24 Daily Habits
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us – John Dryden
I have previously written about how the habit of Exercising Every Day has helped me tremendously. Doing something every day is such a powerful way to form a habit that I thought I would make a list of 24 habits that are worth doing on a daily basis. Note: I have divided these into morning, day and night although some could obviously be under different headings.
The Morning
1. Wake Early: I am a big fan of waking at 5am and spending time working on myself before going to work. I have written more about this habit here.
2. Exercise: when I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week I found it was very easy to tell myself I will exercise tomorrow instead. Setting the expectation of daily exercise removed this as a potential excuse and I have since reaped the benefits of this daily habit.
3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals: each day I try to get closer to achieving my short, medium and long term goals. Starting the day by reviewing or rewriting my goals means that I have better awareness of them throughout the day. As Robin Sharma says:
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.
4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: in the morning a whole day of endless possibilities lies ahead. I motivate myself to play my best game by reading and listening to inspirational books/ audiobooks.
5. Visualise the Day Ahead: I like to take a few minutes to shut my eyes and visualise what I want happen in the coming day. It’s amazing how often my desires become reality when I do this.
6. Write a “To Do” list: I like to write out a list in my diary of the important tasks I need to do that day. As they are completed I put a line through them. So simple, yet so effective.
7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.
8. Take a Multivitamin: I try to eat a well balanced diet, but taking a multivitamin daily reassures me that I obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals that I need (**Update: see comments).
9. Tidy Up: a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and fuzzy thinking. I find it’s best to stay on top of things by tidying up each day.
10. Take Time to Look Good: it’s a reality of life that people judge us by our appearance. I take a few minutes each morning to ensure I go out into the world looking the best I can.
The Day
11. Put First Things First: Many people have their day controlled by tasks that are urgent , but not necessarily important. Examples include interruptions, some email and some phone calls. The habit of putting first things first is about organising and executing your life around your deepest priorities.
12. Connect with Nature: I find spending time outdoors in nature is great for my sense of wellbeing. I have written about this here.
13. Blog: blogging makes me think and write – two things that I can’t get enough of each day. I have written more about the benefits of blogging here.
14. Snack Well: I substitute the chips, candy and chocolate with fruit, vegetables (carrots and celery are great to chomp on) and nuts.
15. Be Proactive: being proactive means showing initiative and taking the responsibility to make things happen. Whenever I want something to happen, I ask myself: what can I do to make this happen?
16. Ping a Friend: I try to send a quick email or text to a friend each day. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends when I am extremely busy.
17. Save: I save at least 10% of each paycheck. A great way to find the money to save is to break it down to a daily amount, for example $10-15. By taking account of the Latte Factor I find it easy to save this much.
The Evening
18. Have Family Time: on a typical workday I won’t see much of my partner and son, so I believe it’s important to, at the very least, be there most evenings. Family time is about quantity and quality.
19. Floss: This is essential to reduce tooth decay and gum disease. Why wouldn’t you want to have the best smile possible?
20. Wind Down: I try to switch off the computer and the TV about 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime and let my brain have some down time after a long day. I sleep far more peacefully when I do this.
21. Review My Day: I find this is a great way to hold myself to account for taking action throughout the day. Did I get closer to achieving my goals? Did I complete my to do list? Did my day go as planned? If not, why not?
22. Read: I love to read and do so continuously throughout the day. I find it is especially good to read just before to going to bed. Just makes sure it’s a relaxing book, and not one about nuclear physics (see habit #20).
23. Say I Love You to My Family Members: don’t just assume that your family members know you love them. I say these words to my partner and son at least once per day.
24. Go to Bed At A Reasonable Time: the first habit of this list (waking early) begins by going to bed at a reasonable time and getting a good nights sleep.
You might also like:
- 12 More Daily Habits
- Gradual Organization: How to Go from Slob to Productive
- Keeping a Journal
- 7 Tips to Make This A Great Week
- The Power of Sharing Your Goals
Learn how I found happiness and meaning and how you can too. Get your FREE copy of my e-book by signing up.
68 Comments
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:56 am
Do NOT take a multivitamin!!! Especially if you are a man. Recent studies have shown that taking a multivitamin 7 days a week increases the chances of getting a deadly form of prostate cancer in men. So stop taking that multivitamin and improve your diet!!! Google for multivitamin (google news) for more info
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June 22nd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
This is a great read and thank you for it. I really like the way you worded the article. Clear, simple and to the point. I plan on implementing many of the suggestions.
