AIBU to ask you if a daily habit has transformed your life?

@KizzyWayfarer thank you. I feel like I have much to change and don't really know where to start. I don't always sleep well, worry a lot and don't exercise as much as I should. I certainly don't drink tons of water. I function OK - but know I could be so much better....I will look up that book.xx

Prayer
Getting up at 5am- to exercise

Brilliant thread!

I too have rediscovered my love for music and will always have it on now when I'm in the kitchen. Will often have it on in the living room too, rather than the TV for background noise.

I'd love to get into a daily exercise habit!

This thread is just the kick up the backside that I need. I’ll be back for more ideas later.

Following with interest as I'm really unhappy with some of the bad habits I've gotten into during lockdown and would like to work on changing them. Unfortunately I am the sort of person who gets stuck in a rut and finds it hard to break so I think there will need to be some small but substantial changes that will add up to an all round healthier lifestyle.

Needs to start with diet, drinking and exercise as I've put on so much weight through lockdown with excessive snacking and drinking alcohol.

Some really inspiring and helpful lifestyle here.

I need you all in my life

I started taking a daily multi vitamin and a womans health probiotic at the beginning of lockdown which have helped to settle the reoccurring uti's I've had for the past 17 years.
I've stopped wearing make up over lockdown and my skin has never been better.

A daily skincare routine. Started during lockdown after trawling the S&B boards on here. Sets me up for the day and is a nice wind down at night. It has lead to other habits and means I'm taking the time to look after myself more than ever.

I look better, feel better and getting my confidence back - all because of a bit of moisturizer

Prayer.
Affirmations.
Visualisation.
Self-compassion journal.
This moment now.

Yoga and meditation for me too. Also drinking a pint of water and taking several deep breaths when I wake up every morning.

Listening to podcasts whilst doing the housework. For some reason it does seem to make it easier! Also good for long walks with the pram whilst LO sleeps.
Whilst DD is feeding herself breakfast, prepare for the day. Empty the dishwasher, prepare bags if going out/nursery day, think about dinner and general house stuff. I seem to get so much done in that 10 min slot!

Squats every day, even just while waiting for kettle to boil. Can now get up from squashy beanbag without having to roll about on the floor! Also stand on one leg whenever I remember. Improves the balance.

Oooh, three of us posted the same book at the exact same time - spooooooky!!!!

“The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhig is another good book on this topic.

I do something similar to @missymousey except I don't write every day, I write letters to my children for special events or trips an dlet them know what they've been up to etc and will give thme both copies of the letters when they are older. Some of the letters are from when I was pregnant, a few to a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. They might not be interested in them but I enjoy writing them.

Having the radio on when I’m preparing dinner. I’d got out of the habit of listening to music and I can’t tell you how it improves my mood. Especially if they play stuff from the nineties- it takes me back to happier times!

Low carb and 16:8 intermittent fasting. My IBS has gone and I don't get the debilitating brain fog that I used to get every afternoon. My anxiety is much lower and as an added bonus I've lost weight.

A really good audiobook about creating good habits is 'In the Habit' by Alice Fraser and Ash Ranpura.

Perfume every day (and night) has helped add a bit of daily decadence too.

I like this thread! Have been cultivating a number of new daily habits to try to get through lockdown:

-Daily walk 5-6am, listening to foreign language audiobook to boost my vocab
-Evening yoga, just 30 minutes
-Do all washing up before bed (walking into a spotless kitchen the next morning makes such a difference)
-Daily Ren rose body oil and body brushing
-No coffee after 3pm
-Weekends: coffee and croissant at my small table, on beautiful china

• Listen to an FT or Tortoise podcast each day

Hard to build the counter-factual of what I would have been like in lockdown without all this. But has certainly helped keep me motivated at work, my skin is better than ever, I am sleeping better than ever, people are saying how much younger I look etc.

@EustaciaPieface

Life is finite. In fact the world is finite. I realise we will be a long time 'sleeping' soon. Do not get me wrong, I do lay in. Just those occasions are rare, normally when everything is done and I can lie blissfully listening to the rain hitting the windows.

There is so much to see, experience and do. Having been up since 04:40 this morning, I have dead-headed the roses, watched rabbits and hares having breakfast in the sun, looked at tiny worlds of water from last night's rain, suspended high on leaves like surreal reservoirs sparkling different colours in the rising sun. Nature is a great motivator in itself. I get to see, experience and do much more if I am up early. If I were not new here, I could upload some pictures from this morning I have taken already just in the last hour or so. It is so quiet out there, not a sound from planes, trains or automobiles.

Rarely am I tired, but if I do I just go to bed an hour earlier. Six hours has always been enough for me.

I'm going against the grain of 'wake up early' and say that mine is prioritising sleep. If I'm well rested, I'm happier and more productive (obvious but it's so easy to skip sleep). So often I might say no to a social occasion or ensure I have an afternoon nap at the weekend or get a really early night once a week. Makes everything better for me.

Spending half an hour a day outdoors doing something physical. Gardening, cleaning the car, going for walk, anything as long as I'm moving and out in the air. I feel more energised and sleep better. Not always easy to keep up in truly awful weather though.

Started writing a one-line-a-day diary for each of my children (age 3 and 1). Makes me appreciate the little things they do that I might otherwise forget, and will hopefully be nice for them one day to read how loved they are. Hoping to give them to them for their 21sts. I was inspired by a mum on here who had terminal cancer and was doing something like this for her children, I just thought I'd like to do it without being ill.