How small actions lead to big results
We often think that to achieve great success in life, we must make big changes in ourselves, when sometimes even very small changes can transform our lives to a great extent.
You need a system and a routine to transform your life and achieve your goals. You have to create habits, and you have to stick to them long enough to let them work their magic. This is something you hear over and over again, because it’s true.
In 2019, one of the most popular and best-selling success books in the American market was Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book is a practical guide to breaking bad habits and creating good ones, and in it, the author clearly explains why small, everyday habits lead to big successes.
If you haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend you do; it will change your life. But just reading it is not enough; you need to put everything you learn into practice. But until you do, in this article, we will introduce you to 9 common habits that can make positive changes in your life and improve your life.
1. Delay your reactions.
I know; I agree that the world is fast-paced, but that doesn’t mean we have to respond to everything quickly. Many times, we need to delay our responses and reactions. Learn to say, “I’ll let you know later,” “I’ll get back to you later,” and other similar phrases.
Instead of responding positively to an offer that you may later realise was not right for you, it is better to take a few minutes and think about it.
Rest assured that patience and delay in responding will save you time, frustration, and change your life in the long run.
2. When you don’t like something, force yourself to do it.
Choose one small task each day that you hate to do and then start doing it completely. From washing the dishes to making your bed, from exercising daily to making dinner instead of ordering in. It can be anything.
After doing this for a few days, you will realise that the problem is not the task itself, but your bad habit of procrastinating. This is the easiest way, especially when you have only one choice. But often, when you start the first step, you get into a state of mind and finish the task.
Once you’ve spent a few days doing small tasks, move on to bigger ones. Over time, you’ll notice the impact and see a transformation in your life.
3. Take a day off from social media.
There were days when I had my phone in my hand all the time. I would pick it up for no reason and then, without realising it, I would spend hours on social media. I don’t even have a high social media presence. I’ve never posted anything on Facebook and I have less than 100 followers on Instagram, with whom I occasionally share pictures of my family.
I can’t and don’t want to give up social media. Facebook is a great gateway to world events, and Instagram is a great source of inspiration for my writing. But all of these platforms are useful as long as I use them in moderation.
So instead of deleting their app from my phone, I decided to stop using it on Fridays, and that’s what I did. After four weeks, I had drastically reduced my screen time, even setting a 1-hour limit on social apps.
So if you are facing this problem, it is better to start from the beginning; stay away from social media completely for a day, or, if it is difficult for you, do not connect your mobile phone to the Internet at all.
When you realise that you are not missing anything after being offline for a while, you will consciously decide to spend less time on the internet each day and be confident that, in a short period of time, you will see the impact of this and witness a transformation in your life.
4. Prepare your schedule for the next day the night before.
Pick out your outfit the night before and pack everything into your bag (men may not realise this, but most women have a specific list of items they must have in their everyday bag).
Write a list of things you need to do tomorrow. Check your calendar to see if you have any meetings, calls, or errands scheduled. Do whatever you can to make the next day easier.
If you have a plan for your day, you will get things done faster. There is no magic involved; it is pure logic that will transform your life.
5. Don’t do anything else while eating.
When you eat and work, study, or watch a movie at the same time, you often end up eating more than you need. Plus, you won’t enjoy your food or do your work as well. If you’re trying to create an Excel document, can you taste the vegetables? Probably not.
Eating lunch or dinner shouldn’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes. So when did we get so busy that we don’t even have a few minutes to fuel our bodies?
The next time you eat, just do this: eat. You’ll find that not using your phone while eating won’t be a problem, although it may not be easy. The simple fact that we have to free ourselves from doing such things should raise some questions for you.
6. Use a timer for your tasks.
The Pomodoro Technique can be called the productivity bible. It is so popular because it works so well and, therefore, deserves praise. Of all the little habits I have mentioned so far, this one has helped me the most.
Working and travelling full-time isn’t always easy (or, I might add, fun), and you have to come up with a schedule and stick to it. So I’ve adapted the Tomato Technique to work for me: I write for an hour, take a 10-minute break, and then write for another hour.
This is one of the main tricks that has helped me manage my schedule while travelling to several different cities each month. It has truly transformed my life.
7. Put your phone across the room when you sleep.
If you keep your phone next to you when you go to bed, you’re more likely to hit the snooze button when it rings in the morning, continue sleeping, and get out of bed when it’s already too late. For most of us, the hardest part of getting out of bed is waking up. This method works very well.
When you put your phone across the room, you have to get up and walk a few steps to stop it ringing. During this time, you may realise that you are thirsty, need to use the bathroom, or have a lot of work to do in the next few hours. At this point, your bed will no longer seem so comfortable.
Be sure to try this method and see how it will transform your life.
8. Set a waiting period for your purchases
For the past few years, I’ve had two rules for myself before buying anything. First, if I see something I like, I never buy it right away – unless it’s something I need and have been looking for. Instead, I wait a few days to see if it’s still on my mind.
If after three days I’m still thinking about that dress or shoe, I’ll go ahead and buy it. But if I forget about it completely, then I’ve just dodged a bullet because it would most likely just be an extra purchase.
The second rule applies to sales. We all love sales, right? Of course we do. But this is also when we tend to buy a lot of things we don’t need. Our brains are programmed that way. That’s why this marketing tactic works so well. Getting a good deal makes us happy and satisfied. Until we get home and realise that it was just a temporary feeling.
To avoid buying unnecessary things at auctions, ask yourself a simple question: “Can I afford to pay full price without a discount?” If the answer is yes, get out your wallet. If not, walk away.
Rest assured that if you control your emotions and follow these two rules in your purchases, you will see a change in your life and your income and spending situation in a reasonable period of time.
9. Write down every idea.
“Okay, I’ll remember this” should go down in history as the greatest lie we tell ourselves. Of all the things that go through your mind throughout the day, you end up forgetting more than half of them.
So to transform your life, get into the habit of writing down everything, even the silly things that don’t seem important on the surface.
Final word
The main reason why people fail to achieve their goals is that they try to make big changes instead of building small, everyday habits. To transform your life, you just need to follow these two simple rules:
1. Leave out one bad thing.
Make a list of all the bad habits you have that you want to get rid of. Instead of going to war with yourself and trying to get rid of them all at once, pick just one and focus on it. Take small steps. Smoke one less cigarette. Buy one less unnecessary item each week.
At each step, it’s enough to get rid of one thing. Only after you’ve successfully broken one bad habit, work on another.
2. Add a good one
This also applies to the positive changes you want to make. Don’t try to drink 2 litres of water every day if you were only drinking 1 glass before. Now, instead, try to drink 2 glasses a day and slowly increase it. Add one more vegetable to your plate. Run an extra minute on the treadmill. Read one more page every night.
Choose something you struggle with and slowly spend more time building this good habit. Once you feel like it’s become a habit, start working on the next one.
As James Clear says in Atomic Habits, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of the system you’ve built.” So make sure you have a good system for each goal.
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