What is a cheap/ simple/ uncomplicated habit (or thing) that you started following (or bought) that dramatically changed your life for the better...

[Bookbooks]

That's it really.
Same if you had the same effect with abandoning a habit or a thing.
Looking for inspiration.

Taking vitamin D every day. Really helps with my knees.
Just being grateful for what I have! My husband and two boys!
Doing what I can and not trying to do everything. We put too much pressure on ourselves. Enjoy my time with my loved ones.

Some great ideas here. I’m another one who’s going to extol the virtues of exercise - I started nearly two years ago with a mixture of walking, cycling and yoga and now try to do something every day. I’ve also started reading if there’s nothing on the telly that I actually want to watch, rather than just sitting there with something on for the sake of it.

I really need to cut down on sugar though, specifically chocolate. I could (and sometimes do 😳) eat it morning, noon and night. If anyone has managed to do this and can offer tips they would be gratefully received!

Could you try eating it every other day as a starting point?

Half a cup of boiling water, inhale deeply through the nose until it cools. Lovely and calming, great for the vocal chords especially if you have a job that requires lots of talking.

I think I need to get down to just once a day, and reduce from there. Not easy when the house is full of Easter eggs though!

Sorry, I tried to reply but it didn’t work 😩.

Love this. I keep my bowls and tubs in a deep pot drawer. It’s an absolute shambles in there. Yes I’ll get less in this way but that means I can start my decluttering here. I’ll get rid of unused and past their best (and all the unmatched lids!)

I’ll do it today. I’m quite excited 😆

Gave up alcohol
Started lifting weights
”Touch it once” approach to household admin

Getting a bird feeder and bird bath and putting them somewhere I can easily see from the house. I've just been sitting watching a robin having a drink and thinking how happy it makes me.

Could you switch to dark chocolate? I love Lindt Dark Mint, but it's rich enough that just a few squares gives me a nice chocolatey hit.

Also, eat some nuts or something instead, they will keep you full.

@Iamnotaloggrip and @Farmageddon i am also a chocolate obsessive.

Yesterday I got through 120g of 90% chocolate. It might be healthy but it's not THAT healthy!!

I eat a bit as soon as I've finished my normal healthy breakfast then mid morning, after lunch, mid afternoon and a bit after tea.

My habit got worse in lockdown. I'm absolutely convinced it's the only thing that gets me through the day!

And I eat if for energy, not hunger.

Duolingo. I do about ten minutes each morning while my breakfast cooks and I now read pretty fluently. Being able to read the news in a foreign language has been great - it's particularly interesting reading UK news from an outside perspective, but also lots of European news that isn't reported on in the UK press.

If you are struggling with eating too much chocolate why don't you pretend that's your job: that you are a chocolate connoisseur/ taster like wine tasters?

That way you get to sample the taste all day long but you don't get to swallow.

This is what cheese, beer, cake, biscuit, jams, ice cream and other factory produced food tasters get to do otherwise it might not be fit for resale.

Or get a job in a chocolate factory as most workers after a while get sick of the sight of it after so many free samples! 😁

Obviously these solutions might not be suitable for those with eating disorders.

Mine are:

Reading every day

Reduced tv use actually down to nothing now

Joining our local authority gym and getting rehabilitated through a go referral for back pain/fibromyalgia

Being well enough to be able to return to ballet as an adult

Starting to go to weekly church with my son, it's our time for calm and peace, as well as feeling part of our local community

Bullet journalling, no reliance on phone calendar/lists

Have previously given up alcohol but moderate now. I need to continue to minimise what I drink!

Actually finishing household jobs in 1 go - ie folding the dry washing, taking it upstairs and putting it away straight away, same with dishwasher, laundry etc

Clean laundry I fold by people and clothes type ie all T-shirts together, all underwear etc, makes putting it away really easy

I have two baskets of cleaning products - one in the utility for the downstairs and one in my laundry cupboard for upstairs bathrooms etc which saves going up and down to get whatever you’ve inevitably left somewhere else - have a 3 storey house, so this is key as the stairs are a bastard!

Making enough food (esp veg like cauliflower cheese, sautéed veg etc) for at least 3 days in the week. I wfh so having food already made in the fridge is excellent to try and cut down eating snacks

Everything has a place; I go round every 4-6 weeks and throw out old papers, shred paid bills / paperwork, and go through DS room and his mountain of discarded old paper, pictures,magazines etc

Lindt chocolate mint is my fave! Yes, I do eat dark choc as it’s slightly healthier, but still too much of it. I convince myself that two squares of the 85% after lunch is actually a health food 😂.

@Kate0902900908 That’s bloody amazing! Well done

This is me! Love the 90% stuff but can rarely find it.

@Iamnotaloggrip i get mine from Waitrose. It's £2 a bar but superb and most addictive.

I don't spend any money on social stuff or coffees out or takeaways so this is my treat.

I get a few every week in my Tesco delivery, it’s always in stock (fingers crossed I haven’t jinxed that for tomorrow 😄)

I don’t understand people who say ‘you can only eat a bit of dark chocolate’…. I can easily eat a whole bar no problem 😄 I think they mean you only NEED a little bit to cure a craving.

It’s one of my best treats because it’s dairy free, not much sugar compared to other chocs obviously, and has antioxidants in. I can’t have gluten or dairy at the mo so I am clinging onto justifying the 90% 😄

Blue light blocking glasses. I put them on once I get home in the evenings & wear until bedtime. I feel sleepy earlierthan without them, & fall asleep more quickly.

Slow knitting. I choose something I want to knit, not for making gifts, I keep it simple, then take my time.

@Moredarkchocolateplease no Waitrose near us 😔. We regularly get the 85% stuff though so not too bad.

@MyFaceIsAnAONB no Tesco near us either, unbelievably! We do Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s or Aldi. I am with you though - could easily eat a whole bar. Offer me a Haribo though and I’d turn it down. So it’s def a choc addiction, not just sugar.

The simplest thing to do is just don't buy it.

Ive been drinking over half a litre of water every morning before starting my day for about two months and my skin is so much better!