12 Simple Habits That Will Improve The Quality Of Your Life

Choose one habit each week and change your life considerably in 12 weeks.

There are dozens of “habits that will change your life” lists, and I believe each one of them contains some fantastic habits.

I will not claim this list to be unique and something like “magic help.”

With this article, I aim to provide you with a list of very simple habits that have improved my quality of life in the past few years. They are simple habits a lot of people know, but most are not doing. At least consistently, not. The benefits of these habits have been proven scientifically.

These habits will contribute to a better quality of life, increased concentration, productivity, and greater happiness.

They are very foundational and straightforward for everyone to implement in their daily life.

1. Waking Up Every Day At The Same Time

Waking up every day at the same time has helped me to feel more natural energy and achieve higher productivity.

Along with feeling more energized and focused, there are many more benefits to a consistent sleeping schedule, such as better digestion, stronger immunity, emotional stability, increased learning, and memory capabilities.

No wonder it is more challenging to get back into the flow after the holidays. Our sleeping schedule is usually interrupted because of late-night movie watching and sleeping in.

According to Mindbodygreen, “catching up on sleep” also creates a cycle similar to travel-induced jet lag — we are sleeping in to catch up on sleep, but then we are again staying up later.

Surveys have shown that people with a strict wake-up time reported being more content overall in every area of their lives.

I have found it works best to wake up at 6 am or 7 am and go to sleep at 10 pm or 11 pm.

Getting up early in the morning gives me time to do all my morning routines and start the day powerfully.

2. Spiritual Time In The Morning — Prayer Or Meditation

It is something I can’t imagine my day without. Spending time with God or connecting to my spiritual self helps me be more present, thankful, and eliminates stress and anxiety.

Regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs, meditations have become increasingly popular lately. And I believe some form of meditation exists in every culture and religion. For me, one form of prayer is also a meditation on God’s Word.

Meditation’s one of the core aims is to be able to control our racing thoughts. Controlling our thoughts and choosing the right ones is key to mental well-being.

That’s exactly also what the Bible advises us to do:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.” — Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

The benefits of meditation have been proven scientifically. Not only as reduced levels of stress and positive mood states but overall health — ambulatory blood pressure, reduced heart rate, altered levels of melatonin and serotonin, etc.

Apart from that, overall mindfulness in our lives helps us be more present, joyful, and productive.

My favorite app for the last few weeks has been the Glorify app. It contains several guided meditations to help me become more aware of God’s love and presence and reduce anxiety.

I also want to work more on meditations that include breathing exercises.

3. Positive Self-Talk In The Morning

Positive self-affirmation regularly is vital since our mind has a natural tendency to drift into negativity if we don’t consciously fill it with positivity.

Our thoughts re-present our past experiences. Suppose we have built a limiting belief as a result of a painful experience. In that case, we are inclined to view ourselves and related experiences negatively further on.

In his book, The Possibility Principle, psychotherapist Mel Schwartz mentions a client who struggled with feeling unlovable for many years because of the words her mother had told her when she was a child. Her mother said, “When I learned I was pregnant with you, I told your father, I didn’t want another baby.” The effects of this single sentence were negatively projected in all different areas of her adult life.

Unfortunately, this example is a situation that is not at all uncommon. Many have experienced similar hurtful things from their parents or other people around. That has formed several limiting beliefs that affect our self-esteem, confidence and success.

An effective way of positive self-talk is to recognize the limiting beliefs we have, change them into positive ones, and repeat them daily out loud. By consistent repetition, we can re-wire our brain.

I have changed my self-image and dramatically increased my self-esteem by saying to myself every morning out loud: “I am beautiful, smart, loved, confident, and unique.”

“What we think about ourselves shapes our interactions with both others and ourselves.” — Mel Schwartz

We can make sure those interactions are positive by positively wiring our brain through self-talk.

Besides positively changing self-image and improving self-esteem, positive self-talk daily also helps us feel more confident and focus on being productive.

4. Exercise In The Morning

Probably no long explanations are any more needed why is exercise necessary. But it is worthwhile to remind the need for consistency.

A morning workout is another essential way for a natural source of energy to wake up our minds. Researches have shown how morning exercises increase focus and mental abilities better than caffeine.

Mornings, when I have skipped my morning exercise, I feel more tiredness and stiff muscles.

