30 Small Habits That Have A Significant Impact On Daily Life, According To Folks In This Online Group
You can’t deny that being disciplined is definitely a huge plus when it comes to getting your life together. Not saying discipline is for everyone—if you got things under control without it, great—but you can’t deny that it does help put some things into perspective and streamline life in ways that are otherwise hella hard.
Well, folks on Reddit have been talking about something that has a lot to do with discipline, and that is habits. In particular, it’s small, minimal-effort habits that go a long way in improving your quality of life and thus make a huge difference in how you approach it.
We’ve scoped out the best, most helpful tips, tricks, hacks, and just habits in general that folks in this thread suggested and created a lovely curated list that you can find, vote and comment on below. And why not share some of your bits of advice for small, yet high-impact habits in the comment section below!
And yes, we are aware that some of these submissions are rather similar, if not identical, yet they provide different takes on the same habits. So, smile and be kind.
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Drink water instead of pretty much anything else.
Except coffee. I'm not a monster.
Getting into the habit of saying please and thank you. I’ve seen endless horror stories about people in retail getting sh*t on by ungrateful and rude customers, so I made a resolve to try and be as amicable and cooperative whenever I can.
And it really made a difference. It really helps smooth things along when both people are working together to get things done as efficiently as possible. It’s a great feeling helping make someone’s day easier. Goes to show a little bit of kindness goes a long way.
This needs to be #1. I've worked retail and food service off-and-on for many years and I got all kinds of people. I will always be grateful to the customers that showed patience and kindness towards me. I do what I can to pay that forward because, unfortunately, these employees are still getting the short end of the stick because certain customers feel its okay to take their negative emotions out on minimum wage workers.
Every time you leave a room take something that doesn't belong there and put it away. As soon as it is a habit you're house will stay tidy.
1) Trying to see the other person's point of view, or at least not reacting explosively negative to it when you disagree. (This helps immeasurably with in-laws.)
2) knowing when to keep your mouth shut. It’s not necessary to always express an opinion or make a remark, especially when there's no hope of changing another's viewpoint.
3) It costs NOTHING to be kind, to affirm other people by recognizing them, to say please & thank you.
Yes. Yes. and Yes. 4) Choose your battles and, if necessary, concede defeat even if you're right. It's pointless to continue arguing.
Exercise at least 3-5 times a week. You don't need to train like a an Olympic athlete. Going for a walk or jog is good enough. Do pushups and crunches right after you get up. As long as you get your heart rate up.
Small steps, it'll all add up.
I really need to keep this consistent. The worst thing that has happened to me was a desk job. You're so burnt at the end of the day and you haven't even been active. It's insane.
2 minute rule.
If you see something that needs doing that will take 2 minutes or less; go ahead and do it. Put away those clothes. Pick up that toy as you walk by. Empty that dish washer when you go to get a drink. Scoop the litterbox when you go to take a p**s.
Things will stay neater, you'll be more organized, and you'll find you have more time in the long run for stuff you want to do, instead of having to take care of stuff you've been putting off.
Stop drinking soda. In the long run soda is bad for you and after a while of not drinking you will realize that it tastes to sweet.
Making a habit of being kind. Positivity that has the possibility of infinite growth.
I try to overpower mean people with kindness. If I'm dealing with a tough customer I'll dial up the "thank you" and "I'm glad you brought this to my attention" and "oh no, we must rectify this" and eventually they mellow out. Not a 10-10 strategy but works most of the time.
Replacing items before they run out. E.g.. detergent, toilet paper, shampoo, etc.
My 4yo does this without ever being asked. I was shocked and amazed, thought I had bought magic toilet paper!
Healthy eating. If you make it habitual, you look and feel a million times better than when you eat like c**p. You don't even crave c****y food often.
Meal planning.
You save so much more money if you pre-plan what you're going to eat for the week than if you wing it.
Brushing your teeth, your smile look good, you save money and your health, benefits quite a lot from a healthy mouth.
