How to Create Healthy Habits

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Healthy habits are good for the soul. Also, they’re good for your body and for your mind too. In this continuation of my How to Create a Life You Love series, I’m sharing with you how to create healthy habits.

 

As a bonus, I’m including a list of healthy habits you can adopt!

 

Each of us are different, which means that you may not identify with or want to adopt some of the habits (and that’s okay!). I tried to come up with a list that could be beneficial for anyone to adopt.

 

I recommend reading my previous posts in this series before continuing. Learn how to create a life you love, how to plan your best week yet, and how to choose faith over fear!

 

What is a Habit and How Do You Know if it’s Healthy?

 

By definition, a habit is “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.”

 

Each of you have developed habits over time, both good and bad. To determine if a habit is healthy, if it isn’t one of those obvious ones, consider if its serving you well.

 

Is it benefiting your life in some way? Is it helping you be a better person?

 

How Do You Create Habits?

 

You can create or form habits by doing them repetitively. I’m afraid there isn’t a quick fix for making you magically want to wake up at 5 am every morning. But if you do it over a period of time, without fail, it will pay off!

 

Here is some helpful info when it comes to developing habits that will become so routine that you won’t even have to think about doing them in a month or so.

 

Choose Just One New Habit

 

You want to pick just one new habit to nurture until it becomes part of your daily routine. When we decide we want to grow and do better things, it seems like we choose at least three or four to focus on at one time. You know what usually happens from this point…you fall off the bandwagon.

 

You start to feel overwhelmed and it feels like too much to handle.

 

That’s why it’s so important to choose one habit that you really want to cultivate, and then give it all of your extra energy to be sure you stay on track. Once you get this one down, then move onto another habit you’d like to adopt.

 

You’ll already know what it’s like to make one habit routine and by this time, you won’t be struggling to keep up with that one. So all of your energy moves to the next habit you begin.

 

Give It Time

 

New habits are usually great for the first week. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a struggle, especially if it’s going to the gym early each morning.

 

What it does mean is that you have more motivation that first week, and you’re more inspired to put in the work for your habit.

 

However, the next week rolls around and you’re a little less motivated. This is when you have to really focus on your why, why exactly you wanted to create this habit. That will keep you holding strong.

 

If you can hold out for a solid month, meaning you haven’t missed doing this new habit daily for an entire month, I believe you’ll see it as part of your routine.

 

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Bonus Section!

 

As promised, I’m including a list of healthy habits that you may want to adopt soon. Feel free to add your own healthy habits in the comments section!

 

What Are Some Examples of Healthy Habits?

 

There is a multitude of healthy habits ready for us to adopt. It truly depends on what works best for you and what you would like to accomplish. I’ve included a list below of examples of healthy habits that you may want to adopt.

 

1. Wash the Dishes Before Bed

 

Was this one of your chores growing up? There’s a reason for the madness! Your momma knew what she was talking about. As I get older, I realize there are certain triggers for my anxiety to creep in. This is in my top three! It’s sort of a domino effect.

In the beginning, I don’t want to do the dishes and tell myself there’s only a few and I’ll do them in the morning. Three days later, dishes are everywhere, I don’t have pans to cook breakfast and I’m ready to panic.

If it’s one of your triggers too, let’s make the commitment together to do the dishes before bed! I’m sure it will reduce a lot of future stress, as well as clutter.

 

2. Make Your Bed in the Morning

 

This was likely another chore when you were growing up. This one has become a staple for me. It makes our bedroom look so tidy when I make it, and I begin to feel better.

 

3. Drink a Glass of Water First Thing

 

Before you start on your morning cup of coffee, drink an 8 oz. glass of water. You can add some lemon to it for taste! This gets your body started off with hydration, and will help you get off to a better start.

 

4. Keep Your Home Decluttered

 

When clutter surrounds you, it can completely depress you. You can’t find anything, you’re overwhelmed and you want to clean it up. But you’re so overwhelmed, and you don’t even know where to start. Sound familiar?

 

I’ve been there. It’s also one of my top three triggers for anxiety. It’s best to make a quick sweep through the house each day to keep things nice and tidy.

 

If you’re already overwhelmed with clutter, check out my decluttering your home post. You can also feel free to email me and I’ll be more than happy to help in any way that I can!

 

5. Have a Set Day(s) for Housework

 

Laundry: I’m pretty sure that most of us dread laundry. It’s not much fun, but it’s definitely necessary. How many times have you forgot to do your laundry? On the day you need a certain outfit, you find it at the bottom of your laundry basket.

Having a set day will help prevent those times from occurring. Choose a day that makes sense to you. Depending upon how many are in your household, you may need a couple of set laundry days.

 

Other Housework: There are certain tasks that are best to do daily. Washing the dishes, wiping down countertops, and making your bed are a few examples. There are other items that you could set aside for set days of the week (vacuuming on Thursdays).

Choose a schedule that works best for you! Breaking down cleaning the entire house into smaller, manageable tasks makes things easier.

 

6. Have a Grocery Day

 

While most of us don’t look forward to this trip, we do like to eat food! 😉 To choose the best grocery day, choose your timeframe between visits first. I live very close to my grocery store, and tend to go a few times per week (not recommended!).

 

You may live much farther, so you try to stock up on groceries for a little while to save yourself the trip. Pick a day that works for you, and remember that you can be flexible. If you find a certain day isn’t work, change it to another one that will work better.

 

You can learn how to save money while grocery shopping here!

 

7. Write in a Planner

 

A great way to stay organized is to write in a planner. I prefer paper planners, but you can use digital planners if you like those better.

 

Taking time to write down important appointments, meetings, and to-do’s is so beneficial. You can learn more about this in my post dedicated to learning how to plan your best week yet.

 

8. Get Up Earlier

 

You’ve heard the phrase, the early bird gets the worm? It’s true! Getting up before everyone else gives you the opportunity to drink your coffee in quiet. It can give you extra time to write down your to-do’s for the day and what you need to do.

 

If you have a blog or another side hustle, you can work on it before you have to start your day. It gives you an advantage for getting more things done and feeling accomplished.

 

Giving yourself time to wake up slowly and enjoy your morning, helps you to get a better start to the rest of your day. It’s far better than waking up last minute, running around like a crazy person. Then, you still need to stop for Starbucks!

 

9. Put Time in Self Care

 

Self care can mean so many different things. Carving out time for your favorite book or maybe a bubble bath. Choose things that make you happy, write them down and then schedule them into your daily planner.

 

You cannot pour from an empty cup. You deserve time for YOU. You are worth it!

 

 

I hope that you’ve enjoyed learning how to create healthy habits! I also hope you’ve found a few on this list that you’d like to adopt. Let me know in the comments!

 

Let’s Chat!

Did you find any healthy habits you’d like to adopt?
What are some of your favorite habits?
Do you have certain chores that trigger anxiety for you if you don’t do them right away?

 

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