Thanks again and keep up the great work.
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June 22nd, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Joe: I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Good luck implementing some of the suggestions.
Sarthak: thanks for bringing that to my attention. As you suggested I tracked down some articles on multivitamins and prostate cancer. Here is a passage from an article I found at Courant.com:
Excessive was said to be more than 7 per week, so from what I have read 1 per day would seem to be fine.
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June 23rd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Very good habits to cultivate and indulge in on a daily basis. These habits should definitely help change our lives for the better (although there seems to be some problem with taking multivitamins on daily basis). Keep up the good work.
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June 23rd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Thanks Anwar. I have updated my suggestion to take a multivitamin in the article with a “see comments” notification. As per my previous comment, my research seems to indicate that one multivitamin a day is fine. I understand, though, that it is something that should be brought to peole’s attention so that they can do their own research and make up their own minds.
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July 3rd, 2007 at 3:45 am
These are wonderful – all suggestions/tips that make sense. Am going to start working on them. Thanks for sharing, and best of luck with your move!
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July 5th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Don’t believe the multivitamin story circulating around these parts. If you read the study abstract itself (http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org.....99/10/754), you will see that there is no conclusive evidence that taking multivitamins have a definite link to getting prostate cancer.
It’s the urban legend phenomenon, nothing more.
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July 5th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Very good tips you have put together, a great read. Thank you
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July 6th, 2007 at 3:02 am
You should definately take multivitimans, just dont take more than one a day. This is a quote about the study that guy was talking about in an earlier post. “They also found no heightened risk among men who took only one vitamin a day, Leitzmann says. He stressed the study was not designed to prove that vitamins affect cancer risk. To prove that, scientists would have to randomly assign half of patients to take supplements and half of men to follow some other regimen.”
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July 6th, 2007 at 4:59 am
Great and very inspiring..but spontaneity is also important , sounds like you take too much time to plan every part of your life…live a little…
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July 8th, 2007 at 12:13 am
I WILL READ THIS AGAIN, JUST SCANNED, BUT YOU GOT MY ATTENTION. VERY PRECISE AND UNDERSTANDABLE CONCEPTS OF EVERY DAY LIFE. MULTIVITAMIN? THERE IS MORE TO LIFE (AND THIS ARTICLE) THEN TAKING A PILL!!!…AS YOU,,WE ALL NEED TO TAKE OFF THE ”BLINDERS”, IN LIFE. THANK YOU FOR MY EYE OPENER…NOW I WILL PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE ROSES, AND SMELL THE COFFEE.
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July 9th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
The multivitamin story is hard to pin down and many factors are involved. Also, the study mentioned men who took a HIGH amount of mulivitamins and supplements more than once a day. We should all strive to eat a healthier diet whether we take a multi-v or not.
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July 9th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Thanks for the list – i love things like this, helps me do my own mental check list to see how I’m doing. I’m taking up #20 now.
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July 10th, 2007 at 4:06 am
Hi. I think you desperately need to get laid. Where in this completely regimented cage of a day is making love? Kissing? Masturbating? I write this not to be obscene, but to remind everyone that sex is like any other form of nutrition. . .necessary.
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July 10th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Lizzy,
Your description of these habits as a regimented cage reminds me of a passage from Stephen Covey:
ps my sex life is great – thanks for your concern though.
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July 11th, 2007 at 12:36 am
Thanks for this article! I sent it to all my friends. During the past year, I have begun impletmenting many of these habbits in my own life and can vouch for real impact small things like tidying up and waking up really early can have on your life. So many of these suggestions have the ability to transform ones routine into a positive, healthy and mature lifestyle. Thank you writing this!
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July 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
As a fellow parent, I highly recommend that you read “Unconditional Parenting” by Alfie Kohn as it has really helped open my eyes.
What brings this to mind is your comment about saying “I love you” at least once per day. I used to follow that principle… maybe not to a T, but enough to know that nobody in my life ever questioned if I loved them.
However, there was a quote, which I shall paraphrase here since I don’t have the book handy, but goes something like this:
By saying ‘I love you’ to our children, it implies that it’s actually possible for us to not love them.
Granted, all people interpret things differently, and that’s the most important thing to keep in mind, but reading that quote just made that much stronger in me the desire to ensure that my son and family know I love them through my actions each and every day… ideally every moment… such that the words “I love you” have no relevance or meaning.
