10 Small Ways to Improve Your Life
Are you looking for small ways to improve your life? Maybe you’re hoping to cut out bad habits and replace them with more productive and healthy ones. Or you’re struggling with boredom or anxiety and need to shake things up.
Thankfully, it’s easy to find small ways to feel better. And the best part is that those small, incremental changes are most likely to create long-lasting and sustainable results versus grand, sweeping changes.
If you need some inspiration, here are 10 small ways to improve your life:
Table of Contents
Think Globally, Act Locally
Stop Doom Scrolling
Get More Sleep
Stay Nourished
Be Kinder to Yourself
Practice Genuine Gratitude
Linger On Small Moments
Add Plants & Greenery to Your Space
Learn Something New
Practice Real Self-Care
Think globally, act locally
If you grew up in the late 80’s/early 90’s, you probably heard this phrase more than once.
It’s the idea of taking any grand (i.e. global), big picture ideas and making them smaller and more doable. Most people are unable to enact global changes, but you can create lots of change locally.
I find this phrase really helps put things into perspective when things feel too big or too scary. When the world feels out of control, make your world just a little smaller to regain a sense of healthy control.
You can’t control what happens on a national or global scale, but you can focus energy and effort on making your community the kind of place you wish for and want for everyone. Your home, your neighborhood, your town or city, etc., can all benefit from your positive influence.
Here are some ways to think globally, act locally:
Get involved and vote in local politics
Volunteer at various organizations or shelters
Get to know your neighbors and build a solid community
Support local businesses and artists
Participate in clean-up and conservation efforts
Taking this kind of purposeful, meaningful action can help channel any anxiety and worry into productive problem solving. Think about what you’d like to see more of in your community and then take intentional action to create change.
Stop doom scrolling
Do you waste a lot of time mindlessly scrolling Instagram or TikTok?
This is a tough one, especially since social media algorithms are designed to be addictive. Try not to get down on yourself, just acknowledge that you’re being sucked into something by design.
In order to stop wasting time doom scrolling, you’ll need to replace it with something else. Ask yourself: If I didn’t care about this anymore, what would I be doing instead? Write down all the activities, new skills, hobbies, social activities, etc., that you’d prefer to do if you stopped caring about social media.
Whenever you’re most likely to pick up your phone and mindlessly scroll, cope ahead by scheduling something from your list.
And remember that motivation follows action: meaning, it’s unlikely you’ll feel like doing any of these activities because doom scrolling is an effective avoidance technique. It’s likely you’ll feel motivated after you’ve done it, and not before.
So make sure you’re not always basing your behavior on whether you feel like doing something. It’s far better to focus on behaviors that you intuitively know are good for your mental well-being, whether you feel like it or not.
Related: How to Stop Wasting Time
get more sleep
It’s been said that your day actually starts the night before.
Set yourself up for success by revamping your sleep schedule if you’re chronically under rested. This can be easier said than done, so it’s important to prioritize it as part of your overall mental and physical well-being.
Where people often struggle when trying to create better habits is going too hard and too quickly to be sustainable.
If you’re used to falling asleep at 2am, you’re probably not going to be able to do so at 10pm right away. You’ll likely end up lying in bed actively trying to sleep rather than passively falling asleep. Something I regularly remind clients (and myself) is that sleep is passive activity, not an active one. If you’re actively trying to fall asleep you’ll paradoxically keep yourself awake.
I recommend pushing up your bedtime by 15 minutes or so until you reach the desired time. And if you’re having trouble falling asleep, consider adding activities to your day that promote sleep, such as:
Reducing caffeine
Exercising
Reading
Listening to audiobooks or guided meditations
Taking hot showers
Figure out what’s getting in the way of restful sleep by consistently tracking your activities and mood. Remember that certain substances, like alcohol, may help you fall asleep, but they won’t help you stay asleep. Start slowly reducing activities that inhibit your sleep by replacing them with relaxing activities.
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Stay nourished
Staying hydrated is particularly important for anyone with ADHD who struggles with hyperfocus.
If hours pass without drinking any water, eating anything, or going to the bathroom, you’re going to be chronically dehydrated and possibly malnourished.
Rather than committing to drinking a certain amount or being on a schedule, consider what you need to feel more hydrated and nourished. Pay attention to your body cues by not waiting until you’re about to pass out before doing something!
And nourishment isn’t just about food and drink. Think about people and activities that “nourish” you, meaning you feel better or more energized afterwards. For some it’s being around friends, others it’s a mindful walk in nature.
Try incorporating more nourishing activities in your day. And if you’re not sure, I often advise clients to simply get some fresh air. It’s a bit cheesy, but try asking yourself, did I feel the wind on my face today?
And again, remember that motivation follows action. Don’t wait until you feel like doing something before taking action. Take the action first, and then see how you feel afterwards.
be kinder to yourself
Are you hard on yourself? Do you beat yourself up, particularly when you mess up?
Most people are hard on themselves because of the prevailing myth that self-compassion makes you weak or lazy. And pushing yourself like a drill sergeant can produce results, to a point. Eventually though, it becomes a demotivating cycle of perfectionism/procrastination.
There are mountains of research that show what a tremendous benefit you’ll receive by treating yourself the way you treat others. Not only is it good for your mood, it’s good for your brain! Get those calming neural chemicals fired up by treating yourself more kindly – exactly how you’d treat someone else in need.
Start by noticing how your mind naturally “speaks” to you and consider whether you’d say any of your thoughts to someone you care about? I’m guessing there’s at least some harshness you wouldn’t express to someone else.
