 AM.
Extra tip:
Are you someone who struggles to get up? Place your phone/alarm clock on the opposite side of the room. This will force you to get out of bed to actually switch it off.
Make your bed every morning
Seriously – as soon as you get out of bed, make it. This will make you feel like you’ve achieved a goal before you’ve even started your day fully. In his 2014 Commencement Speech at the University of Texas, Austin, Naval Admiral William McRaven, the commander of U.S. Special Operations, stated:
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”
Get in the habit of drinking plenty of water
This is one of the habits that I’ve picked up and it has definitely changed a lot of my life for the better. According to the Mayo Clinic, your water intake should be:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
Now, how do you achieve this?
Here are some tips:
- Purchase multiple reusable water bottles. For example, have one for home, one for work, and one for any exercise that you do. Frequently fill it up during the day, making sure not to drink too much. Try to avoid those plastic disposable cups because it’s just better for the environment. Cut down on waste, yo!
- Set reminders for yourself. You can actually use multiple apps that will remind you to drink throughout the day. It might sound annoying, but repetition is the best way for your habits to grow! Moreover it gets you in the good havit of taking frequent micro-breaks.
Make time for breakfast
Honestly, something that I was missing out on myself – eating a good breakfast in the morning is one of the best habits to pick up. I’m not saying to overly complicate things.
My breakfast every morning, for example, consists of porridge, some seeds (currently a mix of flax and chia seeds), a handful of granola, and some honey. Followed then by some yoghurt and coffee.
Get your 10,000 steps a day in
As I said in 6 Awesome Low-Budget Tips That Will Help Your Mental Health, the concept of walking 10,000 steps a day actually originated from a marketing campaign. Yet that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good goal to work towards. This amount of steps a day equates to roughly an hour of exercise, which is just a good goal to work towards.
How to achieve 10,000 steps a day
- If you drive to work, park your car slightly further away than you would usually and walk in.
- Take frequent short breaks during the day to walk – either to the toilet, to the coffee dock, or even out to grab something off-campus. All of these count towards your step count!
- Rather take your lunch break in your workplace, leave time to get out for short walks.
Keep track of your mood/write a journal
If you haven’t read it yet, in How to Calm Your Mind & Relax In 5 Steps, I discuss how keeping track of your mood is a great way to keep calm. I personally use Daylio (Download from Google Play Store | Download from Apple App Store) to keep track of mine. Not only do I keep track of my mood, but I also write a small account of what I did today.
Daylio gives regular reports on your moods, which gives you the ability to track how you’re feeling over a specific period.
And there you go – 6 strong habits that you can pick up today that will help you lead a better life.