Doing dishes at night so I wake up to a clean sink and clean dishes. I live in a tiny studio and don’t have a dishwasher so this makes a big difference for me.
I do the dishes all day long. I'd rather wash a few items several times a day, than wash sinks full all at once. And you'll wake up to a neat kitchen with a clean sink and clean dishes.
Somewhere in Europe you pay a 10-cent deposit on all your beer bottles, my small habit of alcoholism gives me a nice return on bottles when I hand them in for recycling.
I hate paying the 10 cent deposit, but don't complain when I'm broke. The bottle/can money comes in handy.
Most things related to hygiene. Brushing teeth, showering daily, washing your clothes regularly. Hygiene is the #1 thing that the opposite sex cares about, and the first thing people notice.
Eating a little less. You don’t even have to eat better, just leave 1/4-1/3 of your food on your plate. Get a smaller bowl of ice cream. Eat one less slice of pizza. Don’t eat all the fries. If everything else stays the same you’ll lose weight, and it’s a start towards being healthier.
If you use smaller plates, your portions will be smaller as well. Even if you "clean" your plate you'll have eaten less. It's ok to leave some food on your plate, regardless.
Flossing. There are a lot of people who don't floss, but it's an important habit to get into. Once you start flossing, you'll feel gross when you don't do it.
For decades dentists have recommended flossing as an essential part of oral hygiene. But how useful is it really? An investigation by the Associated Press has revealed there is insufficient proof to back up this claim. The US Department for Health and Human Services and Agriculture admitted in a letter that the benefits of flossing had never been properly researched. A British dentist at the University of Birmingham, Prof Damien Walmsley, also said there is only "weak evidence" to suggest flossing is beneficial.
Sleep well.
It isn't even the long run, the next morning you'll become 10x better.
Wearing daily face cream with sunscreen UV protection.
What do you all do about the eye burning? I sweat a lot and boy does it sting when it gets in my eyes.
Saving money.
I have lost count of how many people who got themselves into serious debt simply because they spend more than what's necessary.
Sometimes they get into serious debt trouble because what's necessary is more than they earn.
Positively impact someone's day. And I think that's a small habit, because you don't have to do anything huge.
You could go really simple and just give a random, genuine compliment. "I like that jacket."
You could go slightly more advanced and compliment someone to someone else. "Man, Martha has been killing it lately with her work." There's a chance the compliment gets back to her. But even if not, you're boosting your image to the person you said that to, because of your willingness to compliment others.
You could do a slightly more advanced move like complimenting someone in the form of requesting their expertise. "Sam, you seem to really understand pivot tables in Excel. If you have time, do you mind showing me how they work?"
All 3 of those tactics are *slightly* manipulative, because you have to consciously manufacture those moments with regularity, at least at first. But they breed nothing but benefits. The other person feels better. You feel better. And you're easing that gap that separates people, unless one takes the initiative of lessening it.
I have always done this. Random compliments make people happy. I enjoy the responses more, I think, than they do the compliment. Even if I'm having a REALLY bad day, I will say something positive to someone. "Pretty dress.", or "I appreciate you." It makes the day a little less bad too. :)
Regularly going to the gym and eating well. I wasn't skinny because of metabolism. I was skinny because I wasn't eating and exercising enough. I'm up 20 pounds since this time last year.
With exercising and eating healthy you "loose" fat cells and gain muscle cells. Those tend to weigh more than fat cells, so you gain weight, but you are slimmer. Sad fact: the fat cells don't just go away, they are only emptied of the stored fat, so when you stop exercising and start up bad eating habits, they fill up again in no time. Voilà: here we have the yo-yo effect.
Mine is less sugar intake. The amount that most people eat is really disruptive to our bodies. Instead of getting that ice cream, get a yogurt or fruit. :)
Wake up at the same time. Every. Single. Day. Even on weekends. You stop waking up tired and start waking up naturally before your alarm.