Don’t try to fight it, just notice it. If it seems harsh, see if you can extract any useful information from your thoughts (for instance, if you messed up in some way and need to make amends) and discard the rest.
Then say out loud what you’d say to someone you care about struggling with the same thing. It’s OK if part of you doesn’t fully buy into it or feels like berating yourself is the solution. Remind yourself that if beating yourself up worked, it would’ve worked by now.
It’s more about creating a habit of catching your unhelpful thoughts, and reframing them into something that’s more useful.
Related: 3 Myths About Being Nice to Yourself
practice genuine gratitude
This isn’t a “fake it ‘til you make it” scenario: finding moments of genuine gratitude for what you have has been shown to significantly improve your mood.
Unlike toxic positivity, which is the quest to only see the positive and ignore the negative, genuine gratitude acknowledges the negative and actively seeks out what is also good in order to restore balance and broaden your perspective.
Toxic positivity: “I hate my job, but I should be grateful to have one at all.”
Genuine gratitude: “I don’t love my job and I’m grateful that it gives me stability and financial security.”
Feeling safe and secure doesn’t negate the fact that you don’t like your job, it just helps you broaden your perspective around it and gives your actions meaning and purpose. You show up because you want to remain financially secure and stable, not because you’re stuck.
And paradoxically, the less stuck you feel, the more likely you’ll take action towards finding something you do enjoy because you’re not wasting so much energy hating where you’re at. You’ll feel grateful for the security, while also acknowledging it’s not the right environment to thrive.
Related: How to Prioritize Your Mental Health
linger on small moments
Whenever you feel safe, content, joyful, amused, or even just a little more comfortable than usual, linger on that sense for a few moments and really take it in.
This kind of present moment awareness can help rewire your brain to notice and lock in feelings of safety and contentment – this is key to improving your life.
I love this quote from Rick Hanson: our minds are like Teflon for the good and Velcro for the bad. This is because it’s much more adaptive to pay attention to the negative since it could be life threatening. So don’t blame yourself for having what’s called negativity bias, because it’s what helped our ancestors survive.
But this life-saving mechanism comes at a great cost. We get so used to seeing everything negatively that it’s hard to even see anything positive or not immediately jump to worst-case scenario.
You’ll need to actively and intentionally notice pleasant moments because your mind will blow right past it since it doesn’t threaten your survival. Take a few moments to notice what it’s like to feel stable, secure, or comfortable, even if it’s just a few seconds.
Add plants & greenery to your space
Plants are not only lovely to look at, they can also improve the air quality in your space. Studies have shown that merely looking at greenery (even just images of plants) can improve your mood and wellbeing.
Adding more plants and greenery to your space is an instant mood lifter.
If you’re a self-described “plant killer” (I get it, I used to be the worst), this just means you’ll need to spend a little more time on the front end doing some research instead of winging it.
To start, I recommend avoiding so-called hard to kill desert plants like cacti and succulents. This is because these don’t give you any indication of their health, so it’s hard to know when to water and how much. But if you’ve had success with them in the past, go for it!
As an alternative, here are a few plants that thrive on neglect and are hard to kill:
ZZ Plant
Pothos
Snake Plants
In my experience, all three of these plants prefer to dry out between waterings and come in a wide variety of color variations.
While it may be tempting to fill up your cart at the nursery with lots of variety, your best bet is to start with one or two so you can get the hang of caring for them. Do some research on each specific plant so you can understand what it’s telling you (for instance, yellow leaves mean you’re overwatering).
Becoming a plant person is a skill anyone can learn. It takes persistence and consistency, as well as a willingness to fail so you can learn and improve. You can also add in a few strategic fake plants to fill out any gaps or areas that plants don’t thrive.
learn something new
Cultivating curiosity is one of the main factors that contribute to wellbeing and a sense of meaning. Staying curious not only comes with mental health benefits, but actual physical health ones as well.
Your brain is like a muscle that needs a regular workout.
Keep your brain active by seeking out novelty in a healthy and sustainable way. This can be a new hobby, skill, or even just something cool that you didn’t know before.
If you’re pressed for time or already have lots of interests, then swap out a mindless scroll or trash TV episode for a documentary. You’ll learn something new and still be able to rest and relax without feeling bad about it later.
Learning something new is especially important if you’re unsatisfied with your job or career and are considering pursuing something different. Start cultivating more curiosity by regularly learning about new things instead of pressuring yourself to pick a new career path.
practice real self-care
When you hear the word self-care, does it conjure up images of luxurious indulgence?
Self-care is often promoted as a luxury – long bubble baths and expensive face masks to unwind after a long day. It’s no wonder it’s often considered a first world luxury rather than a necessary part of life.
While some of that indulgence can definitely be part of your regular self-care routine (after all, who doesn’t love a good spa session?), authentic self-care is more about treating yourself well in order to sustainably show up in your life.
For some, self-care might look like small actions during the day to do a quick reset and re-engage with the present moment. Others might need longer breaks to reset.
Self-care can also be saying no to things even when you can technically say yes, disengaging from conversations that are unproductive, or avoiding things that drain you.
Remember that self-care isn’t selfish because you can’t pour from an empty cup. Self-care means putting your needs first in order to show up sustainably for anyone else in your life.
If you’re looking for ways to improve your life, the key is to start small to make big changes. Don’t try to do too many things at once! Instead, focus on one area of your life and put your energy and focus there, before moving on to other areas.
Pay attention to what energizes you versus what drains you. When in doubt, choose a harm reduction approach: reduce the negative impact of any unhelpful habits in small ways until you’re able to make a permanent change. For instance, instead of quitting social media cold turkey, start reducing it a little bit each day by replacing it with something else.
