10 Daily Habits To Reset Your Life

Once in a while, I get that big urge to reset my life, get it all together, and become my best self. That’s when I like to dive deep into habit development, switch up some existing habits, and make things better.

Over time, I’ve noticed that the only consistency I have is reducing the time I spend performing those habits. I mean, from “meditating half an hour a day five days a week”, I’ve gotten to “just stay away from devices for an X amount of time and pat yourself on the back.”

And that’s ok.

Life gets so complicated by itself, why add more to the party? I am in the “less is more” era and plan to stick around.

The same goes for resetting your life. Don’t use it as an excuse to complicate things, but choose smart changes that help you progress more mentally then physically. Yes, it is all about mindset.

So, that is why I have a list of 10 tiny and very simple daily habits that will make you achieve that instant life reset moment, and help you prioritise what truly matters – your happiness and inner peace.

And when I say they are tiny and short, I mean that if you decided to do them all at once, jumping from one to the next, you would need no more than 7 minutes (…exclude the very last one, but you’ll see why later). Yes, I love small daily actions that give big life-changing results.

I’ve split them into two groups – habits you can perform in the morning and habits you can perform in the evening or late afternoon, so you don’t feel overwhelmed and have more structure in your day. Let’s get to them.

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Tiny morning habits that will prepare you for a better day

1. Write down the one thing that would make today feel successful

Would it be washing your hair (if you are a mum to a six-month-old baby, that is an achievement), or decluttering a kitchen drawer? Would it be drafting a plan for that project your boss keeps pestering you about, or going on a walk in the park before getting home from work?

Whatever would make today feel good, and successful, even worth it, make sure it becomes your priority for the day. Don’t delay it, don’t search for excuses to postpone it (so what if hair-wash day is Wednesday but today is Monday?).

I would even avoid writing it down because that would take it out of my head, and I might forget it.

I would get obsessed with that one thing that truly matters today and wouldn’t let it leave my mind until it was done. Yes, call me “a bit too much,” but it works.

Ask yourself this question every morning, and see how your life changes, your mood improves, and you actually feel like you’re progressing. Do you fear you might forget asking it? Write the question on a sticky note and slap it on the bathroom mirror so you see it every morning.

2. Do a 5-second mental check-in: What am I avoiding?

This one’s a bit different from the one above. Here, you want to be very honest with what you truly procrastinate on and let it be the little worm in your brain, eating up your happy vibes.

With this tiny habit, you don’t search for something that would make the day successful; you are naming the thing you avoid that can make a real difference in your self-satisfaction and personal growth.

What do you avoid? A conversation with your spouse about money? Sticking to the plan to reduce screen time? Do you avoid saving up some cash for the summer holiday because it still feels ages away?

3. Tidy one small surface completely

It could be the catch-all space in the living room, the utensils drawer in the kitchen, your underwear drawer, the top of your work desk, or even the snack drawer in your home office (I know you have one like that).

Pick one tiny space (really tiny) and give it some love. Remove rubbish, dust if needed, tidy up papers, and fold the clothes. It should take you no more than 2 minutes.

And if you love 2-minute tasks around the house (and workspace), here are 120 more of them to keep you entertained when you’ve got two spare minutes.

4. Log how you actually spend your time

Warning: This isn’t a daily habit you should keep forever.

But do it for only a week.

No!

Do it for three days and tell me you aren’t shocked at how much time you waste. And I know you waste it because we live in the era of social media, endless scrolling, mindless chatting, and binging brainless shows. I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but that’s how I see things.

A year ago, I spent a week documenting how I spent my time. Every minute of my day was logged in my journal pages, and I realised that my constant complaint about not having time to do anything was simply an avoidance of facing the truth: I waste time.

And you probably do it too.

Now that I am a mum, I can tell you that I used to have all the time in the world and did nothing with it. Now that I am a mum, I can do everything (well, almost) I used to do, and I can look after my son as well. Getting overwhelmed is “a must” at the end of the day, but you know what? I can always push myself just a bit more to achieve what I want.