Yes, I’m well aware this doesn’t work for everyone.
Budget your money.
That is the only solid way I know to get "rich" quick.
The concept of no zero days. On days when I'm feeling lazy and unproductive, I try to do something even if it's as simple reading or cleaning my room for 5 minutes.
Making your bed in the morning. It takes 3 minutes, and it makes your room look neat and presentable, as well as giving you the feeling that you accomplished something for the day. It's easy from there to just let that productive feeling snowball into being productive in other areas in your life.
If something needs to be done, *just do it.* Most people spend more time whining about work, whether household chores or employment related tasks, than if they'd just get in there and do it. Work and productivity is not the earth-shattering concept most people, of all ages, act like it is and no type of honest work is beneath anyone. Bathrooms are dirty at your high school job? Volunteer to do it. Your roommates not cleaning the common areas? Suck it up and do it or it'll just get worse because they won't do it regardless. Short-staffed at your adult job? Stay the extra thirty minutes to cover a task when everyone else acts like its moving mountains to do so.
After a while, you'll find there's a lot of personal satisfaction that can be found in this productivity for very little lost time in the big picture. Maybe you can only watch one episode on Netflix tonight instead of two for getting something done - so what? No, it's not always going to be fair, just like nothing else in life will be either. But, you can confidently say that you are humble enough and willing enough to take ownership and pride in your piece of the world when virtually no one else does the same. And in the end, it will be noticed by the right people. You will have better friends, better relationships, and better treated as an employee because genuine people in all of these categories know just how rare this trait is in a sea of total mediocrity. And there's no special skills required, just an open attitude you can start today with at any age.
I strongly disagree with this one. It is not my responsibility to do someone else's job or take care of their messes. I take absolutely no pride in doing menial chores. My house is clean because it has to be in order for me to live in it. I have lots of good habits, but it doesn't mean I like doing any of it. If my friends see my house a bit messy, they feel bad that I had a busy week. They're not suddenly worse friends, and if they did behave that way, we wouldn't be friends because I don't need that kind of toxicity in my life. I am a good employee, but I don't do extra. I don't get paid to do extra. I do what I need to, and I do it well. I am not mediocre. I just don't puff my chest out for doing normal tasks and what is expected of me. That's what it means to be humble. Not whatever this is.
I think both of you are right. I've found that in jobs where I feel like I'm part of a team, I pitch in and go the extra mile and feel good about it. But I see your point about setting boundaries and not letting yourself be taken advantage of. Doing your job and doing it well is a source of pride, too.
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Enh. I used to be the only woman at my office, and I took it on myself to clean the kitchen and do other little chores that nobody else would do. At first I felt good about it, but over time as I realized it wasn't being noticed at all, I started to get resentful.
No appreciation, no gratitude and once you stop people expect it from you perpetually.
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This one seems like propaganda by big corporate to get you to do more without being compensated fairly and enjoy life less. Watch one less episode of Netflix? What are you, a robot?!
Stay 30 minutes after work? Corporate will love all that free work you're donating. Maybe 50 or 60 years ago you might have been recognized, but not today.
Load More Replies... You sound like a manager who says that money is not the only reason people should come to work. True, the advice above is how the world used to work, but it is no longer the case.
Just be cautious of those who would take advantage of you for this...
As a parent, getting my kid to do her chores is an absolute pain and it would be so much easier to just do them myself. But then we'd go to all those Gen Z posts about how entitled kids are and don't do any work. No, don't do work that isn't yours unless you're getting paid. Your labor has value.
Why do the work for someone else? When they notice they will leave their work for you.
Making an account cause this is so wrong. This will only make you a doormat. Your relationships will all take advantage of you. I know this from experience.
This suggestion is b******t and also rude. You're asking people to suck it up and do other people's chores? To hell with that. The more you do the more they're gonna take advantage of you. And when it comes to work, if you're efficient you're punished with more work. So don't have to be so extra. If you drop dead your company will replace you within days. So enjoy your life and show middle finger to people who ask you to "work hard".
