5 small habits to change your life
Micro-habits are the small, easy actions you take regularly to make your life feel less overwhelming.
Consistent action brings life changing results, but I also know that regular habits or actions can feel overwhelming or hard to fit in. This post is all about making life feel more effortless and organised - Reducing the morning rush and closing out some of those tabs in open in your brain.
First, we make our habits and then our habits make us.
Here are 5 simple to implement habits that have the power to not only change the way that you feel, but to change your life. If you want to start including these, I suggest starting with one at a time. Choose one that stands out to you and focus on it for a week. The following week, add in another and so on.
Preparing for the next day the night before
Mornings can feel rushed. By reducing some of the thinking and action taking in the morning it can lead to a more seamless trip out the door for the day. Think about what you have on the following day and do things like:
Organising meals and snacks in the fridge ready to grab and go
Plan and set your outfit out
Grab your gym clothes, socks and shoes and have them packed
Put your handbag at the front door with anything that you need already packed - laptop, snacks, tissues, lipstick, phone charger, drink bottle.
Start your day with a podcast or YouTube video
Rather than starting your day scrolling social media or checking emails, prioritise your mental headspace by listening to a podcast episode or watching a youtube video. Give yourself a moment to consider that ‘type’ of podcast you would like to listen to - do you feel like an episode to learn something or focus on your mindset? Maybe you feel like listening to something fun or silly. Or perhaps it’s a motivational YouTube video you feel like listening to.
(Check out this post here for all of my favourite podcasts)
Become a list person
Close out some of the tabs in your brain by writing out lists. They don’t have to be to-do-lists if that’s not your jam. It can be category lists, ‘don’t forget’ lists even family member lists. So much of our overwhelm comes from feeling like there’s too much ‘stuff’ happening in our head, so give yourself the opportunity to write it out. You brain is able to release some of the tension because you know that you have it written down and you aren’t going to forget about it.
Utilise the notes section in your phone, write out lists in a notebook or use a digital tool like Trello. Find what works for you.
Meal planning and prepping
Meal prepping got a bad wrap a few years back and has the stigma of chicken and broccoli for body builders. Not only will planning your meals out for the week help you to feel more organised, it can reduce excess spending on takeaway and extra trips to the grocery store as well as bringing more of a focus to how you are nourishing your body.
I write all of our dinners out for the week and then pick a breakfast, lunch and snack option. I then base my shopping list off of that. That way I know all meals are accounted for, all ingredients are purchased and we aren’t over buying and wasting food.
Habit stacking and tidying
If you’ve been to one of my speaking events before you have probably heard me talking about habit stacking because I love it. It allows me to indulge in my not so beneficial habits (like binging reality TV shows) while also feeling productive, accomplished and getting things done.
Basically, habit stacking is when you pick something you want to get done for the day that feels a little more mundane - think cooking dinner or cleaning the house. Then, stack that habit with something you want to do like putting the next episode of Real Housewives on or pumping your favourite Spotify playlist. You can even take it as an opportunity to have a phone call and check in with a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a while - pop in your ear pods and tidy the house, while catching up!
I highly recommend habit stacking especially at the end of the day. The house is a mess, the kitchen is still untidy from dinner and the following days meals haven’t been organised yet. Rather than feeling like a list of chores, habit stack to have some time for you while getting on top of the house tidying and feel refreshed and organised in the morning!