So, do yourself a favour and see how you spend those precious minutes every day. Then analyse the logged data and decide for yourself whether you are happy with it or want to reconsider how you live your life.

5. Do something intentionally slowly

Just because it would be done slowly, it doesn’t mean it will take forever.

I often feel like I live my current days waiting for the days ahead, if that makes any sense. I spend my weekdays waiting for the weekend, when my husband is home, and I would have more time to clean, work, sleep, and shower. And I spend my weeks waiting for the winter months to go by so I can enjoy some sunny walks with my son.

But living “in a waiting mode” gives me nothing. It makes me skip and scroll past the moment right now. And that’s a shame.

If you feel the same way, try doing one thing intentionally every day. And it could be different every time. For me, doing something intentionally and slowly would be reading a book to my son, taking him out on a walk (even if it’s still cold, babies need that), or taking my two-minute evening shower by trying to enjoy every drop of warm, soothing water that falls on my skin.

Tiny evening/afternoon habits that would prepare you for a better tomorrow

6. Name one emotion you felt strongly today and why

Hey, when I say “strong emotion,” you don’t have to look only for the negative one. You could be feeling very happy or surprisingly calm, too. That’s a good thing.

Sometimes we don’t know why we feel calm or irritated, but we still must try to dig into their possible reasons. Naming those strong emotions gives us that emotional intelligence, the clarity of knowing what “ruled” over our day and heart today.

Many people even use mood trackers to color-code those emotions. You can find one here.

7. Ask yourself, “What mattered today?”

Even if the answer is always the same, ask yourself that question daily. In fact, write it down on a post-it note and stick it on your bedside table so you remember to give it some thought at the end of the day.

What mattered today? Was it the fact that you managed to complete that draft for the project or the fact that you at least gave it your best? Was it that you got to sit and enjoy your coffee while your toddler was quietly playing in their playpen for three full minutes? That matters, I know.

What mattered today?

8. Capture your thoughts

If you struggle with falling asleep easily and your mind is always racing with things you have to do, then you’ve got a problem.

You don’t have a “capture” buddy.

Your capture buddy can store your messy ideas, thoughts, and forgotten lists for you, and you can relax, go to sleep, and count on all those ideas, thoughts, and lists waiting for you the next morning, too.

Use your phone, a planner, or a simple napkin to write down the things that keep you from relaxing. Even if it’s feelings and emotions. Need some help exploring your emotions? Grab my Emotional Processing Journal with 50 prompts to get you familiar with how YOU feel and WHY you feel that way.

9. Decide tomorrow’s tasks today

Nothing groundbreaking here, I’m afraid. But it is life-changing if you do it, that’s for sure.

Even if your day doesn’t go according to plan, plan it anyway. And do it the night before.

Why?

Every single decision we make throughout the day tires and exhausts our brain, bit by bit. That’s because we need it to focus on something for just a few seconds and then proceed to the next thing. By taking a few important decisions in the evening, you save your brain some much-needed energy the next day.

Here are a few things you can decide on the evening before:

• What to wear;
• What to eat for breakfast (although picking one thing and sticking with it for the next 12 months might save you even more energy);
• What to cook;
• What the priority of the day should be;

10. Consume ZERO content for 30 uninterrupted minutes

For some people (including me) that would be a challenge.

But we need it.

The constant content-consumption (which reading this post is, to be honest, but at least you’re reading something that’s helpful, I hope) exhausts us, makes us feel unimportant, and distant from the people around us. We don’t even notice how we reach for the devices around us, seeking the dopamine we’re taught to crave lately.

What can you do for 30 minutes?

• meditate;
• walk in the park;
• play with your children;
• cook a meal;
• craft;
• tidy up
• nothing.. you can also do absolutely nothing and that is okay.