5 Life-Changing Habits That Don’t Take Time and You Can Start Right Away! — Part 1
As an individual obsessed with productivity and being the best version of myself, I am always on the lookout for improving the quality of my life. After all, all of us have got limited time during the day, right? How do I make the most of it is the biggest question I try and answer every day.
I must have watched at least 1000 hours worth of productivity/lifestyle-related content on YouTube to date. Videos on morning and bedtime routines, cooking efficiently, time management, word management, creative writing, etc. 50% of my recommendations feed is filled with such videos (the other 50% with anime recommendations, movie trailers, and song mixes). 😅
After watching all these videos, I thought I’d summarize them in a concise article for you and me. So, here we go. 5 life-changing habits that don’t require a lot of time/money investment and can change your life starting right now!
1. Create a consistent sleep routine
I am the worst kind of sleeper there is. Ever since the beginning of COVID, my sleep schedule has been highly erratic. On some days, I could sleep 14 hours straight, and on others, no sleep throughout the night. Over the last two weeks, I developed a fixed sleeping ritual that has changed my life. Now, I don’t need more than 8 hours of sleep a night, leaving me with at least a couple of more hours to do something with my time!
2. Drink lots of water
I recently bought a bottle specifically to carry it on me the whole day to remind myself to hydrate. If I am working on something focus intensive, I set a timer every 20 minutes that reminds me to drink a sip.
3. Maintain an active lifestyle
The downside of having a desk job is that you develop horrible back pain symptoms over time if you don’t move enough. I started going back to the gym in the last two weeks. It helps me create a consistent sleep routine and reduce back pain significantly. However, you don’t necessarily need to join the gym. Just make sure you stretch and walk enough through the day. Ideally, keep around 30 minutes of your day aside just for this.
4. Read
Keep a book by your bedside and read for 10–20 minutes minimum every day. You don’t necessarily need to read a self-help or productivity-related book. Instead, try reading a couple of popular fiction books. They’ll change your life! I’ve set a target of reading 50 books this year alone. Though I am lagging, I am sure I will finish close to the target.
5. Invest in career development
No one I know works 8 hours a day consistently without a break. While taking breaks, I’ve seen people mindlessly scrolling through social media or gossiping with their friends. Instead of doing this, invest in your career development. Every day, I set aside one hour on my calendar learning something about marketing, business development, content writing, or sales during my work hours. I promise, after a while, you will look forward to this hour every day!
Some of these can take up to a week to fall into place. In either case, they are super easy to implement and don’t require any additional time. Once you have practiced them enough, it’ll be hard to go back to your old routines.
Try them and let me know!
Onwards and Upwards!
