50 Good HabitsTo Improve Life Today

Good habits are the result of repetitive actions in our daily life. If we repeated the good habits long enough, they will become part of our identity

I know you are sick of being average, that’s why you are here, reading this article.

So let’s jump right in

Table of Contents

LIST OF GOOD HABITS TO START TODAY!

15 good habits ideas for a healthy lifestyle

Move your body: Walk, Simple workout, Stretching -30 minutes every day
Sleep: Adequate sleep based on your sleep cycle and develop a good sleeping ritual
Force yourself to move: Park your vehicle way further and use stairs over elevators
Track the water input.
Alternate sitting and standing while working.
Stretch every hour
Be cool on the processed meat
Try plant-based milk
Eat home cook food: Meal prep if you can
Pre-cut your vegetable and fruits to make it way easier to eat ‘em
Try intermittent fasting once a week
Deep breathing exercise
Walk to think
Spice up your routine
Drink green tea over coffee after 1 pm

15 good habits Ideas to be contempt and happier

16. Start a gratitude journal or gratitude list

17. Limit screen time

18. Invest in experience rather than material things

19. Practice daily affirmations

20. Schedule time for yourself

21. Practice regular self-care activity

22. Pray& Meditate daily

23. Start a creative hobby or passion project that you like

24. Call a good friend/ family regularly

25. Quality time with family

26. Practise mindfulness

27. Be in nature regularly

28. Practice good listening habits

29. Talk nicely even when you are not in the mood

30. Create a small win list in your journal

20 Habits idea to be more productive

31. Wakes up earlier

32. Set the optimum time to work on yourself

33. Set up a reasonable to-do list

34. Reflection in journaling by the end of the day

35. Monthly planning and reviewing goals

36. Schedule a break and really takes a break

37. Regular decluttering of email and past project files

38. Quarterly planning of goals and action plan

39. Read book/articles daily

40. Track expenses

41. Enrol in classes to learn new skills

42. Review non-fiction books

43. Discuss with highly ambitious people

44. Celebrate small wins

45. Find more opportunity

46. Put yourself in a more uncomfortable situation (take more actions)

47. Focus on deep work

48. Respect time as it should be

49. Focus on self-growth

50. Reflection on how you spend your time

The reasons why good habits failed

1. We don’t understand how habits work

“Most people fail to adopt new habits because they do not understand the structure of habits.”
Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit

In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg explained the structure of habits can be broken down into 3 main components:

The cue or trigger
The action
The reward

Imagine this, you are having a very stressful day, or the exams are coming (cue/trigger), and you want something to help you release all that stress

You open the fridge and start binge-eating all the chocolates and chips (action).

You feel so much better as the neurochemical like dopamine lights up your brain which makes you feel satisfied (reward).

This cycle gets repeated every time you face that trigger. And this is how we end up we so many bad habits

And, that’s why our bad habits easily get repeated and are very difficult to change.

The same reason why good habits, are very difficult to set and maintain.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits further elaborated and explained the process of building a habit can be divided into four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

The reason why we kept on failing with starting a good habit has come to one reason- we don’t understand how habit works

We don’t understand how habits work

With the works of Charles Duhigg and James Clear, it becomes apparent that it is not as simple as making a list of new habits or good habits we want to start.

But it should be specific enough and fit the habit cycle loop.

2. Why start the good habits

We don’t even know why we want to start the habits

Sometimes, when we want to start new habits, it is just wishful thinking.

It’s good to do, but if not, it’s not the end of the world.

Imagine this, you want to get 4.0 or to be at the top of the class by end of the semester. So the habits that you want to start are to start studying regularly.

Sound simple right?

But what happens is, that the momentum and motivation die down quickly

But what if I told you, that you will get 1 million dollars if you do it in 3 months? What do you think will happen?

I bet you work your a** off every single day to get the money. I know I will do that, it’s 1 million dollars!

My point is, that another reason for failing to keep good habits is because it doesn’t matter much to you.

I don’t want to sound corny and ask you to find your ‘why’.

But really, having a stronger reason why you need to start the habit will help you maintain the habit longer.

Once you are able to keep the habit and it already becomes part of you, then you don’t need the ‘why’ anymore. You just do it.

But sometimes, in the beginning, we need that extra persuasion to just keep going.

How to start Good habits that work

Find your keystone habits.

The keystone habit is the habit or routine that can set a chain of reactions because of them

The keystone habit is the habit or routine that can set a chain of reactions because of them

For example, my keystone habit is waking up early.

When I wake up early, I’m able to do deep journaling, set my to-do list, and completed my writing before everyone even starts their day.

Because of this, I feel more organized, I work better and I feel motivated to work out later that evening.

The opposite thing happens when I wake up late. I feel tense and anxious, and I reached home late, Once I reached home I just want to lay down on the couch like a potato reading the new gossip on Kanye West vs Pete Davidson.

(I’m embarrassed to admit, I know a hell lot of pop culture gossip from my students)

In simple, waking up early is my keystone habit that put everything else in my life into the place.

find your keystone Habit to help start the good habit

So find your keystone habits that keep the gear running. It can be as simple as spending 5 minutes uninterrupted with your kids before sending them out to school.

identifying your keystone habit, and letting the rest fall into their places.

This brings me to the next point,

Find the balance when setting up new habits or routine

We can’t survive long enough with motivation.

It dies down quickly and depends greatly on external factors such as mood or the environment.

In order for habits to stick, we have to repeat them long enough. In other words, we need to be consistent with it.

Like brushing our teeth in the morning, it gets repeated long enough that it feels odd ( and disgusting) if we don’t do it in the morning.

Repeat the habits consistently every single day.

Okay, but if I’m getting tired?

Or something is happening in my life that it’s hard to be consistent at that time?

Well, things happen. And we are not a robot with no feelings whatsoever.

Life kicks in. sometimes, not in a good way.

That is why I feel finding the right balance is essential in maintaining the habits in a long run.

It’s easy to give advice, or write ..’ be consistent for 60 days and your habits will sticks’.

Well, it’s really easier said than done.

I agree completely that habits need to be done consistently to make them stick

But, finding the right balance on when to pause, resume, and come full back swinging is another important aspect that people tend to miss out on.

If life’s been tough on you, taking a break and you missed your workout is okay.

It’s okay to just stay at home instead of the usual jog because you don’t have the energy to do it.

We all have one of those days.

It’s okay.

Find the right balance.

The 2 days rule

I love to use the 2 days rule. The 2 days rule implies that you can miss doing your routine, but don’t make it more than 2 days

For example, if you don’t want to work out because of your menstrual cramps or you just feel very tired after work, you can skip it. But not more than 2 days.

Just resume back of your habits or routine when you feel much better

Another thing is, that you can replace the habit with a similar category of activity when you have less energy than you usually have.

Eg: You don’t want to work out, but you replace it with stretching or foam rolling. It’s not the usual high-intensity exercise you usually do, but you still do something with a similar goal, to be a healthier version of yourself.

I want to emphasize this point as I know some people get frustrated with themselves and we feel like a failure when we don’t get to be consistent with our habits.

We are humans and our moods, energy, and life, in general, are cyclical in manner.

We have ups and downs, so just ride the wave.

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Final thoughts

Setting up new good habits is easy but difficult to maintain

By identifying how habit works, the chance of keeping the habit is much better.

So what habits are you working on this 2023?

Habits are not a finish line to be crossed, they are a lifestyle to be lived.
James Clear,Atomic Habits.