100 Habits For a Great Life
The secrets to a richer, meaningful and more vibrant life
Life is a canvas. Your habits are the brushstrokes that’s creating your life story as a piece of of art. How it turns out is all up to you.
But here's the kicker – you have the autonomy to redesign this canvas.
You can change your brushstrokes.
Life is like a piece of art in the making. Progress is the goal.
I've seen lives change.
I've witnessed the incredible metamorphosis that occurs when people like you decide to take control of their habits.
It's like watching a caterpillar become a butterfly – a breathtaking transformation that leaves you in awe of the boundless potential within you.
A great life is the sum of small habits — repeated daily.
These habits are meant to spark a profound shift in your perspective.
You probably know many of them.
Think of this list as a reminder to get back to applying good habits in your life.
Think of every action, choice or habit as a stepping stone toward the life you desire.
These are not just popular among the happiest and psychologically rich minds; they're tried and tested routes to a more fulfilling existence.
So, I challenge you to embrace them one at a time and witness the changes in the next few months.
John C. Maxwell was right, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
The clue to a great life is hidden in your daily habits.
Remember, the power to change resides within you. “Let today be the day you give up who you’ve been for who you can become,” author Hal Elrod said.
You hold the brush, and the canvas of your life awaits your creative strokes. It's time to step into the role of the artist, to craft the masterpiece that is your life. Through these habits, you'll discover not just self-improvement but self-liberation.
These are not shortcuts. Aim for the compounds effects.
“You shouldn’t be challenging yourself to change a habit for just a short period of time. The point of habits is change behavior over the long term,” says Richard D. Rawlings
Let's make your life a work of art, shall we?
You can’t get anywhere without a solid routine. If you are serious about building a great life, build yourself a good life engine.
Start your day with at least one glass of water — hydrate before you get yourself a cup of coffee.
If you want to improve your energy in the morning, stay away from sugary breakfasts. What you need are protein, fibre and healthy fats. You can find them in eggs, whole-grain cereals, fruits and nuts.
Make time for a few minutes of quiet time to think about the good day ahead or prepare yourself for the day.
Don’t get straight to your email just yet — take the morning in (enjoy the peaceful sunrise). Put off checking emails and social updates.
Start your day with a plan — you will think less and move faster.
If you have a busy day tomorrow, write down the one task that feels heaviest on your shoulder: get it done first thing in the morning.
Read a page or two of your favourite book instead of aiming for a complete chapter.
Email is the biggest time suck. If you don’t plan to deal with incoming emails, you will spend all your time reacting to what others want. Set aside time to deal with it.
Make your daily tasks outcome-driven. The bigger goal determines the tiny daily processes. “Begin with the end in mind.” — Stephen Covey.
Don’t make your morning workout a chore. Instead of an hour or half an hour exercise, try five minutes or less plank, push up, sit-up or squat.
If you want to meditate, start by meditating for one minute per day instead of ten. If you are struggling, you won’t make it a habit.
For better energy and strong concentration, choose a healthy breakfast (whole grains, protein and healthy fats).
Limit the number of decisions you make in the morning. Too many decisions exhaust the brain and cause fatigue. One way to manage your energy is to do your high-priority work in the am.
When you start work, remove all distractions from your work environment before starting actual work –noise, notifications, email tabs, etc. Assume focus or productive mode with calming music.
Use your to-do list from the night before to start a productive day.
Schedule short downtime times in between work throughout the day. For example, for every hour of deep work, take a five minutes break.
During your downtime, you can listen to a podcast, read a thought-provoking article, get a drink or take a walk to clear your mind.
Breaks your 8-hour-day into small blocks of deep work sessions (not more than an hour) to improve focus. We lose concentration after more than an hour of deep work.
For everything you expect to complete, break it into simple-to-complete actions you can quickly get done. Focus on small wins in the first half of the day.
Schedule time for nature walks — even just 10 minutes outside and close to more trees can do wonders for your mood.
End your day with a tidy desk ready for the next day, so you don’t have to spend your morning getting ready for work.
Make time to disconnect from work. Downtimes are as crucial as work time. Regular breaks refresh the mind and prepare you for better work tomorrow.
An end-of-day routine can help you put things where they should be, reduce clutter, reduce stress and clear your mind for the next day.
Embrace healthy living — eat more superfoods rich in brain-boosting nutrients: leafy vegetables, berries, fruits, dark chocolate, fish, grains and nuts. You’ll have more energy every day.
