Best Daily Habits For A Better Life

Let there be no doubt, our daily habits shape our behavior and life more than we’re aware of.

Think about it for a second – a fairly big chunk of time in every day of our lives is spent on performing our habits. 

Therefore by creating (and sticking to) positive habits, we can tremendously improve the quality of our lives. 

Allow me to explain what I mean by using one of my favorite quotes about habits.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Aristotle

I have to admit this stands true.

Now, your goal is probably not an “excellence” in every aspect of your life – at least not in a superstar kind of way (though it could be some form of excellence according to your terms), but that’s not the part on which I want to focus on this time.

The first sentence is what I believe deserves more careful attention – we are what we repeatedly do – because those things that often repeat themselves best describe the way how we live our lives.

So the point is about adding more quality to your day-to-day life in order to genuinely feel satisfied and more content about the way you live your life in general.

You know the saying – it’s the little things in life. 🙂

Well then, if you can make those little things become your habits, you can be certain you’re looking forward to a life you’re happy about.

Although each one of those habits might seem small and look like it’s no big deal, as you will see, implementing one by one into your daily routine will gradually make a huge difference in the way you feel, behave, and perceive your life – for the better!

To my mind, these are the best 8 daily habits you should develop to live a better, more satisfying life.

And here they are!

Daily habit #1 – Have a morning routine

There’s nothing better than starting the day on the right foot and a morning routine helps you achieve that very thing.

I know what you may be thinking right now – yes, that’s easy to say, but…

Now, I’m not saying creating a morning routine is a piece of cake, it can actually be quite challenging for some people due to many different reasons, but it’s not *that* hard, either.

First off, your morning routine can consist of only a couple of things, or even just a single one – but such that’ll make a big impact on the way you feel in the morning.

(and to be clear, I’m not counting getting dressed and brushing teeth here!)

Also, as with forming any other habit, start as simple as you can, and you can always add another component to the mix once you master a specific step.

The bottom line, by creating a morning routine that makes you feel uplifted and energetic you’re setting the tone for the rest of the day and as you will see – it will really pay off.

I guess it’s clear that having a morning routine should be a priority on your list of daily habits.

Daily habit #2 – Eat healthy

Eating healthy food fuels up and nurtures your body so it can function at its best.

Therefore, healthy eating probably goes without saying, but can easily be forgotten when the rush of the day kicks in.

Especially if you’re out of home most of the day, eating healthy food throughout the entire day can be a challenge.

However, even in situations like this, you can turn healthy eating into a habit.

The easiest and quickest way to include healthy food in your diet is to consume fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

You can take some in the morning, during your breakfast – or even before it, pack an apple that you can eat later on (even if you’re not at home), and wrap up the day with early evening fruit or vegetable salad.

Of course, if you consider healthy eating a serious business (and you should!), eating fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day does not give you an excuse to eat 100% junk food in unlimited quantities in between.

Therefore, my best advice regarding turning healthy eating into a habit would be to create a meal plan that will be realistic so you could follow it through.

This way you’re mindfully planning your meals – and shopping list, which gives you a better chance to actually follow through and stick to this positive habit in the long run.

(plus, as you can see in my post, there are some other extra bonuses of meal planning as well 😉 )

Daily habit #3 – Get outside

Is there a person who doesn’t like to be outside?

(especially on a warm, sunny day 🙂 )

There is no denying that spending some time outdoors is beneficial for our bodies and our minds – no matter how the weather is.

Therefore, it’s a wise thing to include a little outdoor time in your day on a regular basis.

Even if you believe you don’t have enough time every day to take a walk in the park, for example, there are other ways how you can add outdoor time to your daily routine and turn it into one of your daily habits.

(and take a look at this post if you want to free up your time and still do the work)

Here are a few ideas.

When getting to work, park a bit further than you usually do, or exit your transport one stop earlier, and walk to work from there.

If you have a grocery store nearby (or at any distance that feels comfortable to you), you could consider shopping on a smaller scale – but more often.

This way you’ll regularly get outside and take a walk, while also providing the household with necessities.

Also, if you have a yard you can try out gardening, or even turn a part of it into your own organic vegetable garden.

As you will see, taking care of it will require you to get outside a bit, at least every other day, plus you will get so much more out of it than just forming a new habit.

Daily habit #4 – Be organized

I’m a firm believer that creating and maintaining this habit on a daily basis can make a big difference in the way you live your life.

Allow me to explain.

First of all, I view the organization in two ways – the way you organize your surroundings, which is absolutely clear to understand, but I also consider the personal organization to be a distinct and at least equally important matter.

The latter is maybe a bit harder to grasp since it covers – to my mind – many different things, such as the way how you perform actions, organize your time, tasks, plans, and thoughts.

