4 Basic Habits to Help You Get Out of a Slump

Whenever you feel unhappy, do the basics first

Every activity in life has certain underlying basics.

We’re experiencing the neuroscience behind it daily. Consider the fact that you’re reading this article. It shows that you have mastered the basics of the Latin alphabet and English vocabulary. Reading this is easy for you because you’re applying the underlying basics every single day.

When developing skills in life, we are thereby not surprised to hear things like “let’s start with the basics” or “let’s get back to the basics.” Internalizing the most crucial elements of an activity lays the foundation for mastering it.

But why are we not applying this mindset in the bigger picture —habits, projects, or even life itself?

Periods of long-lasting discontentment or sluggishness are inevitable in life. That especially applies during a pandemic. Yet, following four of the most basic habits has helped me to escape that downwards spiral many times. As a consequence, everything else required much less effort and strain. Like in smaller tasks, having basics we can return to provides us with security and strength.

How to Set a Foundation for a Happy Life

There is not much sense in building a sophisticated morning routine if you haven’t even gotten a good night’s rest. Instead, we first need to focus on our most basic human needs — sleep, nutrition, as well as physical and mental health.

So, here are four basic habits worth mastering. I added scientific research and personal guidelines to keep following these as simple as possible.

1. Sleep

• Check your recommended sleep time duration.
• Avoid digital devices at least one hour before sleep.
• Stop your caffeine intake at least six hours before bedtime.

2. Nutrition

• Focus on unprocessed food (real food).
• Make your diet plant-based.
• Don’t forget to enjoy your meal! One mug of ice cream won’t impose a serious risk to your health just like a single workout won’t make you fit.

3. Physical Activity

• Find an activity suitable for you and your daily schedule.
• According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, benefits begin with as little as 60 minutes a week (less than ten minutes a day). They become substantial when you reach 150–300 minutes a week.
• Don’t overthink it. Sometimes even a casual stroll might suffice.

4. Meditation

• Start with manageable chunks of time and build from there.
• Use one of the many apps for guidance if needed.
• Don’t expect every practice to be flawless — in fact, there is no such thing as a good or bad meditation.

If you don’t consider meditation to be a basic habit, give it the chance to be. In the end, it’s up to you whether you adopt meditation into your life or not. But keep in mind: your mind deserves as much attention as your body. Think of meditation as taking your mind to the gym.

Properties and Benefits of Basic Habits

The benefits of each basic habit are the topic of countless studies, articles, and books. That said, though, we won’t automatically pursue a habit for the sheer reason of its benefits.

This is where basic habits show their potential: they are simple to adopt because they are — by definition — basic.

The four basic habits are profitable and tangible keystone habits.

1. Basic Habits Are Keystone Habits

Charles Duhigg brought up keystone habits in his book, The Power of Habit. They are habits that spark a positive chain reaction in other facets of your life. As a result, you will intensify good habits and evade bad ones.

The renowned habit expert James Clear notes in one of his articles:

“When I worked out, I wanted to eat better. Even though I could have rewarded myself with chocolate bars and ice cream, I felt like eating real, healthy foods. I also slept better.”

The single basic habit of working out automatically improved two other basic habits — sleep and nutrition. In Clear’s case, working out also provided mental benefits:

“And when I was awake, I seemed more productive. Especially in the hour or two after working out, when my mind seemed to think clearer and my writing was crisper. Thoughts flowed easily.”

If you’re interested in exploring keystone habits further, I also recommend this article by Louis Chew.

The takeaway is always the same: don’t think big — start small.

If you feel overwhelmed by the four basic habits, pick one and go from there. If that’s still too much, seemingly insignificant things might do the trick. The simple act of making your bed every morning might be the decisive spark to set your other habits on fire. How you do anything is how you do everything.

2. Basic Habits Are Tangible

Extensive lists with habits I should adopt into my life always terrify me. When typing “good habits” into my search engine, I’m confronted with these top three results:

1. “203 Good Daily Habits: The Ultimate List to Build a Great Life”
2. “50 Good Habits: Transform your Life with This List of Habits”
3. “101 Good Habits for a Productive, Prosperous, Happy Life”

Likewise, I’m dazzled when habits are too abstract. In Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, these are the first three habits he mentions:

1. “Be proactive.”
2. “Begin with the end in mind.”
3. “First things first.”

Don’t get me wrong, all these “good habits” and “abstract habits” are great life advice when internalized and applied correctly. But if you’re anything like me, you don’t know where to start with this information.

Thus, simply building on the things we all do every single day — sleeping, eating, and moving — makes basic habits tangible. And believe me, you can always free up at least five minutes of your day to sit down and meditate.

3. Basic Habits Are Profitable

Have you ever felt like you’re “losing time” when building a habit? It seems as though you’re investing in something without getting any return. There is a reason for this: instant gratification. We naturally lean toward things that make us feel good now. At the same time, though, we often neglect long-term consequences.

It’s no different for the four basic habits. The extra time you invest in sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and meditation might feel like an obstacle to other projects at first. But that time is well spent. The return on your invested time will be rewarding and comes quicker than you might think. Think of it like carrying a water bottle on a long hike. In the beginning, you carry more weight, but as you reach your destination, its value will compound.

Positive effects shared by all four basic habits include:

• reduced stress and anxiety
• increased energy and concentration levels
• an improved mood

So, besides reaping these astonishing benefits, you will actually “gain time” in the long-term.

Bottom line

The concept of basic habits is not a magic formula by any means. There are too many individual and complex factors our happiness depends on but let’s face it: constant efforts of adopting the next best habit into our lives don’t make us happier. They cause anxiety because we’re trying to raise something complex without having laid a foundation.

Thus, I see the four basic habits as both a runway and safety net for other habits or projects. For me, these basic habits are:

• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Meditation

So the next time you’re feeling stuck or unhappy, just ask yourself:

“Do I have a stable foundation of basic habits?”

Then, tackle the bigger tasks in life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story.