This tip leads to you getting taken advantage of chronically and strings you along on false promises of "you'll get rewarded someday." You won't. You repeatedly show you don't need a reward, so why would you get one. Stand up for yourself, set boundaries and make sure everyone does their fair part.
I take pride in my work and in a clean home but both are already a lot of work and there are days when I simply don't have time...my friends also work hard and understand when my house isn't perfect...not doing someone else's job or cleaning up after them don't make me mediocre or less humble or unproductive...I'm very good at my job and I earn every penny but I'm not making myself responsible for someone else's work when I'm not being paid for it. Nor should I be expected to clean up after other able-bodied adults like some good-hearted char woman...I can feel a sense of accomplishment without setting a precedent that others are allowed to ignore their responsibilities since I'll do it for them.
I feel that I have to comment and I never do! I’m a proud (?) Gen Xer and that is the mentality our bosses had. I worked my a*s off for years and years as a single mother, up the corporate ladder, making less than my male counterparts, doing more work than my male counterparts, and being sexually harassed weekly. While my child was struggling with her own issues, I was told I would lose my credibility if I took the time I needed to take care of her. This younger generation has gotten things right. Don’t put up with all the BS for little money. Don’t work extra for nothing. The corporations will still make money and unless you’re in the upper echelons, you will always be just a cog, making them richer.
This is b******t. Do what you feel. Just do it at some point that day. You're the type that likes to know what to do, but give yourself a while to wake up/rest from doing other things/get mentally prepped? Do that. If you just start on something and you aren't that type, just doing the thing can actually put you in the wrong mindset and make the whole thing worse, when it really isn't.
And shitheads won't like you because you make them look bad...I did all this and was punished for it for my whole career in multiple schools as a teacher.
This is called being a mug because you are actively allowing yourself to be taken advantage of and will resent it quite quickly.
I can only do things like housework for a few minutes at a time, meaning they don't get finished. I have no problem doing what needs to be done when I see it, but being unable to dust or vacuum w/o finishing? Cooking, doing dishes or laundry? Its worse seeing it half done than not at all
When camping in Girl Scouts the last thing we did was clean up our site. Our goal was to leave it cleaner than when we found it. To this day my goal is to pick up at least one piece of trash a day. If there's random trash on my street I remove, never thinking " well, it's not mine." After all, who was it that said, " If not me, who? If not now, when?"
Very wise words. Like they always say. Slowly replace bad habits with good habits to live a better life.
I share a house with 4 others. None of us are related, nor the same age (29, 39, 47, 56, 58). I just consider myself the housekeeper, and that's okay. I always have something to do, all of my housemates appreciate all that I do. I did the same working outside the home. Why not do what needs to be done?
That sounds like a healthy habit, but people will take advantage of you. I was raised like that, and when I was a young adult, (in my twenties) I had trouble relaxing. I was finally able to break that habit.
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There are a lot of "habits" here that only work for neurotypical people. You can't "just do it" if you have certain mental health issues.
Thank you!! I have a laundry list of issues including adhd and I'm trying to get better with alot of this stuff and it's so hard to "just do it" I can never "just do it" with anything.
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"Eating healthy" and "excercise every week" are not small habits. They're major elements of persons lifestyle
Some of these are ableist as heck. Not everyone can manage constant productivity and healthy habits like tons of exercise.
Exactly. A big change in my mindset had to happen when I became chronically ill, as I was so used to just being able to get stuff done. Pacing is so important if you have low energy.
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Uh, thanks for telling me, an adult, how and what to do with my life, obviously otherwise, I would be drinking and eating c**p, laying in my own filth, thanks.
