8 Small, Daily Habits to Create Big Life Changes

Most of us put a lot of effort into the big moments of life – weddings, graduations, the birth of a child.  But the reality is that our life experience isn’t defined by those big events.  Those events only take place for a moment.  Rather, 99% of our lives are spent having normal, uneventful days.  So, if we want to improve our lives, we need to stop putting so much emphasis on the big events of life.  Instead, to improve our lives, we need to pay close attention to how we spend an average day.   And that means paying close attention to our small, daily habits.

Your daily habits are your key to creating a great life.  In fact, they matter so much, that if I were to create a high school curriculum, one class that I would ask every young person to take would be a class on Great Daily Habits.

The reality is that great habits are transformative.  A habit as simple as tidying your bedroom and making your bed every morning will positively change your life.  That’s because if your bedroom looks civilized, then you will feel like a reasonably normal person.

Now, if you are willing to go beyond bed making and adopt a daily schedule of good habits, you truly can transform your life from something that is mediocre, to something that is exceptional.  You just have to commit to adopting good habits.

Below are 8 small, daily habits that will improve your life in a big way.  Adopt them and see how much happier you can become!

1. Become A Lifelong Learner

Your education should not end when your formal education ends.  Rather, when your formal education ends, that’s when the real fun of learning begins!

For example, in high school, I found English class to be painful.  Books like the Iliad and the Odyssey were a chore to get through.  But once my formal education ended, I was able to choose my own English literature curriculum. And then, the world of literature became exciting to me!  I first read all the works of Toni Morrison.  I then delved into other great works of literature. I also read the entire Harry Potter series.  And today, I have a small library in my home of books in all genres, from literature to history to religion to philosophy.

Moreover, these days, in addition to reading, my learning path also includes language learning.  For years, I’ve been studying French and Spanish.  Recently, I added Italian.  I find language learning to be a lot of fun!

Realize that learning about new things is the spice of life.  So, enrich your life by studying each day about a topic that truly interests you.  Or, find a skill that you’d like to develop and practice it every day.  If you commit to daily learning, your life experience will become so much richer.

2. Practice Daily Reflection

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He was correct! So, you want to improve your life, it’s important to engage in daily reflection.

At the end of each day, you should be asking yourself, “What went well today?” and “What could I have done better?”  The purpose of this exercise isn’t to be hard on yourself because you watched too much television or argued with a family member.  Rather, the point is to figure out if your days are being spent in a way that reflects your values and aspirations.

If you spend some time at the end of each day reflecting on whether your day aligned with values and goals, you’ll start living authentically.  That’s because you’ll start acting in ways that align with your personal ethics. And you’ll start spending your time doing those things that matter to you. 

So, take some time to reflect at the end of each day.  If you do, you’ll start intentionally living a life that is a beautiful reflection of who you are.

3. Surround Yourself with Uplifting People

During my life, I unfortunately have had to deal with some draining individuals.  And what I know for sure is this: The most effective way to improve your life is to eliminate the people who exhaust you. 

Now, I’m well aware that difficult, draining individuals are that way for a reason.  They typically are battling personal or psychological issues.  And I’m sympathetic to their plight.  But realize that neither you nor I can help people with those kinds of afflictions.  Only a licensed psychologist can help them. 

As a result, there is no point in exhausting yourself with difficult people. Instead, make it your habit to surround yourself only with positive individuals.  If you surround yourself with positive, encouraging, easy-going people, your life will be so much better. 

Find people who inspire you, and who support your personal growth.  Most importantly, find people who like you just as you are, and who are delighted to be around you.  Spend each day with folks like those, and your life will dramatically improve.

4. Set Small, Achievable Goals

Life becomes frustrating when we feel like we’re stagnating.  We all need to feel like we are moving forward toward meeting our goals and improving our lives.  That is why it is so important to make daily progress toward our personal goals.

Realize that making daily progress toward your goals doesn’t have to be onerous.  Rather, you just have to set small, achievable goals for each day.  For instance, my goal is to become increasingly physically fit.  So, I have small exercise goals for each day.  Every day, I try to get some time in on my stationary bike.  And I also try to do some form of stretching or yoga. 

Now, there are days when I can do more, and there are days when I can only work out a little bit.  But as long as I do a little bit of physical exercise each day, I feel like I’m making progress! And that’s encouraging!

Frankly, I apply that same approach to all my personal goals, from writing to language learning.  My goal is to do something small each day toward achieving my goals.  The benefit is that even if I do something very small, at least I’ve moved the ball forward toward improving myself and my life!

