7 Changes That Will Have A Huge Impact On Your Life

Along the lines of "New Year, New You", Here's a list of 7 things we should do every day that could improve our lives.

I came across an article, Do These 5 Things to Live Life by Your Own Design in inc. magazine. I liked the idea and decided to make my own list. I added a couple I struggle with as well. It's no secret I often endure bouts of depression and some of the things here have helped me, maybe they can help you.

1. Wake Up When You Say You’re Going to Wake Up

Setting the alarm is only half the battle. The real purpose of setting an alarm and then getting out of bed when it goes off is to keep that first promise of the day. This isn’t about getting up on time. This is about practicing the habit of doing what you say you’re going to do. And what better way to practice than first thing every morning?

2. Write Down 10 Ideas Per Day

This is an idea I got from James Altucher on Quora. I will Admit, I struggle with this one but I try to do it. I don't always have a notepad handy so I use the memo app on my phone.

Coming up with great ideas requires muscle—the act of creating actionable ideas stretches and flexes that muscle in a way that keeps it healthy and fresh. Try this for a couple days and you’ll see. You’ll be swimming in great ideas.

 

3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

There is always time to eat, and if there isn’t time to eat then something is out of balance and you’ve got bigger problems coming. It’s a lot easier to be preventative with your health rather than to be reactionary.

4. Read For 30 Minutes Every Day

People vastly underestimate how quickly you can get through a book. 20 to 30 minutes of reading per day can get you through an average-length book in about two weeks. That’s two books per month, 24 books in a year. Imagine how much more you would know if you read 24 more books in a year.

5. Get Back in Your Body

I borrowed this one from Finearttips Author Lori Mcnee.

Physical health is crucial to maintaining a clear head and an open mind. Especially if your work involves staring at a screen for eight to 10 hours per day, it is essential that you take at least 30 minutes to an hour to get back in your body—whether that’s through yoga, the gym, running, a long walk—whatever you prefer.

6. Meditate for 15 Minutes

This one comes from Carolyn Gregoire. Call this whatever you’d like, be it meditation or sitting quietly. The idea is, you need to make time to get in touch with your thoughts.The point of this, She explains,

is to be aware of what is bothering you, or what you’re feeling good about, or what needs to be addressed, so that you can get a clear sense of what you need to do next. It’s almost like seeing into the future. If you can address the problem before it spirals out of control, you’ve saved yourself a lot of time and energy. Or, if you find yourself feeling great and overly ambitious, now might be a good time to take more risks.

Checking in with yourself 15 minutes each day isn’t asking that much, is it?

7. Reflect Before Bed

This is my favorite thing, because you can see its impact the very next day.

Each night before bed, take five minutes to reflect. Jot down in a journal (writing here is important) a few things that went particularly well, and then write down a few things you’d like to do differently tomorrow. It allows you to take a moment and pat yourself on the back for the most immediate accomplishment, and it also keeps you on a growth edge, always looking for the next way to improve. Without reflection, you have no real direction as to where to head next.

What other Ideas do you have to make you're day go better? share them below.