12 Simple daily habits for health.

When it comes to change, small changes go along way towards establishing simple habits to improve your life. For small actions over time can produce great results.

All too often we focus on the big picture which seems so far away. Yet, if we focus on the actions we can take today, the big picture will one day arrive. By including just a few simple healthy actions into your day daily, you will progress closer to your goal. Each simple daily habit leads to overall health improvement and long term goal success.

This year my word of the year is health, yet there are days I feel like not taking action towards some of my health goals. I think we all get that way sometimes. Today was not one of those days. Today I was meeting a friend for a good brainstorming session. Rather than just drive to the meeting spot I decided today I would go for a mindful walk.
Mindful walking I find is a great way to just be present and find clarity and solutions. Today although I’ve been out for most of the day, I’ve found I’ve had a productive day. I put it down to including mindfulness as one of my daily habits.
Mindful walking is something I really enjoyed doing last year, but haven’t done much this year. Fortunately, it’s still January so I have time to include mindful walking into my life. again.

What I find is that simple daily habits can bring you closer to the bigger picture and a more balanced and healthier life. 

How to include simple healthy habits into your day. 

Achieving more balance across your life is about being aware. For when you are aware of your actions you can start making better choices. Better choices lead to a healthier mind and body.

Today the reason I went for a mindful walk is I needed to unplug. I wanted to have some ‘me time’ to just think and observe. I know it was the perfect self care action for me today. By going for a mindful walk I know I’d get more clarity and awareness to the little challenge I was facing. Got love computers and the challenges they bring!

Change starts with awareness.

You may know the area of your life you want to change, health, finances, relationships. There are many areas to choose from. The way to bring awareness to the changes you would like to make is to;

1. Picture or visualize what you would like to achieve.
2. Get a pen and paper and write down all the things you could do to achieve it.
3. Imagine you have achieved your goal working backwards what did you do.
   Look at your list. Are the actions on the list.

Related posts: How to create a vision board and Why visualizing your ideal day is good for your future.

Focus on one goal.

My word of ‘health’ for the year relates to many areas of my life.
Healthy mind through personal growth and mindfulness.
Weight loss for a healthy body.
Healthy relationships with family, friends, colleagues and clients.
Building financial independence via healthy money habits.
Creating a healthy business via delivering quality service that brings my clients results.

When your focus is on too many goals at once it can slow you down. This is something I have struggled with in the past. I used the Slay Your Goal Planner to identify what my number one goal is. If you are struggling to choose one goal, get the Slay Your Goal Planner.

As I mentioned my word of the year is ‘health’ and this word can be related to all areas of my life. For this reason, I need to be careful to focus only on one area at a time.

Define your starting point.

As with any goals the first step is to know your starting point. Where you are at right now. One of the best ways to do this is to review this area of your life and rate it out of 10. With 10 being good, you are really happy with it and 1 being that you are not happy at all.

As I choose ‘health’ as my word for the year to cover my whole life. I would review all areas of my life and rate them out of 10. This defines the areas of my life I’m most happy with and the ones I will concentrate on first.

The best tools to use to identify where you are in different areas of your life is the balance wheel. Download it using the button below. 

Once you are aware of the area of your life you’d like to change. Look for ways to make small changes that lead you in the direction towards your goal. Research shows that implementing small changes to your routines assist with creating healthy habits.

The balance wheel helps you identify the areas of life you would like to change.

As you look at your completed life wheel, reflect on why you scored yourself that number and what number you would like to achieve in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year.

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

Bill Gates

Write your good healthy habits plan.

Now you are aware of the area of life you would like to improve it is time to create your own plan.
Review the list you wrote on actions you can take to achieve your goal and work in reverse.
For the items that have multiple actions, break these down into steps.
Next, put the list into order. Working in reverse note down the steps all the way to the first step.

Questions to help you write the plan.
Imagine you have achieved the goal. What did you do to get there? Which daily actions did you implement to achieve your goal? What daily actions did you track?
While creating your plan imagine how it feels achieving this goal of yours.

Now put the list is in order. Take action on the first step today.
Examples of actions to take today.
Plan your walking or running route.
Schedule in your meditation time.
Book a personal coach.
Prepare tomorrows meal so you can attend aqua aerobics.
Write up your ideal day for visualization.