Invest at least 30 minutes every day doing a side hobby you find relaxing — you can schedule it in the evenings or early mornings.
Try a 3-minute daily review. Write your best three wins just before you go to bed, or write down what’s on your mind. It’s a calming habit.
To make long-term goals work for you, break them into achievable daily goals. And focus on checking them off one day at a time.
Schedule the next day before you go to bed — things to do, appointments, and meetings to attend so you can concentrate on getting things done.
Start a pre-sleep ritual — remove all digital distractions and read a physical book instead. Reading a book before bed prepares your mind to wind down.
Every successful day begins with a good rest the night before. How you feel throughout the day largely depends on your sleeping habit.
Be more social every day — your happiness and the general outlook depends on it. Make quality time for your friends, colleagues and family members who bring out the best in you.
Invest small amounts of money monthly and beware of little expenses. Benjamin Franklin said, “Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship." Small investments monthly can build massive retirement income for your future self.
Pursue wealth, not riches. The first one can make you a time billionaire.
Don’t do random work in succession. Batch similar tasks together. The brain takes time to get back on track when you lose flow.
Systemise the same decisions you make every day: how you work, what to eat, what to wear, how to start your day, etc. It saves brain energy for high level or meaningful work. A systems-first mentality changes everything.
Keep a wisdom journal to note down lessons you come across.
For every life-changing decision you make, think about the second or third-order consequences of your choices. Optimise for minimal regrets.
Use at least 10% of your time (daily) to read. The return is exponential. Warren Buffet spends 80% of his day reading. Strong reading habit improves how you think, decide, work, invest or build a better life.
Managing time doesn’t always work. Try managing your energy: do your high-value work when you are most active.
Move your body every morning. Spend a few minutes of your morning to stretch. A good physical shape has a massive impact on your brain health, productivity and total wellbeing.
Use your mornings for deep, high-value or meaningful work: writing, coding, designing, engineering or creating something — anything that moves the needle.
Optimise your diet for brain health. Eat good nutrition that feeds your brain every day. An active brain improves cognition, memory and boosts deep and focused work. Make healthy eating a habit.
Spent time alone in the evening to set priorities for tomorrow.
Optimise your entertainment options to boost learning. Don’t waste time on useless TV. Everything you consume can become a learning experience if you choose wisely.
Use time pockets to upgrade your skills. Listen to an educational podcast or read a great book to become smarter whenever you are waiting, queuing or commuting.
Spend time outdoors every day. Brisk walking is good enough.
Plan total downtime in your schedule every day. Make time for your brain to reset itself. I use forest baths, intentional silence, and purposeful walks to improve mental clarity.
Make fewer decisions before starting high-value work: reserve cognitive energy for your most important work.
Take a few minutes every evening to prepare for your best day ever. It’s the most efficient way to make the most of the day. “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” Thomas Edison said. A productive day happens by choice.
For anything you decide to do with your limited time, ask yourself: will it matter in a day, week, month or year?
Commit your action plans, goals and things to do every day on paper.Make things to do tangible and cross them off as small wins. And break down your goals into actionable daily tasks.
Your phone is a massive distraction; whatever you do, don’t keep it close when you assume focus mode. Turn off notifications and hide it in a draw.
Replace perfect with good enough. Instead of waiting for an ideal outcome, focus on making progress daily. One action at a time is how you make progress.
What are your repeatable morning triggers for a good day? Don’t ever start a day without knowing what to do. How you start your day determines how the rest of the day turns out. “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.” Richard Whately said.
Practice task inventory daily. Get rid of unimportant things so you can focus on only high priority tasks.
Design a work environment that works for you. Are you more productive in silence? Do you work better with white noise? Experiment and design a unique work environment just for you.
When in conversations, truly listen to others without interrupting or planning your response. It deepens connections and can lead to more meaningful interactions.
Move your body in between deep work sessions. Use your daily breaks for brisk walks and stretches if you don’t work out before or after work. It’s one of the best ways to reset your brain for another deep work session.
If you spend an awful lot of time behind the screen, use the 20–20–20 rule to give your eyes a break. For every 20 minutes of screen work, look away at an object 20 feet away or 20 seconds.
Use brain dump to declutter your mind and thoughts.
Limit your action items for the day to a few essential tasks ( 5 at most)and focus on crossing them off before the day ends.
Expand your worldview a few minutes a day. Pick a new topic every week or month and read insightful articles to gain more profound knowledge or challenge your beliefs. In a year, you will be so smart they can’t ignore you.
