27 LIFE-CHANGING MICRO HABITS THAT ONLY TAKE MINUTES

 27 Life-Changing Micro Habits That Only Take Minutes

 

A common mistake people make when trying to improve themselves is aiming too high. We promise to be healthier, smarter, and more patient. But such lofty goals are often not met. It is too vague or too hard to follow. (There's a reason 80 percent of New Year's resolutions are dropped by February.) Even when the goals are more specific (I want to run a half marathon; I want to scream a little), it's hard to stay the course. especially if you have children, time is short, progress is slow, and demanding, and it feels reasonable to break the task into very small pieces.

Another approach? Small – Start small and try to develop micro-skills. Micro habits are daily routines that are easy to incorporate into your routine and only take a few minutes of your time (if that). Drink a glass of water before your morning coffee to stay hydrated. Do a minute of breathing exercises to help manage anger. Reading just one paragraph of a book can seem daunting.

Although they may seem trivial, micro-habits are more achievable than traditional goals and resolutions - they often involve aspects that are broken down into smaller parts. Because accumulating small victories creates a snowball effect that motivates you to make more ambitious changes, micro-habits can lead to lasting changes.

"When high-level people set goals, they set big goals," says Sabina Nawaz, a corporate trainer who often recommends the power of micro-skills in practice. There are a lot of bravadoes, and people who say, 'Go big or go home.'

The best micro-habits don't take more than two or three minutes and can easily fit into your existing schedule. You can also take a step back from something you're already doing—say, tapping on the wall while brushing your teeth or writing down something you're grateful for while you wait for your coffee to brew. Over time, this becomes part of your daily routine and can be extended or become more difficult.

It can be hard to think small now. Nawaz says his clients often have trouble setting goals that aren't enough to become micro-habits. When someone sees someone working out 30 minutes a day, they want to jump to that level of performance.

What we don't understand is that to get to 30 minutes a day, you have to start somewhere. That's not 30 minutes a day for most people.

Micro skills are more manageable. Who doesn't have time for just one push a day? Skip two minutes?

Here are 27 suggestions for small but important life changes you can make today, according to various health experts, life coaches, and medical experts.

27 Simple Micro Habits to Implement in Your Life

1. After you wake up, stay in bed and meditate for a minute or two where you set your intentions for the day ahead, suggests California meditation coach Josephine Atluri.

2. Drink a glass of water before your morning coffee to stay healthy and hydrated.

3. When you wake up to instant success, make your bed with four-star Admiral William H. McRaven's 2017 book Make Your Bed: The Little Things That Can Change Your Life ... and perhaps a sense of accomplishment. world

4. Hold for 15-30 seconds before changing clothes.

5. Write for two minutes in the morning while drinking coffee. Writing your thoughts on paper is a proven way to clear your mind.

6. Wake up to Maui's behavior. In his book, Little Habits, BJ Fogg, a Stanford behavioral scientist, suggests that starting your day with positive, goal-oriented words is a great way to start your day. Small rituals have been proven to help change attitudes and behaviors over time.

7. Practice gratitude while taking a shower. The shower is our last refuge from our device - Nawaz. So, when you take a shower, ask yourself who or what I am grateful for today. When you get out of the shower at the beginning of each day, you have filled your cup.

8. Do affirmations when you brush your teeth. Atluri recommends repeating five things you want to shape/replace or remind yourself, such as I like the way my child is, I trust my instincts, I'm not wrong, or it's okay to be happy.

9. Have you vowed to sleep more? Move your bedtime by two minutes, says Nawaz.

10. Charge your phone outside your bedroom. If you use it as a caution, purchase a modest simple morning timer. If you read on your iPad, get a physical book from the library. When you're down, your phone is your worst enemy.

11. Replace one unhealthy food. Got a bunch of chips in the afternoon? Commit to replacing them with fewer nuts or healthier alternatives.

12. Do the wall for 30 seconds while brushing your teeth.

13. Want to cut sugar? Instead of adding two spoons of sugar to your cup of tea, stick to one and a half and plan to continue reaching for the sweetener every day or week. The same scaling method applies to salt as well.

14. Start each workday with five long, deep breaths to calm your mind and prepare for the day ahead.

15. Read a paragraph of work-related literature every day. Professional writing can be dry and dense, so breaking it down into small, daily runs allows you to get through it.

16. Have big career development goals? Break into small pieces. Strategic thinking begins with gathering information, Nawaz said. What information can you gather? Can you spare three minutes a day?

17. Track your business success. Whether you're using a note-taking app on your phone or scribbling down a piece of paper, you're having a good time at meetings, deadlines, or just good work.

18. While waiting for your coffee to brew, do 30 seconds of breathing exercises.

19. Is there anything that worries you? LMFT, as Emma McAdams explains in this video, a good tactic is to spend 30 seconds to a few minutes or more creating anxiety that gives your brain a chance to adapt.

20. Spend at least two minutes a day outside in the sunlight.

21. Replace soda or sugary drinks with a glass of water.

22. Take a quick look at your bank account. Understanding your finances is the key to financial literacy.

23. Wherever your room is, always keep something. If you're afraid of the mess, you may not have time to clean, but you can usually tackle the mess piece by piece. more manageable.

24. Walk up and down the stairs.

25. Do jumping jacks for two minutes.

26. Add another vegetable or fruit to your plate.

27. Commit to walking around for two minutes every hour while sitting at your desk.

Doing something for 30 seconds or a few minutes can feel strange. That's an incredibly achievable goal, isn't it? This is the point of micro-skills. Once you get used to your preset skills, you start to make them come naturally. As you continue with these incremental improvements and changes, the distant goal may not seem so far away.