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

[CarlyWarly1980]

Just that, really..
Do you have a daily habit that has transformed your life for the better? A friend recommended a book along these lines but am I being unreasonable to think a daily habit can't really transform your life?
My friend has said the new habit of drinking water and putting on mascara every day helps her feel confident and think clearer improved her skin and helps her concentration. So I'm asking others on here AIBU to think one habit done daily can't really "change" your life?

@Manolin I just wondered why you get up so very early?

10 minute guided meditation

@puzzledpiece

Porridge for breakfast. Good all round. 😀

Agreed! I got rid of my car at Christmas and now walk everywhere. I walk a 6 mile round trip to work and back Mon-Fri and walk between 6 and 8 miles on Saturday and Sunday too. It has done wonders for both my physical and mental wellbeing.

Stopping eating before noon.

@MsJaneAusten

Ridiculously, audiobooks. Now I’m onto the habit of having one ‘on the go’, housework no longer feels like a chore, but almost luxurious.

Completely agree with you! I love listening to my audio book and cleaning at the same time. It's like a bit of me time 😅

@Ironmanrocks I would describe meditation as a way of being with oneself, quietly focused and just allowing any thoughts that drift into your mind to drift out again. Rather than running after every train of thought. It’s a bit like when you finally close all the programs and tabs that have been running on your computer, making it go slower and slower so it hasn’t got enough capacity for the important stuff. I recommend the Mark Williams book on mindfulness. For me although it didn’t make meditation a daily habit, it did change my mindset on some things permanently.

Pelvic floor exercises.
Not pissing your pants truly changed life for the better.

My workplace moved to somewhere with v limited parking and awkward public transport. I started parking 2.5km away and running the rest, showering at work and then walking back to car after work.
Saved money on petrol, saved stress from commuting and ensured I got daily exercise and plenty of fresh air. Has made a big difference to my lifestyle.

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.

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.

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.

@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 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.

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

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.

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!

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.

@Baddit

I found 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear quite a good read on this topic. Just got to actually do it all now...

I second this recommendation. Also The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Even though they're by different authors, Jane's Clear's book is a sort-of follow up to Power of Habit.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

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

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

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.

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!

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

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