Studies also show that people who regularly exercise in the mornings have a deeper and longer sleep than those who don’t.

I can confirm that. I remember the nights I have woken up and couldn’t fall back into sleep have been usually when I haven’t exercised for a more extended time.

“Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude, and your mood.” — yourpositiveoasis.com

I love to start my day with a run by the seaside in warmer weather seasons.

However, during the winter, I prefer exercises at home — exercises to train legs, ABS, arms I have learned from several different exercise apps.

Lately, face exercise programs have become increasingly popular. In my opinion, it makes sense why we should train our face muscles just as we train our body muscles. There are several great programs out there for this too.

5. Motivational Reading In The Mornings

Reading in the mornings is a habit I have had for more than ten years, and I wouldn’t change it.

One of the reasons why many people pay for counseling, coaching, and different programs is to get a different perspective on their situation.

It is hard to do on their own. Reading a good book that teaches you something can have a similar effect too.

A book that is not merely a novel for time-passing, but teaches you something, can alter your perspective on different situations.

How you see things is how you feel and react. If you can’t change something, you can change your attitude (perspective), helping you achieve peace of mind and succeed.

Putting something positive in my mind before I start my day is also a way to take care of my mind’s health consciously.

Our minds have a natural tendency to negativity. Negativity bias in psychology means that the human brain tends to give weight to negative experiences and interactions more than positive ones.

Reading positive material in the morning before we start our day is a way how to be proactive and prevent the negativity bias beforehand.

Each morning I read verses from the Bible and daily devotional and then 30 min from another book. Lately, some of my favorite books are Switch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf and The Possibility Principle by Mel Schwartz.

6. Saying Please And Thank You

As simple as it may sound, it is not something everyone always does.

We are not only making people feel appreciated by saying please and thank you, but we also help ourselves be present and appreciative of others around us.

And it is much more than that.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Award-winning author Frank Sonnenberg writes, “making an effort to do little things well will help you do big things well.”

Be conscious and present wherever you go and whomever you talk with. Remembering always to say please and thank you will help you to be more present with people. Say please and thank you genuinely with mindful intonation, not just out a routine and habit.

7. Gratitude

Gratitude is another way how to increase mindfulness.

Often, we get so used to good things that we start appreciating them only when they are gone.

Amy Morin has summarized seven scientifically proven benefits of gratitude. They include improving physical and psychological health, mental strength, empathy, better sleep, improved self-esteem, and the possibility to form new relationships.

According to scholar Robert Emmons, gratitude blocks toxic, negative emotions, such as envy, resentment, regret — emotions that can destroy our happiness.

Grateful people are happy people.

Being grateful is the ultimate attitude that can help us feel true happiness regardless of circumstances and attract more positive things in our lives.

“Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have, will be taken from them.” — Matthews 13:12 (NIV)

This Bible verse teaches that those who have (those who appreciate what they have) will receive more. But those who don’t value what they have or complain about that, even what they have will be taken away.

I like that Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving Day. I am from a little Northeastern European country Latvia, and I wish Europeans would also have such a tradition.

There are many ways how to express thankfulness every day. You can write down daily three things you are thankful for. You can think about that on your commute to work. You can express those in conversations with other people.

I am thankful to my best friend who gave me a gift: A five-minute gratitude journal. It is a reminder for me to write down three things every day I am grateful for.

8. Devoted Focus To A Single Task

Scientists have found evidence that a deep, intellectual thought produces increased concentration, less distraction, less switching between the tasks, decreased emotional volatility, and an overall increase in job completion.

However, multitasking (milkshake-multitasking, as Dr. Caroline Leaf, calls it) decreases our attention, opens us up to shallow and weak judgments, and results in passive mindlessness.

Multitasking — constant switching between the tasks — makes a neurochemical mess that is not natural or healthy in our minds.

Being in front of a laptop all day long is easy to lose yourself in multitasking — constantly checking email and messages. Personally, it has been one of the most difficult habits to get rid of. (And, I am still working on it!)

However, when I am devoting myself to a single task for half a day or even several hours without letting myself be distracted, I see the benefits of increased creativity and concentration.

“Concentration is the root of all the higher abilities in man.” — Bruce Lee

The key is to turn off notifications when working and set specific times for breaks to check notifications and new messages.

There will be moments when you will get bored and will feel like looking for the dose of dopamine from check FB, IG, or email. You need discipline for those moments.