If my son never heards the phrase, “I love you” and he feels it every moment of his life, to me that’s priceless and goes beyond what the words could ever communicate.
It’s only because our egos are accustomed to the words that we attribute such meaning to them and that others around us do as well.
That aside, there’s several things on your list I do daily… and several that, as a result of reading this article, I will do daily.
Thank you for that.
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July 13th, 2007 at 1:27 am
Chris,
Thanks for the book suggestion- I’m always on the lookout for new books to read and that one sounds very interesting.
Also, you are right – actions speak louder than words. Saying ‘I Love You’ should never be a substitute for showing someone you love them through your actions.
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July 18th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I have been getting up early (just for a few days now) and meditating and doing a few other things for pleasure such as having a cup of cappucino on the porch, watching the sun rise, writing postcards to friends, doing a little porch gardening, etc. — and I have found that I enjoy my day much more. I feel more prepared for the day, and surprisingly, I have actually had more energy rather than less, later in the day.
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July 18th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Hi Tamara,
Welcome to the site and thanks for the comment. I have fallen back into some bad habits lately (for good reason – see my post “2 Crazy Weeks”). I’m feeling healthy again now and am looking forward to waking early again as, like your experience, I find it sets me up better for the rest of the day.
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August 2nd, 2007 at 2:40 am
So much agree on point 1 (Wake Early).
BTW, link you’ve posted in point 1 gives me 404 error (file not found)
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August 3rd, 2007 at 3:10 am
Say I love you at least one time a day? My wife would think I DIDN’T love her any more if I only told her once a day… I know you said at least, but it still implies to me that what you’re talking about is maybe 2 or 3 times per day.
As far as the rest of the tips, they’re quite good… I do most of them myself.
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August 3rd, 2007 at 10:04 am
You’re right Jason – I don’t think I would get away with just one “I love you” per day either
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September 10th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Wonderful post. These habits are ones that all of us should use but we sometimes forget in the rush of every day work. A great list to keep nearby and remind yourself to slow down and pay attention. Thanks.
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September 11th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Great article thanks. The only tip I’d add would be to thank anyone and everyone who has helped you in some way each day. You may not be able to thank them in person but a mental thanks at the end of the day would be sufficient.
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October 4th, 2007 at 6:47 am
What an inspiration John, thank you! Sometimes it is hard to do it all and we all lose sight of our ultimate goal…which is enlightenment, but with your guidance life really should take on more meaning.
A smile I find is worth a million pounds and common courtesy so rare in this day of grab grab. I really hope this article gets the praise it deserves, in the hope that people might give a thought to those less fortunate…..put it on your to do list! Give more……..
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October 9th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Thanks for the habits… I have been trying to incorporate many of those into my routine for a while now…
One thing I noticed in the introduction was the phrase “Exercise Everyday” (caps yours), and it triggered the response in my head, “Exercise everyday what?” I guess I would be better off to exercise everyday restraint when I see a grammatical error like that, especially on the internet, but since you are ambitious enough to “change my life”, I thought I would do you the favor of pointing out that “everyday” used as one word means “ordinary or routine”, not a substitute for the two words “every day”, which still work just fine alongside each other, separated by a space. Thanks again!
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October 9th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Scott: thank you! I was completely unaware of that distinction. I have fixed that now in the article.
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October 10th, 2007 at 4:40 am
Peter: I just thought of another, perhaps more useful suggestion…
One habit I have included in my daily regimen is MEDITATION!
The benefits of meditating, even for short periods of time, are abundant and life-changing over time. Meditation has been shown to improve concentration, attitude, patience, quality of sleep and other factors contributing to overall well-being when practiced regularly. I meditate for about 20 minutes in the morning, and 20 minutes before bed. I often find quantum leap solutions to problems in my life during and immediately after meditation. It is as simple as focusing on your breath. Many good books have been written on the subject- my favorite is “Mindfulness in Plain English”.
Hope this helps someone find the true blessing that is sitting in silence… I think it should be taught in every school from a young age. Meditation. A daily habit that has changed my life, and will change yours if you practice it.
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November 2nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Thats was a good read, I enjoyed the debate on multivitamins.
I dont use them, as I make sure I get enough through what I eat.
I do agree with the part about meditation, it has had a positive effect on my life, without doubt.
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November 12th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Everything listed is so crucial to creating great days which will lead to a great life. Especially the part about reviewing goals daily. Very comprehensive and helpful list. Thank you.