5. Declutter Your Schedule

We all need time to relax and unwind from work and household responsibilities.  And we can’t do that if our schedules are littered with obligations.  I spent years of my life going from work, to household chores, to family activities, with no time for myself.  And I was constantly frustrated by that schedule. 

But at a certain point in my life, I decided that my free time was sacred.  And if I wasn’t working or doing housework, I was going to solely do activities that I enjoyed.  And that meant keeping an uncluttered schedule.

The good news is that these days, I keep a very simple schedule.   I might have one, at most two, social activities on a weekend, but otherwise, my weekends are my own, to do what I feel like doing.  And as a result, I’m much more relaxed and happier.

We all need free time to pursue our own interests.  So, to improve your life, make it your daily habit to have an uncluttered schedule.  Don’t feel guilty about saying “no” to social invitations or requests of your time.  Life is short.  And your time on this earth is precious and should be spent doing those things that are meaningful to you.

6. Make Time for Daily Exercise

Most of us have jobs which require us to sit for long periods of time.  Usually in front of a computer.  And all that sitting is not good for our health.  That’s why making some time for exercise each day is incredibly important.

Realize that exercise doesn’t have to be a big deal.  Of course, going to a gym for one hour on a daily basis is wonderful, if you have the kind of lifestyle that allows for that.  But most of us don’t have that kind of personal time.  So, we have to incorporate exercise into our daily lives more creatively.

There are all kinds of ways to incorporate exercise into your life.  Home workout machines help immensely.  I’m a big fan of exercise bikes.  I have one in my bedroom which allows me to exercise whenever I have a free couple of minutes.  Similarly, exercise videos are a terrific way to get in a quick couple of minutes of exercise.  There are loads of free exercise videos available on YouTube.  Even something as simple as a daily walk is a terrific form of exercise!

The key is to commit to doing at least some exercise each day.  Our bodies need care, and a critical part of caring for our bodies is to exercise them.  Just doing at least some exercise each day will make a huge difference to your weight and ability to move with ease in the future.

7. Nurture Your Mental Health

Unfortunately, we live in a society in which we are encouraged to pay a great deal of attention to our physical health, but not to our mental health.  The problem is that if we aren’t mentally healthy, we cannot be our best.  So, having good mental health matters!

There are simple, daily habits that you can adopt to maintain good mental health.  The most important habit is to get enough sleep.  We all know that if we don’t get enough sleep, we’re easily frustrated and aren’t as sharp as we should be.  So, getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night is important. 

If you aren’t getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night, start doing two critical things: Go to bed earlier, and make sure your bedroom is tidy and your sheets are clean.  The key is to create a serene environment that allows you to get the good night’s sleep that you need.

A second small, daily daily habit which will improve your mental health is to curate what goes into your brain.  That means watching and reading only those things that are positive and uplifting.  The news is not one of them!  I know many people who go through life on edge because they watch too much news.  But realize that most of the news these days is not designed to inform.  Rather, it’s designed to upset people. That way, folks will be emotionally engaged in the news and keep watching and reading the news reports.  Don’t be lead down that path!  Instead, carefully choose what you watch and read each day, and you’ll be much happier.

By getting enough sleep and carefully choosing what we watch and read each day, we can be mentally healthier – and happier!

8. Engage in Daily Acts of Kindness

If you want to truly improve your life in a big way, engage in daily acts of kindness.  Now, I’ll concede that my proposal may seem counterintuitive.  After all, you may ask, “How can being kind to others possibly make me happier?” 

Well, kindness improves our lives in countless ways.  First of all, being kind will boost your confidence.  If you can help another human being, that means that you have something positive to offer to the world.  And that’s something to be proud of!

Moreover, it just feels good to be kind.  When we do something for another person, or when we offer an encouraging word, we naturally feel good!  That’s because we are created to be good.  Being good and kind is our natural state of being.

Most importantly, when we’re kind, we just make the world a better place.  Unfortunately, in today’s society, we have an overabundance of angry talk and cruel behavior.  We need less of that.  Instead, what the world needs is more kindness and generosity.  When we make kind and generous behavior our daily habit, we singlehandedly make the world just a little bit better.

If you are seeking to improve your life, realize that you don’t have to do anything grand.  Just implement the 8 small, daily habits above, and see how much better your life becomes! (To read about how kindness can make you happier and healthier, click here.)