🌻5 Tiny Habits That Can Shape Your Life in Less Than 6 Months

How small choices can lead to big changes.

When I tapped into the world of self-improvement almost a decade ago, I developed a morning routine that took me 60–90 minutes to complete.

Every book or article I read praised the idea of starting your day strong, so I took the advice seriously.

I made my bed, journaled, worked out, read, meditated, did visualization exercises, drank water with a squeeze of lemon juice, and tried a dozen other habits until I realized my extensive morning routine was actually holding me back from achieving my goals because it was taking up so much of my time.

And that’s the problem with most advice on habits: Most useful routines take time, and if you commit to the wrong ones, you end up losing more than you gain.

What I learned over the years is that you don’t always need extensive, hour-long habits.

Read also: 4 simple rules to live your best life

Sometimes, a 15-minute HIIT workout is manageable, while a 60-minute exercise class isn’t.

Sometimes, you can only read a short inspirational newsletter instead of devouring a self-help book each week.

Sometimes, a calm walk in nature is more useful than an extensive meditation retreat.

Life is all about balance, and you can come a long way through small, simple habits if you only practice them consistently.

Start with a small win

Instead of following an extensive morning routine, commit to starting your days with one small win.

If you’re struggling to drink enough water throughout the day, start by drinking a big glass right after waking up.

If you’re feeling stiff and inflexible, follow a short stretching routine. (I love the classes on FitOn.)

If you feel disconnected from your partner lately, do a 5-minute gratitude meditation together.

You get the idea: Pick one area of your life that you’d like to improve and create a routine that helps you make a positive change with minimal effort.

The easiest way to be healthy

I recently read a piece by stating the obvious:

“The easiest way to be healthy is to keep doing healthy things.”

This may sound ridiculous, but it isn’t because making comfortable choices is always easier than committing to healthy routines.

Most people will choose convenience over health, which explains why obesity is soaring, and more people than ever get diagnosed with diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s, which can be linked to lifestyle choices.

But life can be simple if we only train ourselves to consistently make the right (healthy) choices.

If you don’t put unhealthy foods in your shopping cart, you won’t eat them at home.

If your friends enjoy working out or spending time in nature, you’ll naturally move your body more often.

If you log off social media, you’re less tempted to check notifications all the time.

Be on plane mode more often

Airplane mode is the most powerful feature of your phone, yet, most people never use it.

Trying to “spend less time on your phone” is nice, but it usually doesn’t work.

What does work is removing access to the internet, so your phone becomes less interesting.

There’s no temptation to check your phone if you know you won’t see any notifications.

Here’s how to start:

Put your phone on airplane mode 30–60 minutes before you go to bed. Use that time to do something that feels good. Read, draw, write, sing. Disconnect from the digital world, so you can reconnect with your inner self.
Leave your phone outside your bedroom overnight, and don’t turn plane mode off until you’ve done one thing you’re proud of. This could be your small morning routine, completing the most important task of your day, or getting a workout in before you check social media, emails, or text messages. You deserve to be present for yourself before your attention is divided through the internet.
Use plane mode for uninterrupted work sessions. Even if your phone is on silent, you’ll be tempted to check notifications the moment they appear on your screen. You want to avoid the temptation altogether by going offline. Start with 30–60 minute chunks until you’re obsessed with plane mode.
Create a shutdown ritual and gain back your life

The biggest danger of being a knowledge worker is that you can always do more.

There’s always one more email you can respond to.

One more task to check off.

One more idea you wanted to think through.

And yet, work isn’t life.

Without a proper shutdown ritual, work and personal life easily blend together.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all in for doing what you love for a living. It’s the premise of my entire business.

But doing what I love doesn’t mean I want to do it all the time.

I want to be offline.

I want to read.

I want to play board games for hours.

I want to dance.

And all those things are more fun if you don’t think of work while doing them.

Just like you’d close open tabs on your computer, you want to close the open tabs on your mind when logging off for the evening or weekend.

Without a shutdown ritual, I was tempted to keep checking work emails on my phone — even if it was 8 pm and I was out with friends. I was subconsciously thinking of work because I didn’t allow myself to properly log off.

This is particularly dangerous if you’re running your own business or working on a side hustle. Add a dash of ambition and determination to the game and you end up never not thinking of work — a horrible place to be.

So here’s how I like to shut down after a workday:

I close all tabs and apps on my computer (that’s a big relief in itself!)
I clean and organize my desk (get rid of cups, papers, etc.)
I check if any devices need to be recharged for the next workday
And most importantly, I do something non-work related right away to ensure I don’t end up sitting on the couch checking my emails again.

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I try to switch from thinking to living as soon as possible and usually start by going out for a short walk, so I can get out of my head and connect with my body.

5 lines that’ll keep you happy for 5 years

I discovered the 5-year memory journal in 2020 and have been obsessed with it ever since.

You know how you love a book so much that you share it with anyone you love? It’s the same with this journal — nearly all my friends have received it because I genuinely think anyone can benefit from it.

The concept is stupidly simple: You have a journal with 365 pages, with each page representing a day in a year (January 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

Each page is divided into five sections, which represent five different years (in my case, it’s 2020–2024).

Every day, you jot down what you’ve done, what you’re grateful for, or whatever else comes to mind. You have space for 1–3 sentences max.

And here’s when the magic happens: When I write today’s entry, I see what I’ve written in the previous years. I see what I’ve done, what I was mad about, what I was worrying about, and what progress I made since.

You basically create a mini summary of your life, including many beautiful memories that you’d otherwise just forget about.

I love taking photos with my phone but often forget to capture special moments. I don’t forget to write them down since my journal is always right next to my bed.

I use this journal, but I’ve seen more beautiful versions lately — and let’s be honest: If you use a journal for five years, you’re allowed to judge it by the cover!

What to do now

Now that you have five new ideas on how to make a positive change each day, your biggest challenge is to ignore most of the advice I’ve given.

Why?

Because taking on too much usually leads to failure and disappointment.

Instead of trying to do all of the above, pick your favorite idea and start small. Once you feel comfortable with your new routine, come back and pick your next new habit.

“If information was the answer, we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs. It’s not what you know, it’s what you do consistently.”

— Derek Sivers

🟢Contributed by Sinem Günel

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