Habits You Need To Start For A Great Year

Are you sick of saying “new year, new me” but never actually making any changes that stick? We all start out so motivated and truly want to make positive changes but then life happens! Hey, that’s just reality. It happens to everyone. But how can you stop that same cycle from happening over and over? How can this year be different? The answer: build healthy habits!

You need to build healthy habits that will last you all year and hopefully, for life! The easiest way to change your life is to make small little changes that you can stick with. It’s not magic and it’s not an overnight fix BUT it can help you change your life and set you up for the best year yet! 

The point of building healthy habits

So you might be asking what even is the point of creating healthy habits? It seems like a lot of work and you already have enough on your plate. 

However, the more healthy habits you create, the easier life gets. Habits are formed to make things easier and more automated. 

Brushing your teeth every morning and night is a habit. Do you even think about it or do you just do it? You mostly just do it. If you had to think about every single small thing you do every day that would be exhausting… that is why our brains create habits! 

In theory, a habit is just a behavior that we repeat over and over. They can be good or bad behaviors (exercise vs smoking). In the beginning, the behavior is something that takes effort to do. After it’s repeated though, the effort lessens. Soon the behavior turns into a habit that you do without much thought. 

Therefore, in the beginning, habits start consciously and with some effort. This means that we can create any habit that we want! This is great news for us because we need to create some new healthy habits to a) make life easier and b) set ourselves up for success!

Habits you need to start 

So what habits should you start adding to your daily life? That is going to depend on your goals and the lifestyle you live. 

If you are trying to get into the best shape of your life, adding workouts and nutritious meals into your healthy habits may be a good idea. 

If you want to read more books you might want to add reading time into your night routine and make reading more of a habit! 

Here are some healthy habits that you might want to consider adopting this year: 

Daily movement 

I think we all know that moving our bodies on a daily basis is a positive thing! Finding time to add the movement in can be difficult though. So it’s important to create a habit! 

You could add in a nighty walk, morning yoga, an after-work bike ride, or just a quick 15-minute home workout before dinner! Whatever works for your lifestyle is what you will stick to!

Setting a screen time limit 

I am the first to admit that I am on my phone way too much!! Being on your phone all day can actually make you anxious. I definitely feel that anxiety at the end of the day when I’ve been looking at TikTok for a few too many hours. 

Make it a habit to put your phone down. It doesn’t have to be all day! Make dinner a device-free zone or create a habit of putting your phone away at 8 pm. 

Staying hydrated 

Believe it or not but drinking water is a habit! How many times do you need to remind yourself to drink water? Honestly probably too many. For beings who literally need water to survive, we are not very good at drinking it! 

Create a morning habit of drinking a glass of water or carrying a water bottle around with you to drink throughout the day. After a while of having that water bottle with you it will be an automatic habit to fill it up and bring it with you! Then you’ll have an emotional support water bottle like me 😂

Journaling 

Writing down your feelings, how your day went, affirmations, hopes and dreams, or whatever else you want to is a great habit! 

Try ending your day with a quick journal session or grab the 5-minute journal for some morning journaling! 

Related reads:

• How To Figure Out What You Want In Life + Journal Prompts
• How To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone (+ 15 Journal Prompts)
• How To Stop The Self-Sabotage Cycle + 20 Journal Prompts

Positive self talk 

Sometimes we can talk about ourselves in a very negative way and even though you may feel that way, making the decision to talk negatively is a choice. 

You can also make the choice (and make it over and over again until it’s a habit) to say nice things about yourself. 

The best part is that you don’t even need to really believe it at first. Just keep practicing saying positive things and it will start to happen more naturally! Such a great habit to start this year. 

Daily to-do list 

Get into your organized girly era!! Start the day with a quick to-do list (or whenever you want). You will thank yourself for it because it feels good to be organized and will really help your overall goals. 

Related reads: How To Write A More Effective To-Do List

Laughing and smiling 

This might seem silly but making an effort to laugh and smile is important. Whether it’s from talking to your friends, watching a funny TV show, or just forcing yourself to do it… laughing and smiling have proven psychological benefits! 

Some of the benefits include:

• Decrease stress
• Improves your mood
• Releases dopamine and other feel-good hormones 

Tracking your habits 

The last one is making a habit of tracking your habits!! Again, this might seem silly but it’s actually really eye-opening.

For one, sometimes you truly think you’re doing something all the time (like getting your daily steps) but when you start tracking it and paying attention it becomes clear that you’re actually not. 

Tracking your habits holds you accountable and shows you what is going well/ isn’t going well. 

It allows you to grow and make changes when necessary that in the end is only helping you become a better you! 

I personally track my habits in my daily planner. I use the Clever Fox planner and really love it! 

Habits are powerful and so are you 

Habits can make a big difference when it comes to your personal development journey. No one is able to change overnight. However, you can make the decision to make a change and slowly start to build up your healthy habits. It truly is a choice! Anyone can do it! 

So, if you are ready to add in some new healthy habits I am here for you! I am excited for you and most importantly, I believe in you! 

Go after the life you want to live and make some serious moves girl!