10 Micro Habits I Practice Every Day

They’re slowly making me a better person.

All I want to do is become a better person.

Like many of you, I’m addicted to self-improvement. It doesn’t happen overnight but rather over time. It’s similar to compound interest.

I practice these 10 micro habits every day. Here they are:

1. Read: I read as much as I can each day. Whether it’s a chapter of a book or just a passage, or even a Wikipedia entry, I’m always reading something. The more I read, the more I learn and become a better writer.
2. Write: I want to become a great writer. That doesn’t happen if I don’t write. So, I write every day. Sometimes it’s 500 words a day and other times it’s 2,000 or more. The more I write, the better I grow. It helps me think and explain my thoughts in a clear manner.
3. Learn a new language: I’ve been using Duolingo for over a week now learning French. I always wanted to learn the language and this app allows me to do so. One lesson a day helps keep me active with it so I don’t let it fall to the waste side. One of these days, I will be speaking French easily because of this fun and informative app.
4. Practice gratitude: Each day, I’m always grateful to have another day here. I’m grateful for all those in my life and that I’m able to enjoy life doing what I love.
5. Create ideas: I’m always writing down new ideas. These could be as simple as a new story idea or large one like planning out a chapter of a book or what I want to accomplish on my life bucket list.
6. Think of others: Just like gratitude, I’m always grateful for everyone around me. I’m always thinking about them and what I can do to help better their life, like my friends and family and especially my Medium readers.
7. Drink water all day: Besides juice or coffee in the morning, I drink water all day long. It keeps me active, and healthy, and feels better about my body and life. Plus, it tastes so good.
8. Walking: I try to take a daily walk every night after dinner. It helps me from falling asleep or being lazy at night.
9. Spend time off social media: I normally take at least an hour each day dedicated to no social media. I don’t check anything because I don’t need to. I use that hour for reading, writing, or anything else. I don’t need social media to be toxic sometimes.
10. Eat at least one healthy meal: This is normally breakfast but when I eat at least one healthy meal each day, I feel better about myself. It helps my body, mind, and well-being too.

Closing Thoughts

Take these microhabitats with a grain of salt. Practice all of them or at least one. You won’t regret it.

It’s helped me live a better life. It will help you too.

Trust me.

Noah Nelson is a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign majoring in journalism with minors in political science and history. He serves as a senior columnist for The Daily Illini, a writer on Medium and the host of his blog called Nothing But Noah. His books “Life: A Collection of Short Stories” and “Dana and Me: A Memoir” are both available now on Amazon. Like what you read? You can write for Medium too!