9. Tea Instead Of Coffee

I started to drink tea in the mornings instead of a coffee couple of years ago.

Coffee gives an instant energy fix. However, when it is gone, it is easier to feel it, and therefore, choose another cup of coffee again.

Tea provides a smooth boost of energy instead of an instant kick.

Tea is also rich in L-theanine, which is a powerful antioxidant that also stimulates your brain. Unlike caffeine, L-theanine may provide anti-stress effects by increasing your brain’s alpha waves, which help you calm down and relax.

Therefore, by drinking tea, you can get both — mental alertness along with state of relaxation.

When it comes to caffeine benefits, such as mental alertness, improvement in reaction times, and information processing, both black tea and coffee provide similar benefits.

In general, there are more benefits to tea than coffee, and tea is also less addictive.

“Tea — the finest aromatic solution to every problem the day may bring.” — Unknown

My favorite teas are black tea and mate tea. Mate tea has more caffeine than black tea — about 85 mg of caffeine per cup, only about 10 mg less than a cup of coffee.

10. Journaling

Journaling is another trend now, and there is a reason for that. There are many benefits to this routine.

Our mind is built in a way that it needs time to rest and reset. It needs time to sort out all the things going on in our brain — time to reflect and find new perspectives.

Journaling is a great way how to do that.

It is proven that journaling helps manage anxiety and stress, identify negative thoughts and behaviors, and prioritize solutions.

“Journaling is an incredible stress management tool.”

Although I don’t remember to write in my journal every day, I do it as often as possible.

I write down things I am thankful for and write down ideas and perspectives that I have found helpful at the moment.

I also write down goals and write about my vision.

11. Reviewing Goals And Vision Often

Writing down goals and reviewing them is essential to keep the commitments we have and avoid rationalizing them away. The more time we spend with our goals, the more likely we are to achieve them. The reason for that is the same as the ultimate law of our thinking: we become what we think about.

“The more we have invested in something, the less likely we are to let it fail,” as Rory Vaden writes.

The more time you have spent thinking about something (e.g., goals or vision), the more responsibility you will feel to do everything it takes to achieve that. Imagine two friends — one you have seen daily, and you see three times a year. Which one will be more painful to lose?

“Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day.” — Harvey MacKay

There are several goal-setting and goal-reviewing exercises I have been doing and continue doing.

I have written down my one-year vision in a format that I can read aloud every morning.

I have written out my ten most important goals for the year and regularly (every day) rewrite them in my journal. Writing down goals often activates the encoding process. Through the encoding process, things get analyzed and stored in long-term memory.

I have been writing an essay imagining vividly how I feel and what I do when I have achieved my most important goals.

12. Getting Enough Sleep

Finally, a simple habit, however, often a neglected one, is getting enough sleep.

Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

Here are some short term effects of lack of sleep:

• Lack of alertness.
• Excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Impaired memory.
• Mood swings make conflicts with others more likely.
• Greater likelihood for car accidents.

The effects of chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, obesity, depression, weakened immunity, memory issues, trouble thinking and concentrating, etc. It affects appearance as well — it gives more wrinkles.

“Prioritizing good sleep is good self-love.”

I try to avoid having less than 7 hours of sleep each night as much as possible. I can feel the effect of even only the small difference of having slept only 6 hours. I experience difficulties to focus, to keep my mood positive, and problems to focus.

All of that usually makes my day less productive. Thus, I always conclude that I did not gain that extra 1 or 2 hours by sleeping less — I lose more the next day with difficulties to focus.

To Conclude

With some of the habits I have mentioned here, such as having enough sleep or reading in the mornings, we might sometimes feel like we are saving time by not doing that.

Nevertheless, the opposite is true.

There are habits in which it is worth to invest time as in the long term it provides us with more productivity, improving our quality of life.

Taking time every day to read for 30 minutes can, bit by bit, fill our minds with knowledge and help us to wire our minds positively. That will then improve the quality of our life.

Disciplining ourselves to go to bed every day at the same time will help us to feel refreshed and energized day in and day out.

Taking a little moment to think and write about our goals daily will help us be so invested in them that we will not forget about them when the going gets tough.

Thank you for reading! I would love to keep on inspiring you! Click here to receive my newsletter, “Fearless Growth with Laine.”