Four small habits that can change your life

I think it was Gandhi who said “Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values.” At least it’s often attributed to him. (But with the internet who really knows anymore?) Today I wanted to talk about four very small habits that can change your life. And they are ALL free.

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Sometimes the most life-changing things aren’t huge.

It’s not always about making huge decisions- most of the time, for me, the things that I have found that have changed my mind and outlook are things that very, very small.

So here are four things that have totally changed the way that I live.

Swap the scroll

Y’all. I gotta be honest. I got straight up CONVICTED about the amount of time I spent looking at my phone. I didn’t think it was that much until I updated my phone and got the new screen time feature (on iPhone. It’s also on android).

It tracks how much time you spent on your phone. It breaks it down by category. So if you spent two hours looking at Instagram it will tell you. Ouch!

You can set time limits for apps and texts and when the time is up your phone will lock you out of that particular app.

So one of the things I’ve done to curb my bad scroll habit was to swap it for something much better for me. So when I feel myself reaching for my phone in a waiting room or when I have just a few minutes- I will instead turn on an audio book or podcast or read a book through the Kindle app or through OverDrive.

(Note: you can also get two free books via Audible.)

Track your spending

I hear time and time again from people who say “I feel like I’ve cut back on everything in my budget and I STILL don’t know where the money goes.” To be blunt, you’re probably not tracking your spending. Because if you were, you would know where that money went.

The simple act of just writing down what you spent, or using a free app like EveryDollar will tell you where your money went.

Other apps that aren’t free are You Need a Budget, Mint (they have a free version) and MVelopes.

Practice daily gratitude

This one has been a huge game changer for me. I’ve started tracking three things I am grateful. It has been so life giving.

We get so caught up in the negative. Everywhere we look there is just negativity, the news, conversations, social media. I feel like all the internet is anymore is complaining and anger. Instead of focusing on those things I am choosing to focus on the gratitude.

Even in my darkest moments, even as I’ve gone through some hard things, but taking 90 seconds to jot down three things I am grateful for has changed my outlook.

Brain dumping

I struggle with a little bit of anxiety and I have trouble sleeping. But thing that has helped with both is taking time to “brain dump.” All that means is that I grab a piece of paper and write down everything in my head. All my to do lists, concerns, priorities, ideas. It gives me a clearer picture of what needs my attention and what can wait.

What about you? I would love to hear what has helped you feel less overwhelmed. Leave me a comment and tell me!