Every day I try to do 15 minutes of tiding, which mostly works. I walk around the house putting random stuff away where it belongs, make my bed, wipe my bathroom sink and toiletseat and put food in the fridge that my kids left on the counter, put dishes in the dishwasher and wipe the counter.In just 15 minutes your house looks tidy and well kept. And importantly I can manage being disciplined with it. Sometimes I get in the mood to do some extra chores I wouldn't have done otherwise.
Something that helped me with cleaning habits is to keep cleaning supplies in most rooms, in a cupboard somewhere. Its a lot easier to do a quick clean if the supplies are right there, than when you have to go to a different part of the house to get them and might get sidetracked along the way.
If your angry about something SAY SO. Don't mutter under your breath in another room just loud enough for me to hear it. My husband is the king of this and it makes me extremely anxious. I spend my life in a state of perpetual anxiety, even if it's not about me. I'm always wondering "what did I do (or not do) NOW"
All of these comments below are true, however, we must not compare ourselves to others. Simply try to see these fellow humanbeings' comments as encouragements to their fellow travelers thru life. Be encouraged to try your best with your own goals and be gentle with yourself on those days that are a struggle. Blessings on us all.
Doing a little something is always better than doing a whole lot of nothing. Applies to everything - chores, exercise, eating nutritiously, putting a little money aside.
I wipe the grout in my bathtub dry after I shower. It's still a bit grubby, but it's not getting worse.
Thank you so much for sharing this useful information!! Going down this road to successfully change your habits and develop a new routine might be tough. The good news is that with gummies, you can make the decision to alter your life. - Nidra Nutrition https://nidranutrition.com
There are a lot of "habits" here that only work for neurotypical people. You can't "just do it" if you have certain mental health issues.
Thank you!! I have a laundry list of issues including adhd and I'm trying to get better with alot of this stuff and it's so hard to "just do it" I can never "just do it" with anything.
Load More Replies... "Eating healthy" and "excercise every week" are not small habits. They're major elements of persons lifestyle
Some of these are ableist as heck. Not everyone can manage constant productivity and healthy habits like tons of exercise.
Exactly. A big change in my mindset had to happen when I became chronically ill, as I was so used to just being able to get stuff done. Pacing is so important if you have low energy.
Load More Replies... Uh, thanks for telling me, an adult, how and what to do with my life, obviously otherwise, I would be drinking and eating c**p, laying in my own filth, thanks.
Every day I try to do 15 minutes of tiding, which mostly works. I walk around the house putting random stuff away where it belongs, make my bed, wipe my bathroom sink and toiletseat and put food in the fridge that my kids left on the counter, put dishes in the dishwasher and wipe the counter.In just 15 minutes your house looks tidy and well kept. And importantly I can manage being disciplined with it. Sometimes I get in the mood to do some extra chores I wouldn't have done otherwise.
Something that helped me with cleaning habits is to keep cleaning supplies in most rooms, in a cupboard somewhere. Its a lot easier to do a quick clean if the supplies are right there, than when you have to go to a different part of the house to get them and might get sidetracked along the way.
If your angry about something SAY SO. Don't mutter under your breath in another room just loud enough for me to hear it. My husband is the king of this and it makes me extremely anxious. I spend my life in a state of perpetual anxiety, even if it's not about me. I'm always wondering "what did I do (or not do) NOW"
All of these comments below are true, however, we must not compare ourselves to others. Simply try to see these fellow humanbeings' comments as encouragements to their fellow travelers thru life. Be encouraged to try your best with your own goals and be gentle with yourself on those days that are a struggle. Blessings on us all.
Doing a little something is always better than doing a whole lot of nothing. Applies to everything - chores, exercise, eating nutritiously, putting a little money aside.
I wipe the grout in my bathtub dry after I shower. It's still a bit grubby, but it's not getting worse.
Thank you so much for sharing this useful information!! Going down this road to successfully change your habits and develop a new routine might be tough. The good news is that with gummies, you can make the decision to alter your life. - Nidra Nutrition https://nidranutrition.com
