A different approach? Start smaller — much smaller — and instead strive to develop micro habits. Micro habits are simple daily actions that are easy to implement into your established routine and only require a few minutes of your time (if that). Drinking a cup of water in the morning before your coffee so you stay hydrated. Performing a minute of breathing exercises to help manage anger. Reading just one paragraph of a book that seems daunting. While they sound insignificant, micro habits are much more achievable than traditional goals and resolutions — and often contain aspects of them broken down into smaller chunks. And, because stacking up small victories creates a snowball effect that encourages you to undertake more, and more ambitious, changes, micro habits may be more likely to lead to lasting change. “When high achieving people set goals, they set big goals,” says Sabina Nawaz, a corporate coach who often advises the power of micro-habits in her practice. “There’s a lot of bravado, with people saying they should ‘go big or go home.’ The problem with setting big goals in the near term is that we are less likely to achieve them.” The best micro habits require no more than two or three minutes and fit easily into your existing schedule. They can also be piggybacked off other tasks you already do — say, performing a wall squat while you brush your teeth, or writing down one thing you’re grateful for while you wait for the coffee to brew. In time, these become part of your routine and can be lengthened out or made more difficult. Now, thinking small can be a challenge. Nawaz says that her clients often have trouble setting goals that are small enough to become micro-habits. Someone might see a person working out 30 minutes a day and want to jump right into that level of performance. “What we don’t realize is that for them to get to 30 minutes a day, they had to start somewhere,” she says. “And it wasn’t 30 minutes a day for most people.” Micro habits are much more manageable. Who doesn’t have time to do just one pushup a day? Or two minutes of jumping jacks? Below, according to a variety of wellness experts, life coaches, and medical professionals are 27 suggestions of small but significant life changes you can put in motion today.
27 Simple Micro Habits To Implement In Your Life
It may seem strange to do something for 30 seconds or just a few minutes. That’s an oddly achievable goal isn’t it? That’s the point of micro habits. Once you become used to the habits you set, you begin to do them naturally. That’s incremental improvement and as you continue to change, those once far-away goals might not seem seem so distant any more.