There are times we know what we should do to achieve our goals, yet we don’t take action. This is why I think it is important to track your habits over 90 days. By tracking habits, you can see if the actions you’ve chosen to implement are the ones that align with your true core values. If you are in alignment with your why and your core values, you are more likely to take daily action that moves you closer to your goals.

If you find you are not taking action towards your goals. Reflect on your goal to define is that really the goal for you. The Slay Your Goals Planner can help you identify if it is or not.

Be mindful of your time when planning your healthy daily habits.

When you do too much too quickly you are more likely to give up. This is seen a lot with gym membership increasing in January. People swear to attend 4-5 days a week but soon find their attendance drop to 1-2 or not at all. 

Tip: When starting at the gym, try all the classes. Find something you enjoy. When you enjoy the exercise your more likely not to quit. 

When I started at the gym I planned to go to pilates classes. I discovered I enjoyed aqua aerobics. Until I started aqua aerobics I had been a regular start, stop person at the local gym. 

As you plan your day be thoughtful as too how much you plan. There are only so many activities you can do each day. Yet, there are many activities that you can implement into your day that lead you towards your main goal.
To help achieve my health goals, I’ve created morning routines and evening routines as well as small actions I can take throughout the day.

12 simple daily habits for health that are easy to include in your day.

Here’s a list of some of the best daily health habits to adopt for your health.

• Deep breathing.
  How often have you said to yourself, your child or someone your speaking with, ‘Just take a deep breath.’ The reason deep breathing is so healthy is it reduces tension, relieves stress and helps with relaxation.
• Toe flexes.
  Who would have thought the good toes, bad toe exercises in childhood dance classes would play an important role in foot health today. If you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis you know what I’m talking about.
• Gargling.
  Yes, gargling stimulates your vagus nerve which can decrease anxiety.
• Sticking to a sleep routine.
  Setting a tone to go to bed and having a bedtime ritual. I’m amazed by my son. Many days his in bed by 9:00pm. For his an early riser. He enjoys early work shifts but to be at his best knows he needs sleep so goes to bed early. 
• Morning routine.
  Having a morning routine can assist with daily productivity. I found implementing the actions that Hal Elrod speaks of in The Miracle Morning, is a great way to start the day.
• Take a brisk walk.
  A walk is great for improving your mood. The fresh air helps with clearing the mind, regaining focus and clarity. A challenge would be throughout the day enjoy a few short walks. This quickly adds up to 10,000 steps. 
  Related post: 7 Simple ways to walk 10,000 steps a day.
• Make the most of the stairs. 
  If you have stairs at home do more than walk up and down them. Include walking faster up and down as part of your cardio work out. 
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day. 
  It is a known fact that water is the best way to rehydrate yourself and assists with bodily functions like; body temperature, weight control, sweat and boost metabolism. 
• Take time to Balance on one leg. 
  After fracturing my ankle in 2019, I was advised to include balancing in my fitness routine. The reason was to strengthen ankle health which in turn helps with healthy hips later in life.
  Balancing though is not only good for ligament it has many neurological benefits. 
  Two ways to include balancing into your daily routine are;
  • Balancing on one leg while cleaning your teeth. 
  • Include walking heel to toe, like a tightrope walker on your daily walk. 
• Yoga.
  There is a reason yoga and Pilates are so popular. They increase mindfulness and overall skeletal strength. Balance is so important to strengthen muscles. As we get older it is the strength of our muscles that reduce our injuries when we fall. Yoga can help with this.
• Eat at least 5 servings of fruit or veg. 
  A quote Jim Rohn shared at a seminar I attended is “5 is fine but 9 is define.” Yum, I love to eat lots of healthy fruit and vegetables so love this saying.
  Journaling.
• Writing in a journal is one of the best daily healthy habits to adopt. The simple process of journaling helps with creating a healthy mind. Via journaling, you can progress towards your goals by bringing your attention to what is going right. Also by tracking your steps.
  Related post: 5 Ways to start a journal.

Have you started creating simple daily habits for health by taking small daily actions that lead towards your goal? Share in the comments below a goal you have and a healthy action you have implemented for 2020.