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December 7th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
What are you, my mother?
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December 16th, 2007 at 4:34 am
Hello:
I found you through Corinne Edwards. Good blog you have. I’d like to add to your list: FORGIVE EVERYONE, EVERYTHING…..
Have a wonderful day whenever you read this.
Rod Smith
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December 18th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Important to balance your diet and mutli vitamins are not all the same. The ones to take should have prostate helpful ingredients like Saw Palmetto.
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December 18th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I think that it would be difficult to do all of these, but even doing some will help, and I try to do most at least weekly, so that I can benefit one way or another
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December 30th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Bwahaha!
Is it too late to tell you how much I love you?
Thanks for the words. Your blogs are a fantastic help.
-Kara
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January 2nd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Very usefull tips.
It realy inspires me
Thx Peter
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May 5th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Hi Peter,
Wonderful list!
Thanks for sharing!
One thing,i observed is,in both of your habit lists,there is nothing mentioned about prayer?(again it depends on individual faith).I highly recommend to add it your list.Prayer helps you to find the godliness in you.Without spiritual fulfillment,one may feel some vaccum inside.You need not to allocate an entire day for prayer alone,just few minutes in the morning before you start your day.
Alongwith Visualisation,i recommend to add Positive Affirmations too.
Best Wishes,
Kannan Viswagandhi
http://www.growing-self.blogspot.com
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May 26th, 2008 at 4:27 am
It reminds me the book called “Monk, who sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma. Very useful and true,
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June 9th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Go ahead and tell your kid (mate, etc) that you love them. Say it in words … and prove it in your deeds. Neither words without action nor deeds done in silence are sufficient. If I love my son, I will tell him so. Silence only makes him have to guess and guessing leads to uncertainty. I want him to know, beyond any possible doubt, that I love him.
Obviously I heartily disagree with the parent who referred you to a book. I can’t think of the title of a single parenting book. But I can tell you that my sons grew to be fine men who have never doubted their fathers affection for them. I am now a grandfather twice over.
BillinDetroits last blog post..A good calculator for weight control
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June 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Men can take multivitamins, just make sure they have NO IRON!!!!
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July 21st, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Your habit of daily flossing is perhaps doubly important in that studies suggest it protects against cardiovascular disease. It appears that the gingivitis or gum inflammation that results from poor oral hygiene predisposes to a chronic pro-inflammatory state which in turn increases the risk of intravascular clotting; esp at loci of narrowed vessels.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I get great value out of tracking my daily actions — those “practices” that I do to change old habits and install new ones — using the Practice Manager inside Aliveworld. This allows me to get daily reminders if I don’t update my practices and can graph how I’m doing, keep a journal associated with each one and so on.
Nothing like a daily reminder to focus the attention on what I have committed to do!
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August 17th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Thank you for putting down some great thoughts and insights into living more fully. Many of the habits you have formed I also enjoy, and it has made my life better. Thank you again for your work.
Sincerely,
Alex
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August 19th, 2008 at 8:33 am
This is a great post and very inspiring thank you
I just have two questions
1 – where do you suggest fitting in “intimate time with partner” *blushes*
2 – what do you do when you have a night-owl partner who doesn’t want you to get up at 5am because that means you go to bed earlier and therefore have less time with them? I’d like to get up at 5am, but that would mean I’d have to go to bed at about 9-10pm (which is the time when my other half wants to unwind from his day and spend time with me!).
Thanks
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February 8th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Very Nice and motivational points…..really
I belive that to be successful in your life first thing required is to be able to properly
organize and manage your life properly. This is really good.
Thanks
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March 10th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
hope to make these habits daily routine… thanks for the list..
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October 11th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Thank you so much for this list.. I like the way you explained each habit.
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December 11th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Thanx for giving such points coz they r really helpful and follwing them gives u a kind of freshness and self-confidence.
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December 12th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I thought this was a good insight into the habits of an individual as we live and learn we don’t really find out about other people’s habits that we do not see.
This was a very good read for me as i was looking for a good example NOT that i could copy but one that i could be inspired by and take the bits relevant and possible to incorporate in my own life.
Thank you for sharing!
x
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January 5th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Peter,
Your post is a blueprint for living consciously instead of living reactively. Most people don’t understand the power of habits, but they are the key to successful living. I will be back for more. Great looking blog.
Alex
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