Sometimes we feel lost in life. Things begin to feel stagnant and unmoving almost as though you’re not progressing towards any of your life goals. You feel like you’re just repeating the same routine day after day with nothing to show for it. Nowadays life is primarily centred around working a nine to five job or if you’re still in school, studies and assignments, and this takes up so much of your time. We barely even have time to do stuff which genuinely excite us so it’s perfectly normal to feel like you’re stuck. That’s okay. The important part is to take action when ever you feel like things aren’t going the right way, or when they’re not going anywhere at all. So here are five little habits that have the power to change your life around. 

• Write down three things you’re grateful for

Has something ever happened that was really important, and you wanted to remember, but then you didn’t write it down. Then so you wound up completely forgetting about it. You simply can’t rely on your memory to store every important moment of your life. Time passes and you might forget about some of the important things or the things to be grateful for. Writing down things you’re grateful for will help you foster gratitude, and allows you to think back on what’s happened in your life, helping to shift your perspective. Years later you can loopback on all these amazing things that happened to you and realise how blessed you are. In some instances it’s the best motivation you can receive to help you revive many plans which went down the drain for any reason whatsoever.

Studies show that fostering gratitude will help you sleep better at night, lower your stress levels and improve your interpersonal relationships. Taking up the habit of writing down three things you’re grateful for in a gratitude journal will create nothing but positive change in your life. 

• Clean for ten minutes each day

It’s pretty normal for the thought of cleaning your room to feel overwhelming. However, to avoid feeling overwhelmed it’s best to break down your tasks into smaller portions in order to make it feel more manageable and doable. Ten minutes is a reasonable amount of time to devote to cleaning and it inspires confidence that you can do it notwithstanding it’s also enough time for you to get something small done. When cleaning your room its always ideal to lay the bed first as it instantly makes a big difference and encourages you on. You can then try folding and hanging your clothes and then moving on and coming back to your room to sweep or vacuum for ten minutes.  If your space just feels too big to clean all at once, try and start with one room at a time. Possibly in the kitchen doing dishes or in the living room straightening up the couch. If you can get something small done in ten minutes, you’ll be that much closer to getting everything done in a timely fashion. 

• Take care of your skin

Our confidence does take a hit whenever we have a bad breakout. Believe it or not the way your skin looks can be directly related to how you’re feeling and vice versa. According to dermatology study inflamed skin, thinning hair and brittle nails can be physical manifestations of your mental state. These unwanted physical changes can have a negative impact on how you feel and consequently how you behave. This will further worsen your skin, hair and nails and create a vicious cycle. Of course when you hit puberty it’s expected that your skin would begin to act up but it’s requisite to put measures in place which would somewhat alleviate the tragedies of your hormones going bonkers. This is one of the main reasons why taking care of your skin is vital since it helps to foster a strong emotional state with high levels of confidence and a strong and positive outlook on life. 

• Implement the 80/20 principle

The 80/20 principle was first discovered in the 1800s by an economist by name Wilfredo Pareto. He noted that 80% of the land in his home country was owned by 20% of the population. This principle holds true nearly 200 years later, it can even be applied to different topics such as business or athletics. Now how can this principle be applied to your life? Well it’s been found that 80% of your success will come from just 20% of your work. This means that 80% of what you do will be unimportant or irrelevant to your success. The main point of applying the 80/20 principle into your life is that you identify that 20% of the things that you do actually result in success. A simple way of identifying the 20% is by making a to do list with your most important tasks at the top and the least important at the bottom. Finally cross out 80% of your tasks from the bottom so that you’re only left with the top 20%. By doing this you will improve your productivity and efficiency by focusing all of your efforts on the tasks that will actually yield success.

• Implement effective daily routines

I can’t even begin to emphasise the importance of an effective daily routine. You might wake up in the morning feeling lazy and unmotivated and this can be a telling sign that your daily routines are not working properly or effectively for you. Daily routines consist of your morning routine and your evening routine. An effective morning routine should stimulate your body and mind while giving you a boost of energy and inspiration. It should make you look forward to conquering the day with positivity and that’s why the first few tasks you take on in a day are a vital basis for a productive day. However, everyone has a daily routine that is unique to them. So you’ll need to find what works best for you. Some prefer to wake up at 4:00 am and set the ball rolling but others require more rest and thus wake up at 6:00 am. Albeit, it all depends on your schedule for the day, your job and a host of other factors.For the morning time. You could read the morning news, go out for an early jog or listen to a podcast while you get ready for the day.

Now, let’s talk about an effective evening routine. The main purpose of your evening routine is to destress your body and mind after a long day of work or school, while also gradually preparing you for bed. During this time, you should do things that you enjoy and engage in quiet hobbies like reading, writing or watching a relaxing TV show. Others depend on the dopamine levels they receive from working out to have a relaxed evening. Remember to experiment and stick with whatever works best for you.

If you’re looking to change your life by implementing these habits, it’s important to remember that habits are difficult to build and can take some time to properly put into practice. Focus on implementing them one by one without rushing anything and you’ll surely feel like your daily life is slowly turning in the right direction. 

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