Since a personal organization is so diffuse (and a bit trickier to master), this time I’ll focus only on organizing your surroundings.

And the way how your surroundings are organized (or not!) can make a huge impact on the way you act – and feel – throughout the day.

Even this type of organization can be hard when you’re starting out – depending on how unorganized your surrounding is, but once you get over this step the rest is “maintenance” that you can easily turn into a habit.

For example, when you wake up in the morning you can instantly tidy up the bedroom, when you finish your work clear out the desk (or any other workspace – it could be the kitchen countertops as well!), or fold the laundry and put it back to its place right after it’s dry.

(here are 10 tips on how to organize your home office for maximum productivity)

As the saying goes, have a place for everything, and everything in its place.

The bottom line is – don’t let the clutter form.

Clear out the distractions, especially from your home, so you can focus on what you should – your work, and even more importantly, the people you live with and the bond you share.

Daily habit #5 – Create me-time

If you want to live a better life then creating some me-time should absolutely be a priority in your days and on top of your most-wanted list of daily habits.

Not only will it keep your energy level from dropping, but will also help you feel recharged and more positive about the way you live your life.

You may be thinking your schedule is almost always booked full and maybe you wonder how to squeeze this in.

If that’s the case, have a look at how to find the time for self-care, there are some good tips on how to free up your time to enjoy some moments for yourself.

Another thing worth mentioning, your me-time doesn’t have to take long.

If you have an activity you enjoy and that can lift up your mood and energy level quickly, a short break from your regular tasks will be all that it takes.

Listening (and dancing! 🙂 ) to some of my favorite songs is just the example I’m talking about here, but you can experiment and choose your favorites.

Daily habit #6 – Work productively

We all spend a big portion of our lives working, and as you very well know, it can not be escaped.

You surely also know it ain’t fun (or good for your overall health) to work 24/7.

So if you catch yourself working long hours for days and days (and days…) in a row, what you should do is to learn to perform your work the most effective way – and make this skill one of your daily habits. 

That’s where productivity kicks in.

Know the saying – work smarter, not harder?

That’s what I’m talking about here.

If you’re not skilled at this yet, don’t worry, productivity techniques can be learned.

Plus, with so many of them, you can be certain some will be the perfect match for your lifestyle and working habits.

For a start, be sure you’re not making this one critical mistake, and begin from there.

As you will soon see, you will massively benefit from turning productivity into your daily habit.

Not only will it streamline your work, but you will also get more time to enjoy other things in life – which is the exact point of living a life you’re content with.

Daily habit #7 – Have an evening routine

As the day comes to an end, an evening routine should absolutely be on your list of positive daily habits.

As opposed to a morning routine that helps you get energized and excited about the day ahead, your evening routine should help you wrap up the day feeling relaxed and positive about the day left behind.

Creating your evening routine should be much easier than a morning one – at least you’re not rushing anywhere since the day has almost come to an end!

Therefore, you can surely devote some time to indulge yourself in a thing or a few.

A beautiful way to end the day, I must say!

(and if you, by chance, need some ideas, you can take a look at the post Best self-care activities for different times of the day – you might get the inspiration for your morning routine, as well!)

Daily habit #8 – Get enough sleep

And last, but not least, what should absolutely become your daily habit is getting enough sleep.

I was always a supporter of sleep – and still am.

(my inborn preference for longer sleep did not have any influence on this! 😀 )

This conviction got magnified after reading a book called Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. 

I was pretty impressed, amazed, and even shocked by some of the facts there!

(take it from a molecular biologist! 😉 )

Now, don’t worry, I won’t make this a book review and write long and wide about it here.

Believe it or not, I can summarize its essence for you in one sentence!

(what I believe to be the main takeaway, that is)

Here it is.

You can not even imagine how sleep is vital for you on many different levels, and any time you don’t get enough of it, you can not compensate for it later on.

(I know, unbelievable, but supported with hard scientific evidence!)

So if not already, take your sleeping hours super-seriously.

Create a daily habit to go to bed at a certain time and get enough hours of sleep regularly – plus have a small afternoon nap, if possible.

You’ll benefit from it in many ways.

And that’s it, my friend!

These seemingly small habits can make a big difference in the quality of your life and help you truly live better.

And if you need a helping hand while forming new habits, or are curious to see how well you follow them through, consider using a habit tracker.

(I have a printable habit tracker set that’ll save you the time from creating it over and over again 😉 )

As you can see in my other post, there are other benefits from tracking your habits on a daily level, so why not give it a go?

Let me know if you have some habit that makes your life better, and if you liked the post – take a short moment and pin it!

(and thanks a bunch! 🙂 )

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