Automate investment (monthly) as quickly as possible. And then measure compound progress and rebalance when necessary. It frees up time for other high-value tasks that accelerate progress.
Learn in public — teach others what you know. Whatever you learn, share with others online if you can. It’s the best networking tool out there. It also helps you retain more of what you learn every day.
Immerse yourself in the ideas of great minds — especially those who represent your future self — learning from them through practice.Experiential learning accelerates progress.
Make walking a daily practice. Even a quick 20 minutes walk can do wonders for your brain.
If your exercise routine is a chore, change it. Make it fun — that’s how you can make it sustainable.
Build a better evening ritual. Think about all the hours you could be wasting behind a tv every night. I do most of my reading in the evening. Use some of your evening time to invest in your intellectual growth?
Be proactive about how you spend your time. Be deliberate about what gets attention. Don’t react or respond to tasks as they arrive.
Plan intentional breaks in-between focus work — it will help you recover and recharge for the next task.
Practice the one-tab rule — use a single browser tab when you are working. It minimizes web distractions so you can stay in a single task.
Expand your sources of personal growth — read biographies, listen to interviews, or watch TedTalks and documentaries. Read both books and long-form essays. Use different content formats for growth.
Improve your intellectual capital every day — improve, upgrade or learn new skills (daily) that can prepare you for the uncertain future.Make it a daily habit. You don’t need one long marathon session to learn.
Release the need to control every aspect of your life. Sometimes, letting go and trusting the process can bring more happiness than trying to micromanage everything.
Surround yourself with loved ones. You can't beat the joy that comes from sharing laughter and good times with friends and family.
Don't fear change; it often leads to personal growth and new opportunities. Embrace it, and you'll find happiness in unexpected places.
If you rent your time to make money, plan to build wealth through capital ownership in the future — start your own business, buy equity in someone else’s business, invest in real estate, stocks or cryptocurrencies. “If you don’t own capital in a capitalist economy, you are the capital.” Sahil, the founder of Gumroad, once said.
Measure your daily processes. Are they helping you get closer to the bigger goal? What habits should you do less of? Optimize at all times.
Learn to rest well. Your productivity depends on it. You will do better and work faster when your mind and body are completely in sync.
Build an exercise routine into your schedule, no matter how small. It improves mental clarity and gives you more energy. To make it a habit, don’t make it complicated.
Pursue your curiosities. Whether it's painting, gardening, or playing an instrument, spending time on your hobbies fuels happiness.
Holding onto grudges only weighs you down. Forgiving others (and yourself) can release a tremendous amount of emotional baggage.
Take a few moments throughout the day to focus on your breath. It's a quick and effective way to reduce stress and increase happiness.
For every demand on your time, pause or delay your response and think about the first and second-order consequences before saying yes.
The world’s most successful people are always learning — be deliberate about how you feed your brain. Choose your knowledge sources carefully.
Schedule news time — don’t react to every news break or notification.It’s a productive way to take back time for what you care about.
Upgrade your mind every year. Embrace lifelong learning to accelerate personal growth. “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” — Alain de Botton
Track your habits that take away the biggest chunk of your time and do more of what’s working and less of what’s a time of time.
Want to be a better thinker? Read deeper, wider, and slower. Choose your books carefully and make time for better learning.
If you can’t resist notifications on your phone, disable them when you are working on your high-value tasks. Make your deep work sessions sacred.
Finish your day on purpose by writing down the priorities for tomorrow. It’s a better way to start the day without wasting cognitive energy planning.
Start a weekly review — what worked well? Where did you get stuck? What can you improve? What should you stop doing? What caused you to stress?
Be intentional about how you read the news — filter your souces and stay with credible ones that focus on just the important information.
Invest in a hobby outside work that makes you happy, boosts your mental clarity, and leads to a fulfilling life.
Three things in life — your health, your mission, and the people you love. That’s it. — Naval Ravikant
When your ego or anger gets in the way of your best self, think about your humble beginnings or remind yourself of the worse consequences in the future.
You are likely to get bored of your daily routine at some point: switch things up at least once a month to reduce boredom.
If you tend to waste a lot of time on social media, hide the apps in a folder on your phone. Make it hard to get to and replace the spacewith reading apps.
Weekends set you up for a better week. Create a weekend ritual to boost your mode and reduce stress. Add reading, extra-long walks, a conversation with an old friend or passion project work to your routine.
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Very inspiring...many baby steps.
All good stuff