Every person has a daily ritual that gets them going without a second thought.
It could be a morning regimen like getting coffee ready before making the bed or something more leisurely like reading before turning in for the night.
And then we all have that one routine we consciously do and realize its long-term effect on us, good or bad.
Wanting to accentuate the positive, Redditor BubbleTrouble_Z asked:
"What is a small daily habit that has improved your life more than you ever expected?"
These can be life-changing.
"When ever you think 'I should do X'. immediately get up and go do X. Stop putting stuff off. If that little voice inside you is saying 'Hey, might be better to clean the garage today instead of being lazy and procrastinating till next weekend.' "
"Then listen to that voice and go do it now. Wash your plate when you're done. Wipe down the bathroom sink after brushing. Take care of whatever loose end is still pinging in your brain. DO IT NOW."
- jmnugent
"That helps me a lot. I struggle hardcore with executive function, and in therapy I've been practicing self compassion. So instead of bullying myself into a task, I think to myself 'You're not going to want to do the dishes any more tomorrow than you do right now.'"
"It's a nice, neutral way to get myself going without being mean and without being too fluffy. Yeah, this chore sucks, but it will still suck in 12 hours so do it now."
- corkyhawkeye
"I do a variation of this. Telling myself I'm doing a favor for 'future me' is surprisingly motivating. Then 'future me' reinforces the good deed by acknowledging that I'd really hate to have to do XYZ right now and it's so nice that "past me" did me a solid."
- DeezerWeezer
"Noticing. Instead of judging myself when I felt negative, I started allowing myself a good few minutes to stop and notice rather than act immediately."
"It's helped me observe things about myself to encourage learning and growth. I solved honestly a lot of problems on my own with this and found it to help prevent issues from arising."- StereoSabertooth
"Walking a couple miles a day is my small habit, and it has changed my life significantly."
"I got old (m[ale] 75) and super fat (320). It was so big that I couldn't walk more than a few yards without getting exhausted. It made me very unhappy and depressed. So, I changed what I ate and how much. I set a goal to lose the excess weight and to be able to walk at least one full mile without stopping."
"It took me three months of constant effort before I could walk that mile and a year of watching my calories to lose over 100 lbs."
"That was nearly two years ago. I'm not super fat anymore (210), and I walk two miles every morning after I wake up - which I can now do with ease."
"It's been life-changing, to say the least."
"Edit: Until I got old and obese, I never could have imagined that there would come a time when I wanted to go walking and discovered that because of my excess weight and my atrophied muscles - I literally couldn't."
"I could sense my death approaching, and the thought that I was now too old, too fat and too weak to be mobile and continue actively participating in my life was, frankly, terrifying."
"Me and my husband didn't have the greatest diet, and we barely did anything on top of that, and our weight ballooned up. This early November, his sciatica flared up to the point where he couldn't walk."
"After it went down a bit, we started walking daily and within a month, there is a total difference. He is using Olympic to help, but the walking is helping us, and the changes have helped."
- Bkbee
"Doing basic yoga stretches for literally 5 minutes every morning."
"I'm not a yoga snob. I'm not in great shape. I'm not a health guru. I'm a middle aged gamer that sits in an office chair all day and stretching every morning has alleviated all my back, neck and shoulder pain."
"I googled 'basic yoga stretches,' and I do them for less than 5 minutes a day. I'm usually running out the door and remember to do them, so I'll plop down right in the hallway and stretch real quick."
"Standing on one foot whenever I have to stand in a line or am waiting for the microwave. Now, I can raise the bottom of either foot until it's level with my countertops and hold it for about two minutes or more. 46m btw."
- 28TeddyGrams
"Working out. Great for the body and honestly a good method of clearing your mind."
:Ever since the beginning of last month, I just took note of how unfit I looked and figured to remedy it through small daily workouts. Though I only did one set of >20 push-ups and >20 sit-ups every night, I eventually got some noticeable changes in my physique by the end of November (no, I did not become ridiculously buff or anything extreme, but my belly no longer sagged out and my arms were no longer twigs)."
- Vagabond_Charizard
"Quit smoking 3 years ago. Just the feeling of being able to run and breathe is so freeing."
"Also: Supplementing Vitamin D. I live in a part of the world, where 6 months of the year the sun isn't high enough to even let you produce Vitamin D in your skin, no matter how much light you get daily. My years long depression is almost completely gone."
- CantShakeMeOff
These little tasks or goals can improve your life.
"I lay out my clothes the night before. Game changer. My exercise clothes are on my dresser, and my work clothes are ready to go in my closet and boom let's do it."
- MeanSecurity
"I do this for my 7am job. During the summer I ride my bike to that job, and it helps so much to have everything laid out/packed the night before, because I'm guaranteed to forget something and end up leaving home late otherwise."
- codyhawkeye
"Hell yeah. I can't believe I've slept so poorly for almost a decade. Now I sleep 8 or 9 hours every night."
"I go to bed early so I can wake up about 3/4 hours before I have to do anything, to just... exist. Those hours make a lot of difference in my day."
"I get to make a good breakfast with no rush, maybe take a bubble bath, sometimes if I'm in the mood I clean a little, or just play with my cat. If I happen to feel very energetic, I listen to music and dance, or go biking for a while."
"I swear, this is what took most of my anxiety down. Sleeping well and doing things with plenty of time, without ever feeling I might be late... is a game changer."
- LluviaDeMilangas
"Drinking more water/properly hydrating. I experienced a snowball effect. I severely reduced my caffeine intake, which drastically reduced anxiety, which eliminated alcohol. I'm more active, sleep better and I'm not crawling the walls by the end of the day."
- figgednewtonian
"Setting a sleep timer on my phone. At midnight, it shuts off access to ask but a few essential apps. It really helps me get up of the sofa and go to bed. I could, of course, just turn bedtime mode off and carry on, but I kinda just don't."
I'm shocked at the number of people who don't include flossing their teeth as a part of their normal routine.
I make sure to floss every night before going to bed, as brushing alone doesn't do a thorough cleaning job.
The benefits alone should make you want to incorporate flossing into your nightly regimen. As a reminder, flossing can prevent plaque buildup that leads to gum disease and cavities and removes bacteria to avoid bad breath. It also prevents eventual tooth loss.
Hey, whatever it takes to avoid emergency dental visits.