2018 has been a very transformational year for me – over the course of 12 months I have gone from feeling anxious and unfulfilled with no clear plan of what I wanted to do in life, to feeling confident, productive, fulfilled with clear goals for where I want to be and a solid plan of how I’m going to get there!
You may be wondering how I have managed to turn everything around and get out of my rut, and the answer is building and implementing just a few habits that support wellbeing, peace of mind, productivity, creativity and overall self improvement. In this post, I will be sharing the most important habits that I’ve built this year, and how you can use them to improve your life in 2019.
1. Daily Meditation
I have wanted to get into daily meditation for a long time before 2018. I was fully aware of the benefits – reducing stress and anxiety, improving self awareness, better focus and concentration and generally boosting happiness. I knew that these were all things I needed to work on, but I just couldn’t commit to daily practice – I would practice one day but then not again for months, or finish a 7-day challenge and not carry on. But finding time, (even just 2-5 minutes a day) to meditate has completely changed my mindset. I swear by it to reduce stress, reset as well as gain more clarity in life. When you sit quietly with yourself, you can often have big realisations and understandings about what you truly want out of life. My favourite way to meditate is to listen along to guided meditations on YouTube – I just search for a meditation that fits with how I feel that day, so I’m constantly finding new people and ways to meditate.
2. Keeping My Space Tidy
I have NEVER been a tidy person – I always found it too hard to keep my space clean and tidy, so I always had clothes, books and papers strewn across the floor and old cups filling my desk. At the start of this year, I committed to decluttering my space and ACTUALLY sticking to it, for the first time ever. I realised that I had way too much stuff, so the first thing I did was sort all of my things into piles of keep, bin, sell and donate to charity. After I finished, I felt less overwhelmed with the amount of things I had, and my space already looked a lot better. Everything had a space, and once I had finished wearing or using something, it had to go back in that place. I also made a cleaning schedule to make sure that floors are vacuumed regularly and surfaces are kept clean. Having clean and tidy surroundings really reflect into having a clear and peaceful mind, and now I could never go back to being a hoarder!
3. Regular Reading
When I was younger, I used to be such a voracious reader – I read a book a week and loved going into bookshops to pick out what book I wanted to read next. But as I got older, the less I read – this was due to lack of time due to school and college and growing out of the books that I used to love. This year, I really wanted to find a genre of book that I could really get stuck into and read at least one book a month. Now, I’ve become an obsessive reader of non fiction books, mainly based around personal development and improvement, and I easily reach, and often surpass, my one book a month goal. Reading what I love and am passionate has opened my eyes to so many ideas that I have implemented in my life, solutions to problems, changes in mindset and new skills that have massively improved my life this year.
We all know we should be exercising but most of us still don’t do it – we don’t have time, we can’t afford a gym membership, we don’t enjoy it – but the truth is, like finding the right book for you, there is an exercise for everyone, you just have to explore your options. I have tried so many different types of exercise but never really enjoyed it, therefore, didn’t make time for it. However, I’ve always enjoyed practicing Yoga, so this year I attempted to create a regular Yoga routine that would fit in with my life. I now practice Yoga weekly and it’s been amazing for instilling calm and tranquility, improving my flexibility and general wellbeing. It’s all about finding what YOU love, and not just going along with things that other people are doing or just what you see on Instagram.
5. Organising My Life
This year, I have found a new love of all things organisation – journals, planners, to-do lists, diaries – I don’t know how I ever managed without at least having a planner! Now, at the start of every day, I write a list of the 3 Most Important Tasks that I need to complete that day, which means that everyday I can manage my time well, be productive and achieve my goals. Before I go to bed every night, I plan out my day hour by hour on my desk planner, and then I use my notebook to plan out blog post ideas, Instagram posts and new plans that I’m working on. It really makes such a difference writing out your ideas and tasks, you are held accountable and I find that it makes me feel more creative and determined to stick to my plans.
So those re the top five habits that have improved my life in 2018! Tell me what habits you’ve built this year and a habit you’d like to build next year in the comments!
